HUNTINGTON BEACH — La Habra’s Christian Ramirez kicked a 40-yard field goal with one second left on the clock to give the Highlanders a 37-35 victory over Huntington Beach in a key Epsilon League game Friday at Huntington Beach High School.
The game-winning field goal split the uprights and had plenty of distance and was the longest field goal of Ramirez’s career.
“It felt perfect,” said Ramirez, who kicked a 35-yard field goal in a loss to Upland in the first game of the season. “It felt like a smooth swing and went through the uprights perfect. I put God in front of it I gave him my leg and gave him my everything and he put it away for me. He was there by my side.”
The Highlanders (6-1, 2-0) started the winning drive on their 42-yard line with one minute, 12 seconds remaining after quarterback Brady Edmunds led Huntington Beach (4-3, 1-1) on a 65-yard drive and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard quarterback sneak to give the Oilers a 35-34 lead.
Edmunds, a 6-foot-8 sophomore, is one of the county’s best quarterbacks and he had another outstanding performance, completing 22 of 38 passes for 283 yards and four touchdowns.
But after throwing four touchdown passes in the first half to lead Huntington Beach to a 28-13 lead at the break, Edmunds’ late rushing touchdown accounted for the Oilers’ only points in the second half.
Through seven games, Edmunds has thrown for 1,928 yards and 19 touchdowns.
La Habra has relied much more on its running game this season compared to recent years, and the Highlanders platoon two quarterbacks, Kenneth Saucedo and DJ Mitchell, who rushed for 103 and 96 yards, respectively.
Saucedo scored La Habra’s first touchdown on a 13-yard run in the first quarter.
When the Highlanders were close to the goal line or in short yardage situations, Kevika Martinez was the go-to running back. Martinez ran for 117 yards on 17 carries and scored on runs of 2, 1, 6 and 12 yards.
The Highlanders dominated the second half, taking the second-half kickoff, going on an 84-yard, 10-play drive capped by Martinez’s 1-yard touchdown.
The drive took almost six minutes off the clock.
On the ensuing drive, the Highlanders stopped the Oilers on a fourth-and-2 from the Huntington Beach 45 and then drove 64 yards for another score, this one coming on Martinez’s 6-yard run.
The Oilers were moving the ball on the ensuing drive but that drive stalled on the La Habra 38 when the Highlanders forced incompletions on second, third and fourth downs.
La Habra coach Frank Mazzotta credited his team’s physicality for successfully stopping the Oilers for most of the second half.
“Football is a physical sport,” Mazzotta said. “Whether you’re passing it or running it, people are getting hit. People are getting knocked down and they’re getting hit. The game can just wear on you. That’s how the game goes.”
La Habra took over scored for a third time on connective drives, this one coming on Martinez’s 12-yard run to give the Highlanders their first lead at 34-28.
The Oilers got the lead back on Edmunds’ run making the score 35-34, setting the stage for Ramirez’s winning kick.
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