Brady Edmunds opened the season with a statement Thursday night, throwing six touchdown passes and carving up Millikan in Huntington Beach's 42-14 win. He completed 24 of 31 passes for 434 yards, a line that turned the season opener into a showcase for one of the country's top-rated quarterbacks.
That is the kind of performance that explains why Edmunds is drawing so much attention now. In a game both teams were using to set the tone for the year, he produced scoring throws at a pace that left Millikan chasing the game from the start, and Huntington Beach never gave it back.
The numbers were not padded by short work. Dylin Bruce caught half of Huntington Beach's touchdown passes and finished with 10 receptions for 217 yards, giving Edmunds a target who repeatedly turned catch-and-run plays into damage. Bruce also helped on defense with an interception and a forced and recovered fumble at cornerback. Afterward, Edmunds said Bruce was simply Bruce, and that it was a great day for him and for the team.
What makes the win sharper is how messy the first half looked for Huntington Beach. The team committed 10 of its 15 penalties before halftime, yet still went to the break up 14-0. Millikan had a chance to change that just before the half, but a 16-yard touchdown pass with 2:03 left in the second quarter was wiped out by a holding penalty, and the drive ended with a missed 43-yard field goal instead.
Millikan finally got on the board with rushing touchdowns from Aaden Muasau and Ryan Carter in the third quarter, and Carter finished with 95 yards on 17 carries. But the final 14 minutes passed without another score from Millikan, which never found a way to slow Huntington Beach's explosive playmakers or turn its own early opportunities into enough points.
The result leaves the bigger question pointed at what comes next for a Huntington Beach offense that looked ahead of schedule and a Millikan defense that could not keep Edmunds in check. For now, the opener says enough: when Edmunds is throwing like this, Huntington Beach can turn a season's first night into a warning.
