HB Gold Chargers open playoffs with win

The Huntington Beach Jr. Pee Wee Division Gold Chargers opened up Pop Warner Football postseason playoff action Saturday at Lyons Field in Fullerton and came away with a 39-14 victory over the La Habra White Lions.

The win advances the Gold Chargers to a 1 p.m. playoff game Saturday against the Tustin Black Cobras at Estancia High.

Huntington drove inside the La Habra five-yard line early in the game but couldn’t score. The White Lions got on the scoreboard first on a 95-yard touchdown run and two-point kick, to take an 8-0 lead. The Gold Chargers quickly answered in the second quarter with a touchdown run by quarterback Braeden Boyles, with Jackson Walters kicking the two-point conversion to tie the score.

With 1:35 left in the first half, Jack Kosick scored Huntington’s second touchdown on a run, and Walters’ kick gave the Gold Chargers a 16-8 lead. La Habra came right back to score on a 60-yard run with 32 seconds left in the half, but the Gold Chargers blocked the conversion kick.

Kosick returned the ensuing kickoff 55 yards, and Huntington scored before the half was over when Boyles threw a touchdown pass to Mike Welsh. Walters again added a two-point kick, and the Gold Chargers took a 24-14 advantage into intermission.

In the third quarter, Boyles threw a middle screen pass to Kosick for a 25-yard touchdown, and Walters’ fourth two-point kick took the score to 32-14. With five minutes left in the game, Walters ran in the Chargers’ final touchdown.

Defensively for Huntington, John Chandler, Cameron Moradian and Jake Brown racked up key tackles, and Welsh and Dillon Blake both had an interception.

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Jr. Pee Wee Division

Green Chargers 24, Santa Margarita 0: The Green Chargers had clinched its division title on Oct. 12 with a 24-0 shutout victory over the Santa Margarita Stallions. Cade Kendle scored on a 45-yard run and also on a return of a fumble caused by Dane Despares, and Despares capped the scoring with a 10-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.

Huntington’s third league win was a 22-14 victory Oct. 5 over the previously undefeated Tustin Black Cobras. Ryan Rivituso threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Kade Ayres, scored on a one-yard sneak, and teamed with Kendle on a 52-yard touchdown pass play in the fourth quarter to give the Green Chargers a 22-14 lead.

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Pee Wee Division

Gold Chargers 28, La Habra 0: Quarterback Mikey Walters connected on all six of his passes with touchdown passes to Jason Gagnon and Jonathon Feit, and also ran for a score as Huntington blanked the Lions. Jake Furlong scored on a 30-yard run.

The Huntington defense, led by Nixon Wilfong and Jaedon Davis, recorded its second consecutive shutout and forced three turnovers in the process.

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Junior All-American Football

Clinic Division

Bellflower 26, Huntington Beach 6: The Clinic Oilers, who started the season with six-straight wins, suffered their first loss Saturday when they fell to the undefeated Broncos.

Huntington fought throughout the game against a bigger opponent and rallied in the fourth quarter with a 25-yard pass from quarterback Nate Skorheim to receiver Riley Rosenkranz who made his catch at the Bellflower 40-yard line and ran for another 20 yards to give the Clinic Oilers the break they needed. A pass from Skorheim to Jonah Del Rosario put the ball inside the 10 and on an option play, Del Rosario hit Rosenkranz with a pass in the end zone for a touchdown.

In a previous game Oct. 12, Huntington defeated the Newport-Mesa Seahawks, 32-12. Skorheim rushed for two touchdowns, hit Del Rosario with a 48-yard touchdown pass before halftime, and threw a 37-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to Joseph Vardayo who recorded his first touchdown reception of the season. Running back Aden Eckenwilder also ran for a score.

Jonathan Brown had an interception in the fourth quarter to stop a Newport-Mesa drive.

Huntington heads to Beverly Hills Saturday to take on the Beverly Hills Gators at 3 p.m. in their final regular season game.

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Jr. Pee Wee Division

South Orange County 14, Huntington 6: The Oilers dropped a tough battle to Saturday to the Patriots.

Huntington’s Brady Gardner connected with Zachary Italasano on a 40-yard pass play to put the ball at the Patriots’ five-yard line, and the two connected again on a five-yard touchdown pass late in the game.

The Oilers were unable to recover an onside kick with just over one minute to play, and the Patriots ran out the clock.

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Jr. Future Division

Los Angeles 20, Huntington 14: The Jr. Future Oilers gave a strong performance in a close loss Oct. 12 to the host Hurricanes at Fremont High.

Huntington scored before the half on a big run by quarterback Kalé Murphy, and Darby Warren ran for the two-point conversion. The Oilers’ second score came on a 50-yard run by Travis Kobelski.

Eli Rector anchored the offensive line and the Huntington defense was led by Ella Dubar, Madisyn Murphy, Trevor Burdette, and Vance Seigrist.

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Other Jr. All-American division scores:

Jr. Future Division: South Orange County 18, Huntington 8

Jr. Clinic Division: Beverly Hills 18, Huntington 6

Pee Wee Division: Inglewood 24, Huntington 0

Jr. Midget Division: Corona 12, Huntington 0