Oceanside Pirates 21, Carlsbad Lancers 16
Oceanside High School comes out victorious in Week 7 of The Prep Pigskin after taking down Carlsbad High School 21-16. Oceanside had a demanding lead most of the game, until the Lancer’s defense stepped up tremendously and held the Pirates to zero points in the fourth quarter. Their efforts weren’t enough; however, losing by only a mere six points.
Three plays into the first quarter, the Pirates scored the first points of the game. Senior quarterback Max Shuffer found Julian Hicks down the field for a 56-yard touchdown pass.
The Lancers tried to answer back with a touchdown of their own, but had to result to a field goal once they hit 4th & 5. Seth Ketterer kicked one in from 39-yards out to cut Oceanside’s lead 7-3.
In the second quarter, Oceanside quarterback Max Shuffer passed the ball to Jake Gerardi with 40 seconds left for a 43-yard gain. This set up a 5-yard touchdown pass by Shuffer to Gerardi.
The score at halftime was 14-3 Oceanside.
Oceanside defense came up big in the third quarter as they forced a Lancer fumble to put the Pirates on the 31-yard line. A couple plays later the Pirates capitalized on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Max Shuffer to Kyrin Beachem. This put Oceanside up with a commanding 21-3 lead.
Just when everyone thought the game was over for Carlsbad, the Lancer defense stepped up extremely big in the fourth quarter. Jacob Turner intercepted Oceanside quarterback Max Shuffer and returned the ball for a number of yards.
This eventually set up 25-yard touchdown pass for the Lancers from quarterback Isaiah Ramos to Trent Nyberg.
A couple minutes later, Isaiah Ramos was able to find Jeremy Cooper for a 38-yard touchdown. This brought the game very close, with the Pirates only in the lead by 5.
The rest off the quarter remained scoreless however, making the final score 21-16.
Oceanside High School (5-1) will travel back home next week to host the Torrey Pines Falcons (4-2). The Carlsbad Lancers (1-5) will be making their way over to San Marcos High (4-2), hoping to win their first Avocado League game of the season. Make sure to tune into The Prep Pigskin Report next Friday night for all the highlights and results of Week 8.
PREVIEW: Most teams in San Diego had a bye week last week as they prepare for the second half of season and League play, including the Oceanside Pirates (4-1) and Carlsbad Lancers (2-3). These two teams will face-off this Friday night for Week 7 of The Prep Pigskin Report, as well as their second game of Avocado League play.
Oceanside High School is coming off their first loss of the season to KUSI’s No. 7 Mission Hills High School 42-25. Despite the fall, the Pirates are using it as a wakeup call as they head into the rest of league play and into playoffs.
“We have been focusing on fixing our mistakes this past bye week and working hard toward playing our best game of the year, which we haven’t yet,” Oceanside Head Coach David Rodriguez comments. “Carlsbad is a very good team whose record does not indicate how they have been playing this year. We have to be ready to compete at a very high level on Friday.”
The Lancers lost in a 21-0 shutout against a tough La Costa Canyon team in Week 5, but are hoping to regain momentum this week as they host the Pirates.
A couple players to look out for on the field this Friday is Pirates quarterback Max Shuffer, dual-threat WR/CB Azizi Hearn, and Jake Gerardi, the team’s “Swiss army knife” as Coach Rodriguez calls him.
Max Shuffer is a big part of Oceanside’s successful offense and leads the Avocado League in passing yards with 1459 yards. He is also ranked No. 4 in the county overall for passing yards. Shuffer is a senior this year and is hoping to take his talents to the next level.
Azizi Hearn is a dual threat on both ends of the field for the Pirates. He runs a 4.52 40-yard dash and plays Wide Receiver and Cornerback. The senior represented the USA U-17 National Football team this year, and has many aspirations to continue playing at the next level. He has no offers at the moment, but is receiving interest from the Mountain West, Pac-12 and WAC teams.
Jake Gerardi is a wide receiver, tight end, kicker, and punter for Oceanside. The senior is the Pirates top receiver and top scorer, and is always the go-to guy to get the team out of a jam.
The Pirates will have a full, active roster on Friday with no teammates sidelined due to injury. There is no injury report for Carlsbad at the moment, but they are expected to have a full roster as well.
Make sure to come out to Carlsbad High School Friday night to watch the Lancers host the Oceanside Pirates to continue Avocado League play. Kick off is at 7:00 PM, but if you can’t make it, there’s no need to worry. Tune into KUSI’s new and improved 90-minute show The Prep Pigskin Report to catch the highlights of this game, as well as all the other games throughout San Diego County.
