OCEANSIDE — Fog rolled into Herb Meyer Stadium the night before Halloween just in time for kickoff and thickened as the night went on. By the fourth quarter, visibility was down to a milky haze.
While El Camino struggled in the air, completing just 8 of 20 passes, it was perfect ground-and-pound weather for Oceanside’s stout rushing attack.
The Pirates took full advantage, blanking their crosstown rivals 22-0 on Oct. 30 to win the Battle of Oceanside for the first time since 2018. The victory gave Pirates head coach Fale Poumele his first win over the Wildcats as a coach, capped a 6-4 regular season, and secured Oceanside an Avocado East League title with a perfect 4-0 record in league play.
“It’s leaned towards El Camino a little bit more as far as competitiveness [lately],” Poumele told The Coast News before last year’s rivalry installment. “Most of the youth players wanted to go to El Camino after Coach Carroll’s years.”
Behind Oceanside’s offensive line — which could double as an appliance showroom, with individual players weighing somewhere between a small refrigerator and an industrial washing machine — the Pirates scored three times on the ground.
“We take pride in being a physical group, and we take pride in protecting our QB and opening lanes for our RBs,” said Pirates left tackle Lincoln Mageo, 6-foot-4 and 280 pounds.
“Our O-line is like a family bonding,” added Lotu Seumalo, the largest of the group at 6-foot-5 and 350 pounds. “We wouldn’t be a great O-line if we didn’t have a leader like Lincoln and great coaching. I think we have a strong run game up front against other defensive fronts, and our pass game is solid, but at the end of the day, it all comes down to preparation. How we work in practice translates on Friday night.”
Rounding out the Pirates’ talented group of big men are Spartan Laie, Letoa Wong and Jameson Garrison.
Mageo is widely considered one of the premier high school linemen in California.
“(Mageo) helps the O-line remember their assignments when they forget, motivates us every day before our offense starts, and is just a great teammate to play next to and rely on,” Seumalo said. “Off the field, he’s cool and funny, but on the field, he takes everything personally. Without his presence on the O-line, it just falls apart. He’s just a great person to play with and know overall.”
SJ Poumele opened the scoring with a 33-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter, giving the Pirates a 7-0 lead at halftime. He added another touchdown in the third quarter on a 21-yard run. In the fourth, Neke Letuli capped a short drive with a 3-yard touchdown run.
The Pirates finished the scoring with a gadget play that set up a successful two-point conversion to Cameron Salcido.
“Oside’s got a lot of great athletes, and you can feel their energy every time you play them,” El Camino quarterback Gavin Wasserman said. “The atmosphere in this rivalry is always crazy — the crowd, the noise, everything about it just hits different. Last year’s game was an amazing battle, and I’m excited to be part of it again.”
For Seumalo, the rivalry hit a bit differently this year after transferring from El Camino to Oceanside.
“I felt a better fit at Oceanside than at El Camino, so it’s nice going against your old teammates and seeing how they’ve improved since the last time I saw them,” Seumalo said. “This city takes pride in this game — it separates itself from the other games in the season. I tried to tune out all the noise and focus on doing what my coaches taught me to do.”
“Playing the hometown team in a rivalry as big as this really means a lot,” said Oceanside quarterback Anthony Barquinero. “It is an honor to be a sophomore and the starting varsity quarterback. Coach Fale and my teammates have put so much faith in me, and I feel blessed to be a part of this program.”
Several hundred fans were on hand for the game, with the majority of the home El Camino crowd staying until the final whistle.
“I have to give [Oceanside] props,” El Camino two-way player Anthony Sega said. “I’ve been playing with most of those guys since we were kids. We’ve come a long way together, even though we’re on opposite sides now. It makes this rivalry game even more personal.”
El Camino senior long snapper Blake Drucker transferred in from out of state and was initially unfamiliar with the rivalry, but he was quickly brought up to speed at the start of the season.
“Classmates who have no ties to football can still see how deep and serious the rivalry is,” Drucker said. “This feels like more than a game — it’s a battle, and I love it.”
“The rivalry game is big. It’s been going on since 1976, and we all have a lot of family members who have played in it over the years, so if you’re from the city, you know how significant it is. My uncles and cousins have played in this rivalry game, so I’m excited to leave my mark,” Mageo added from the opposite side of the field.
The loss dropped El Camino to 2-8 to close out the regular season.
Oceanside opens the postseason on Nov. 7, hosting Holtville in the first round of the playoffs.
