REDONDO BEACH The Redondo football team earned the first shutout of the season with a 21-0 win over Huntington Beach Friday.
The Oilers entered the game with an average of 41 points per game but failed to score despite three trips into the red zone.
“Last week Mira Costa handled us upfront,” Redondo coach Keith Ellison said of last week’s 14-13 loss. “It was one of the things we’ve been hammering home and I’m so proud of our offensive line and tight ends tonight because they were excellent in the run game.”
Senior running back Ethan Maleman led the Sea Hawks with 107 rushing yards while wide receivers senior Cadence Turner and junior Bo Ausmus also chipped in on the ground with a touchdown each.
Senior quarterback Niko London needed just 14 pass attempts to lead Redondo to victory thanks to an “excellent” offensive line, according to Ellison, that paved the way for the Oilers offense to stay off the field.
“They ate the clock,” Oilers coach Brett Brown said. “Waited until the last second of every play clock and did a good job keeping us off the field.
“We had a lot of big plays and opportunities and lost 21-nothing despite being in the red zone three times so we have to get better.”
Sophomore quarterback Brady Edmonds entered the game averaging 305 passing yards per game for Huntington Beach while also leading the team in rushing.
Against a stout Sea Hawks defense which allowed just 22 points in its first two games, Edmonds threw for 178 yards and was sacked five times while rushing for 42 yards.
According to Ellison, the star of the defense was senior defensive back Carter Burns who “up until the final drive, barely gave anything up” to junior wide receiver Troy Foster — the Oilers leader in receptions and receiving yards per game.
Burns and the rest of the Sea Hawks defense were particularity stingy in the red zone area. On three opportunities inside the 6-yard-line for the Oilers, the hosts managed to crush the line and get enough pressure to turn Huntington Beach over on downs each time.
“It’s a confidence booster for later in the season,” Burns said about the win. “We have to keep riding the wave and shut down other offenses.”
It’s the first time since August 2019 against Western (14-0) that Huntington Beach football failed to score points in a game.
“They beat us last year in a nail-biting game,” Ausmus, who also caught a pass from London for a touchdown late in the first quarter, said. “Today shows that we can match up with anyone since our defense comes to play every week — it’s the strong-point of our team.”
The Sea Hawks will be on the road next week against Orange. Huntington Beach will visit Mayfair.
