Huntington Beach places second in Surf City passing tournament

Huntington Beach might not have been the headliner in the Sunset League, but as a new football season arrives following league realignment, the Oilers will have the attention of their opponents.

There is a buzz about the program as Huntington Beach enters year two with Brady Edmunds at the controls of its offense. The sophomore quarterback has racked up more than 20 offers from Division 1 colleges. That list includes Michigan and Washington, who met in the national championship game.

“I can’t wait for the first game to come up,” Edmunds said, following the Surf City Passing and Linemen Tournament that was hosted by the Oilers. “I’ve been counting down forever now, so just excited to get the physicality going, be able to run the ball because that helps offensively. I’m just excited to get the season going already.”

Huntington Beach placed second in the passing tournament, with Covina Charter Oak winning the final by a score of 26-12. Edmunds went to a familiar target with regularity in junior wide receiver Troy Foster, and he appeared to be developing more chemistry with senior slot receiver Niko Lopez.

Huntington Beach’s Troy Foster scores a touchdown against Edison in the Surf City Passing and Linemen Tournament.

(JP Westerbeck)

“I think from last year to this year, I’ve improved tremendously, from accuracy to arm strength, to knowing the offense really,” said Edmunds, who is 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds. “I think we’ll be really dangerous this year offensively.”

After a run to the CIF Southern Section Division 6 semifinals a season ago, the Oilers may discover parity before the playoffs. Huntington Beach has been placed in the Epsilon League, which also consists of Crean Lutheran, El Dorado, Foothill, La Habra and Laguna Hills.

The competition could call on the Oilers to show their strength at the line of scrimmage, which they were able to do on Saturday in winning the tug-of-war contest for the linemen. Huntington Beach beat Foothill, Ocean View and Western en route to its third consecutive win in the event.

“It’s awesome,” Huntington Beach coach Brett Brown said of the coaches and teammates cheering for the linemen. “We put so much time and effort into preparing these guys, and especially the linemen, they don’t get all the seven-on-seven stuff, so for them to go out and do a tug-of-war, or a hot dog eating contest, or tire flips, they work just as hard, if not harder than anybody else. To cheer for them and encourage them, they love it.”

Ocean View’s Pedro Maldonado receives support from teammates during a hot dog eating contest at the Surf City Passing and Linemen Tournament.

(JP Westerbeck)

Coming off a semifinal appearance in its host Battle at the Beach, Edison again made the penultimate stage of a passing tournament, this time with sophomore southpaw Sam Thomson handling the majority of the snaps.

Ocean View acclimated itself well in a bout with the hosts. The Seahawks celebrated an opening-round win in the tug-of-war ahead of the semifinal.

Practice may not make perfect, but it certainly helps for programs looking to break in new quarterbacks. That will be the case for Fountain Valley and Ocean View, both of which went 1-3 at the tournament.

Fountain Valley, which looks to replace Noa Banua, played Huntington Beach closely to the tune of a 14-12 score in the first game for both teams. Lucas Alexander, a senior, saw time at quarterback for the Barons.

Fountain Valley quarterback Lucas Alexander makes a throw on Saturday in the Surf City Passing and Linemen Tournament.

(JP Westerbeck)

The Barons will compete in the Foxtrot League, squaring off with Aliso Niguel, Dana Hills, Laguna Beach, Northwood and Orange.

Ocean View also had starting quarterback Frankie Armenta graduate, and it appears that Isaac Young will get the first-string snaps out of the gate. The 6-foot-3 sophomore may provide a downfield dimension in the passing game for the Seahawks, who ran a possession-oriented, run-heavy offense last season.

The Seahawks were placed in the Sigma League, along with a couple of local schools in Estancia and Los Amigos. Calvary Chapel, Rancho Alamitos and Santa Ana Valley make up the rest of the league.

There’s strength in numbers, and it’s the growth of the program that is a source of pride for Ocean View coach Daniel Hernandez.

“We are working very hard in the weight room, in the field and conditioning, but the thing I’m most proud of is we have 95 kids in the whole program right now,” Hernandez said. “... In that number, 85% are dual-sport athletes, and 50% play three sports. That’s what I’m proud of, that our kids are going and taking our culture and our work ethic and going to other programs, where they should be, because we have some amazing coaches, and those coaches should get to coach those athletes.”