It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Huntington Beach had no problem doing just that on Tuesday. They strolled past the Ventura Cougars with points to spare, taking the game 35-20. Given the Oilers' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked third, while the Cougars are ranked 33rd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Huntington Beach found their leader in sophomore Roxie Shaia, who threw for 308 yards and four touchdowns while completing 81.1% of her passes, and also punched in a touchdown on the ground. Shaia has been hot , having posted three or more passing touchdowns the last five times she's played. Another player making a difference was Summer Vandergrift, who picked up 74 receiving yards and a touchdown.
When it comes to explaining why Ventura lost, don't look at Ava Ortman. Despite the final result, she rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown on only seven carries, and also threw for 178 yards and two touchdowns.
Huntington Beach is on a roll lately: they've won eight of their last nine matches, which provided a nice bump to their 21-7 record this season. As for Ventura, their defeat dropped their record down to 24-6.
Huntington Beach will challenge Newport Harbor at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Huntington Beach comes in on six and Newport Harbor on 23. Ventura does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
