Oilers’ Offense Shines In Home Opener Against Western Anaheim (2021)

Anaheim – Western Handel Stadium

The Huntington Beach High School football team got off to a fast start against Western High School as they scored 21 points in the first quarter. Quarterback AJ Perez passed for two touchdowns and scored two more on the ground to help the Oilers with a 41-0 win over Western Thursday night at Handel Stadium in Anaheim.

On defense, the Oilers dominated the game by holding the Pioneers scoreless with three interceptions and eight sacks. Senior defensive lineman Jeff Hagedorn led the way with 3.5 sacks.

“They were just flying around,” Huntington Beach head coach Brett Brown said on his defense. “We gave them a big challenge of playing against some good athletes. We knew our guys up front were going to make some plays.”

Perez got the Oilers on the board with a 7-yard touchdown run but the 2-pt conversion fell short. After a Jordan Castro interception, Perez connected with AJ Vandermade for a 75-yard touchdown on 3rd and 13. Vandermade broke multiple tackles on his way to the end zone and a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

On the ensuing drive, junior linebacker Nathan Tauanuu returned an interception 35 yards for the score. The Oilers took a 21-0 lead on the pick 6 with 6:23 left in the first quarter. Perez extended the lead in the second quarter when he found Caleb Kelly in the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown.

“This was a big game because a 0-2 start would be bad for us,” Perez said. “We stepped up and got our energy up and made it our mission to go down and score.”

Vandermade almost had his second touchdown of the game but was tackled at the 1-yard line. Perez punched it in on the next play to give the Oilers a 34-0 with 4:06 left in the third quarter. Backup quarterback Andrew Verdone capped the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Up next for Huntington Beach is a home non-conference game against Woodrow Wilson on Friday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m.