MISSION VIEJO – The turf at Trabuco Hills High School had a little magic left in it this week for the hometown Mustangs on Friday.
After trailing all night long and pushing back Huntington Beach’s momentum swings time and again, Trabuco Hills grabbed the lead with 39 seconds remaining, as Luke Hoffman plowed across the goal line to erase a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit and take the season opener 20-19.
The Mustangs (1-0) have won 10 straight against the Oilers (1-1), including three games decided by four points or less in each of the last three seasons.
“Holy moly, back and forth,” Trabuco Hills coach Mark Nolan said. “Every year it’s been a different theme with us and Huntington Beach, but it’s been a great game every year.”
Trabuco Hills senior Tristan Zale completed 18 of 31 passes for 190 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. Hoffman caught a touchdown pass and ran for the go-ahead score.
The Mustangs converted four of six fourth-down attempts.
Huntington Beach junior Brady Edmunds, an Ohio State commit, completed 19 of 31 passes for 219 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Colorado State commit Troy Foster caught nine passes for 157 yards and two touchdowns, including a 53-yard score for a 19-7 lead in the fourth quarter.
Nathan Villanueva paced the ground game with 16 carries for 115 yards for the Oilers.
With just under 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and trailing by 12 points, Hoffman’s 48-yard kickoff return set up the Mustangs in Oiler territory.
A pass interference call, one of 12 penalties for 131 yards against Huntington Beach, kept the Trabuco drive alive, and Zale found Hoffman underneath on fourth-and-goal for a 7-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to five points.
Andrew Batayola and Riley Overman combined for a fourth-down sack of the Oilers at the Trabuco 34-yard line, and a 46-yard pass to Micah Bowen moved the Mustangs in for the kill.
Zale barreled forward on fourth-and-one at the Huntington Beach five-yard line, and Hoffman capped the drive with the 1-yard go-ahead touchdown run.
Trabuco’s two-point attempt failed, which kept the lead at just one point, 20-19, but the Oilers’ final heave to the end zone was knocked down by Josh Fitch to seal the win.
“We knew this group had tremendous grit,” Nolan said. “It’s not a surprise this group showed such great mental toughness, because they’ve done it every step of the way, right on up through.”
Huntington Beach looked poised to roll through Trabuco Hills early.
The Oilers scored on their opening drive on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Edmunds to Dylin Bruce for a 7-0 lead.
Huntington Beach tried to capitalize on the early surge and recovered the ensuing onside kick, but Mustangs held down for the three-and-out.
Bruce thought he scored a 45-yard interception return touchdown on a fourth-down stop on the ensuing drive, but a holding penalty negated the score. The Oilers settled for a field goal attempt, which was blocked by Bowen.
Josh Fitch pulled in an interception for Trabuco Hills near the end of the first half, as the Oilers couldn’t extend their 7-0 lead into the break.
After an onside kick by the Mustangs to open the second half, Huntington Beach recovered and scored on the short field with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Edmunds to Foster. The extra point went wide for a 13-0 lead.
Trabuco Hills responded quickly, with a 52-yard pass from Zale to Fitch and a 3-yard touchdown run by Pompey to cut the lead to 13-7.
Huntington Beach got an interception from Steel Kurtz, and after back-to-back holding calls, Edmunds unleashed a 54-yard TD pass to Foster for the 19-7 fourth-quarter lead.