Player of the Week

Mike Sciacca, Independent

It was Saturday morning, and Russ Oschman was getting ready to go

in and watch game film. In many ways, it was a typical Saturday for

Oschman during the prep football season, but what had transpired the

night before, was anything but typical for the Huntington Beach High

senior.

Oschman all but turned game film from last Friday night’s nonleague

game with visiting Capistrano Valley into a personal highlight reel.

Playing before the holm folk at Sheue Field, the senior running back

rushed the ball 50 times for 268 yards and a touchdown to lead Huntington

Beach to its initial victory of the season, a 17-0 blanking of the

Cougars.

Oschman seemed unfazed Saturday by his astounding number of rushing

attempts, although he admitted to a little soreness.

“Yeah, I felt it a little,” the Independent’s Player of the Week said.

“I would do it again, though. I would carry the ball however many times

I’m called.

“It didn’t seem (at the time) that I had carried the ball that much,

but what our coaches had said was that if something was working, we’d

keep doing it.”

The 50 carries are a school single game record, but the Oilers

coaching staff wasn’t certain if the 268 yards were a single game record.

“Every week, Russ just keeps getting better at running the ball,”

Huntington Beach Coach Tony Ciarelli said of Oschman, who also ripped his

way for 235 yards Sept. 16 against Hueneme. “He said he wasn’t tired, and

he proved it by what he accomplished.”

The 5-foot-10 Oschman attributes his stamina to the school’s

conditioning program, his yardage to his teammates.

“We worked hard in the weight room during spring and summer, and it

has paid off,” he said. “I give my offensive line major credit for what I

did against Capo.”

Oschman’s front men, a rotating offensive line, consisted of Jacob

Arnold, Russell Chemberlen, Jordan Connally, Brian Ruziecki, Matt Ostiz,

Blake Sorber, and Sam Alexander.

“Those guys did an awesome job opening holes for me, and they deserve

a lot of the credit,” Oschman said.

Through three games, Oschman has rushed for 595 yards. With seven

regular season games remaining, he’s on course to break Huntington

Beach’s single season rushing mark of 1,501 yards, set in 1983 by Danny

Thompson.

“I think I can do it,” he added. “If the offensive line continues to

open up holes they way they have been, then it can be done. We have a

tough schedule ahead, but anything’s a possibility.”