Pirates survive season opener against Titans

When Oceanside took on Eastlake at Southwestern College, both teams played with intensity, but at times neither executed. The defending state champion Pirates survived a game filled with mistakes and missed opportunities with a 26-23 win over the Titans on Friday night.

“It was intense, very intense,” said Oceanside senior Jerry Whitaker. Whitaker finished the game with a touchdown catch and an interception.

It didn’t matter to Oceanside head coach John Carroll that it was the first week of the season. He was still disappointed.

“I thought we played very poorly. That was an un-Oceanside like performance,” Carroll said.

Despite the loss, Eastlake head coach John McFadden was happy with his team’s performance.

“Most of our team is first-year varsity and we still came out and played well,” McFadden said.

The contest looked like it would be a blowout early when Oceanside defensive end Bashiri Washington recovered a fumble and took it seven yards for a touchdown. Washington’s fumble return put the Pirates up 13-0 with 5:06 to play in the first quarter.

Eastlake, however, answered with a 66-yard touchdown pass from quarterback DeAngelo Barksdale to wide receiver Randall Williams to cut the deficit to six. Williams finished the game with 95 yards receiving and added a touchdown on the ground and Barksdale finished with 179 passing yards.

In the first half, the Pirates answered the Titans each time they scored. Just before halftime, Eastlake cut Oceanside’s lead to two but the Pirates’ Rene Siluano took the ensuing kickoff to the Eastlake 12-yard line.

After a penalty, Oceanside quarterback Jordan Wynn found Whitaker for a 17-yard touchdown just 21 seconds after Eastlake’s score. Whitaker’s touchdown gave Oceanside a 26-17 lead going into the half.

Wynn led the Oceanside offense, finishing 19-for-32 with 280 yards and a touchdown. Junior running back Elijah Latham had 45 yards on 12 carries, and Siluano and Jake Fely each scored on the ground.

With 43 points scored in the first half, the game had the makings of a shootout. But only six points were scored after the break in a second half filled with turnovers and miscues.

After halftime Oceanside had trouble handling the snap, and lost two fumbles in the third quarter. The first time it happened the Pirates were one yard away from a touchdown.

“It’s both of our faults,” Wynn said about himself and sophomore center David Vasquez. “It’s something we got to work on. There’s no excuse for it.”

While the Pirates’ offense sputtered, their defense locked down the Titans. The Pirates allowed only six points on a punt return touchdown.

“The defense looked good in the second half. They’re the reason we won the game,” Wynn said.

With just more than two minutes to play Eastlake trailed by nine. That changed when the Titans’ Tony Jefferson caught a punt off a high bounce and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown.

“I saw the ball short. I saw no one around it. I attacked it like it was food or something,” Jefferson said.

In addition to the punt return, Jefferson starred on both sides of the ball. The junior rushed for 98 yards on 15 carries, caught two passes and delivered numerous blows from his strong safety position.

“He makes big plays and he’s a huge part of what we do,” McFadden said. Following the punt return, Oceanside recovered an Eastlake onside kick attempt. From there, the Pirates were able to run out the clock and put away the Titans.

“Eastlake played a good game,” Whitaker said. “They’re a very physical team and we’re lucky we came out on top.”

Next Friday, Oceanside (1-0) travels to play crosstown rival El Camino (0-1) and Eastlake (0-1) heads north to face Torrey Pines (1-0). Both games start at 7 p.m.

For more San Diego high school football, check out the High School Red Zone at www.sdreader.com/football.