SOUTHERN SECTION FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : Division I : Fontana Holds Off Edison to Take 21-16 Victory

Dick Bruich, Fontana High School’s veteran coach, pointed to the scoreboard and then noted the importance of the home-field advantage in the Southern Section football playoffs.

“This was pressure,” Bruich said. “The points on the scoreboard show the home-field advantage, and we needed it tonight.”

Fontana, which hasn’t lost a home game since the 1985 quarterfinals, made itself right at home Friday night with a 21-16 victory over Edison in front of 6,500 in the opening round of the Southern Section Division I playoffs.

Fullback Bobby Sylvester scored 3 touchdowns, and Fontana’s defense held off a late rally by Edison quarterback Greg Angelovic to advance to the quarterfinals against Bishop Amat (9-2) at a site to be determined.

Angelovic, out the past 3 weeks with a broken thumb, entered the game midway through the fourth quarter with his team trailing, 21-10, and engineered a last-minute touchdown.

Edison (9-2) attempted an onside kick with 2:41 remaining that was recovered by Patrick Reilly, but officials ruled that he recovered the ball before it went the mandatory 10 yards.

Afterward, Bruich said he was more than happy that Angelovic didn’t enter the game until the outcome had been pretty much decided.

“He’s a great athlete, and that’s right, I was glad he wasn’t in there in the beginning of the game,” Bruich said. “Edison is a great team, it’s too bad we had to play each other in the first round.”

Edison Coach Dave White said: “The CIF just lost a good team. It’s going to be a long bus ride home. This was a tough way to lose, but we beat ourselves.”

Edison’s critical mistake came with 9:57 remaining and the Chargers trailing, 14-10. Joe Bernal attempted a 30-yard field goal that was wide to the left, but Edison was called for defensive holding. Fontana took advantage.

Sylvester scored on the next play with a 7-yard run for a 21-10 lead. Edison never recovered, despite the late heroics by Angelovic. White wouldn’t second-guess himself when asked if he should have inserted Angelovic into the lineup earlier.

“Donnie Smith (starting quarterback) was doing fine. . . . He wasn’t the reason we lost,” White said. “We didn’t play as well as we could have and lost two games all year in the last quarter.

“The holding call obviously killed us. We try to knock guys out on a play like that, and I think officials make that call about once every 10 years.”

Linebacker Vince Cunningham set up Edison’s first touchdown, recovering a fumble at the Fontana 40-yard line after a poor snap on an attempted Fontana punt in the second quarter.

Smith completed 3 passes for 24 yards on the short drive and then scored on a 9-yard run in which he faked to tailback Gus Miranda and rolled to his right. Jon Cernok’s kick gave Edison a 7-0 lead.

Smith completed 9 of 12 passes for 105 yards and scored a touchdown but Edison’s ground game was limited to only 65 yards.