San Juan Hills' Spectacular Football Season Comes to an End

By Penny Arévalo

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. And it was a very good year for the San Juan Hills High football team.

But it ended on Friday. And boy, did it end in a bad way.

On paper, Friday night’s Southern Section Southwest Division quarterfinal against the Huntington Beach Oilers should have been a lot closer. San Juan Hills had won 10 of its first 11 games, Huntington Beach had won only six. At the end of the regular season, the Sea View League champion Stallions were ranked the 16th best team in Orange County, the Oilers the 20th.

And most of all—although not announced—Huntington Beach fell to Fountain Valley a month ago. The Stallions just beat the Barons last week in their first-ever post-season victory.

It should have been a lot closer.

But it most certainly was not. Huntington Beach scored on its first play, a 76-yard run by quarterback Kai Ross, and continued its domination from there. 

Score: Huntington Beach 42, San Juan Hills 12

Key stats: Stallions QB Jacob Gibson passed for 203 yards, Oilers’ Ross for 125. San Juan Hills didn't have a runner with more than 56 yards, Mike Miscione, but two Oilers rushed for triple digits: Ross (106 yards) and Travis Heer (175).

Pivotal moment: Some might say it was the first flag of the game—on San Juan Hills Coach Aaron Flowers for supposedly stepping on the field (he got tangled up in the marker chains) because the game just went downhill from there. Two early scores, by Ross and a 5-yard run by Travis Heer, gave Huntington Beach a 14-0 lead less than three minutes into the contest. Still, it wasn't time to panic for San Juan Hills. There was still plenty of time. But when the Oilers made it 21-0 with 4:04 left in the first quarter, there was an urgency that San Juan Hills has rarely felt this season. 

Records: San Juan Hills (10-2), Huntington Beach (7-5)

Quotable: “L-O-V-E, we love our football team” – the Stallion football fans, who were close in attendance to the number of Oiler fans.

Quotable II: “I love ‘em. That’s all that comes to mind,” Flowers said. He noted that discounting his own penalty, all the rest of the flags – and they were too numerous to count went against the Oilers. “The calls went our way, but that’s about it. They’re great kids and I love them.”

Notes: Ross had a hand in five touchdowns. In addition to his game-opening burst to the end zone, he passed for four touchdowns to Maurice Barber, of 5, 31, 8 and 59 yards. The latter gave Huntington Beach a 42-0 lead with 3:34 left in the third quarter. ... The fourth quarter was played with a running clock. ... San Juan Hills scored both its touchdowns in the fourth. Mike Miscione scored on a 4-yard pass from Gibson, and Patrick O'Brien scored on a 7-yard run. ... The semifinals will include three Sunset League teams. Huntington Beach plays third-seeded Edison, a 10-0 winner over Villa Park. ... Edison beat Huntington Beach, 48-6, on Oct. 11. 

SOUTHWEST DIVISION

SECOND ROUND

Top bracket

Newport Harbor 49, La Habra 48

Fullerton 21, Los Alamitos 7   

Bottom bracket

Edison 10, Villa Park 0

Huntington Beach 42, San Juan Hills 12