Huntington Beach Pumped Up Again About its Football Team

In 1960, Huntington Beach had more than one oil well for every three people. The Red Car took passengers along the coast from Long Beach to Newport Beach. A salt-water pool was the big attraction at the Huntington Beach pier.

At Huntington Beach High School, the Oilers were having their best season in many years. They were off to a 5-0 start and would go on to post a 6-2-1 record.

In 1989, there still are a few oil wells pumping away in Huntington Beach. Traffic still moves along the coast, but the Red Cars have been replaced by, well, red cars. The salt-water pool is long gone and the pier, twice damaged by storms in the ‘80s, has an uncertain future.

At Huntington Beach High, the Oilers are winning as they did in 1960.

Corona del Mar, Pacifica, Newport Harbor and Long Beach Wilson have lost to Huntington Beach. A victory over Mater Dei (8 tonight at Orange Coast College) would give Huntington Beach a 5-0 record for the first time since 1960.

“The whole school is excited, the whole community,” said George Pascoe, Huntington Beach coach. “People who act like they didn’t know who you were before now want to slap you on the back.”

The Oilers have sparked the excitement with a punishing running game, a steady passing attack and a stingy defense.

Quarterback Jeff Gibson has completed 52% of his passes for 443 yards and four touchdowns. Doug Cunningham, a running back/defensive back, is the team’s leading rusher with 403 yards. He also is tied for the county lead in interceptions with four, one in each game.

The defense has allowed only 19 points, an average of 4.75 a game. Cunningham and Jeff Dunagan, an inside linebacker, have been impressive.

“The secondary hasn’t allowed a passing touchdown yet,” Pascoe said. “Last week (in a 33-0 victory over Wilson), the kids were at a fever pitch. We’ve got to be there again (tonight). We’ve got to play at our best.”

Huntington Beach faces a Mater Dei team that has struggled to a 1-3 record. The Monarchs’ passing game has been less effective than originally believed, though quarterback Danny O’Neil has completed 57.9% of his passes for 668 yards and five touchdowns.

“I think with Mater Dei, everybody thinks pass, but they run the ball well, too,” Pascoe said. “We’ll try to take a phase away from them, either the run or the pass. If they can run the ball against us, it’ll be a long night.”

Kealii Clifford is the Monarchs’ leading rusher with 293 yards, averaging 5.3 a carry.

Although Huntington Beach is one victory from tying its best start ever, Pascoe sees room for improvement.

“That’s the thing, we’ll get better,” he said.

In tonight’s other nonleague games:

El Modena (1-3) vs. Loara (4-0) at Glover Stadium: To win, El Modena must do something no team has done this season: Stop Coy Collins. Loara’s speedy running back has gained 642 yards and scored 10 touchdowns in the school’s best start in many seasons. The Saxons appear to be on a mission in Coach Herb Hill’s 28th and final season at the school. Last week, El Modena blew a 21-0 lead and lost to Fountain Valley, 22-21.

Trabuco Hills (3-1) vs. Villa Park (3-1) at El Modena: Last week, Trabuco Hills’ Tim Manning passed for 366 yards and one touchdown and ran for two more as the Mustangs amassed 444 yards in a 37-13 victory over Simi Valley. He also had an interception, which gives him 22 in his career, one behind the Orange County record of 23. Villa Park would rather forget last week’s 15-0 loss to Orange. The Spartans had six turnovers, including five fumbles, and leading rusher Gary Bladow had only 25 yards in 13 carries.

Long Beach Poly (2-1) vs. Fountain Valley (2-2) at Huntington Beach: Last week, Fountain Valley wide receiver Doug Weaver had 14 receptions for 199 yards, three touchdowns and one broken nose. Weaver will miss tonight’s game, and that’s not good news for the Barons. They had to rally from a 21-0 deficit to beat El Modena last week. Fountain Valley faces a Poly team that has lost only to Wilmington Banning. The Jackrabbits beat a good Bishop Amat team two weeks ago. Linebacker Willie McGinest, who is 6-5, 230, is drawing lots of interest.

Also: Artesia vs. Laguna Hills at Mission Viejo; Brea-Olinda vs. El Dorado at Valencia; Magnolia vs. Cypress at Western; Millikan vs. Marina at Westminster; Santa Ana Valley vs. Saddleback at Santa Ana Stadium.

In Garden Grove League games: Kennedy at Bolsa Grande; Pacifica vs. Santiago at Garden Grove.