National Surf League | The Game

By Fred Swegles, Sun Post News The sky wasn’t the only source of lightning Thursday afternoon at the Huntington Beach Pier. 

San Clemente High surfer David Price and his teammates produced a little lightning of their own, pulling out a come-from-behind victory over Huntington Beach High to win the Orange County regionals of the Red Bull Riders Cup. "That was awesome," said Price, a junior at San Clemente High. "I had a bunch of fun." He produced scores of 8.5 and 9.0 to win not only the MVP award Thursday, but also the award for most radical maneuver. The Red Bull Riders Cup is a national high school tournament, featuring 33 schools from eight regions. San Clemente High defeated Newport Harbor High and Huntington Beach High this week to take the Orange County title. Huntington Beach High had topped Edison High to create Thursday’s matchup. On June 14-15, all the regional champions will meet at San Onofre Trail 6 to battle for national bragging rights. A year ago Huntington Beach High edged San Clemente High 71-70 to capture the Orange County title. This time, San Clemente started strong, outpointing the Oilers 25 to 22.5 in the first of three periods. The Tritons lagged in the second period, picking up just 15 points, and Huntington Beach was ahead by half a point at the end of the second period. Then, after rain and lightning briefly interrupted the proceedings, the Oilers piled up 23 points in the top of the third to command a lead of 63.5 to 40. San Clemente needed a formidable 24 points to win. "It was definitely a challenge," Triton Coach John Dowell said. "The boys stepped up. They put themselves in a hole … and dug themselves out." A clean lefthander by Doug van Mierlo put San Clemente ahead with 3 minutes to go. As in baseball in the bottom of the ninth, it was game over. fswegles@ocregister.com