bettering a 45-14 victory in 1978.
The 47 points were the most scored on the Oilers since Long Beach Poly
rolled up 52 in the first round of the Division I playoffs last November.
The victory also was startling in many other aspects. Not only did it put
Marina at 3-0 in league play, the triumph also gave the Vikings sole
possession of first-place with two regular season games remaining.
'Is that something, or what,' Marina Coach Mark Rehling said of the
Vikings' lofty status. 'With this win, we've put ourselves in position to
play for a league championship. We coaches thought this was possible
because we thought we had a good team on our hands when the season
began.'
One of Rehling's best Mietkiewicz, a workhorse fullback who galloped past
the Oilers all night.
The 6-foot-1, 235 senior rushed for a career-best 323 yards on 32
carries, scored a school single-game record five touchdowns, went into
the Marina record books for most career points scored, and also became
the school's all-time career yardage leader with his outstanding effort.
Mietkiewicz simply overpowered the Oilers and scored on runs covering 7,
28, 17, 15, and 2 yards.
'Ray was unbelievable out there,' Rehling said. 'He ran over people -
through them, and around them. He was just outstanding, but our
(offensive) line deserves a lot of credit, too.'
Huntington Beach Coach Tony Ciarellli echoed Rehling's sentiments, saying
that Mietkiewicz simply had too much.
'We just couldn't handle Mietkiewicz tonight,' Ciarelli said. 'Ray's
just a great runner and his line deserves a lot of credit, too. I'm glad
we don't have to see him any more.'
Huntington Beach (4-4, 0-3) twice opened up leads on the Vikings in
the first half. Casey Ryder scored on a 43-yard quarterback keeper on the
Oilers' first possession of the game for a 7-0 lead, and running back
Russel Oschman scored on a five-yard run. Holder Shaun Donahoe scooped up
a fumbled snap on the point after attempt and ran it in for a two-point
