Matt’s Musings:

The field-goal attempt was blocked by Servite High senior Kirifi Leuta-taula, picked up by senior Chris Nicholls and taken to the house.

Midway through the first quarter of Edison’s huge nonleague showdown with Servite on Friday, the Friars had all the momentum.

Fast-forward to the end of the game, and Servite failed to get in the end zone again. Well, more like the Chargers didn’t let them in after a dominating 23-9 victory before a packed house at Huntington Beach High.

And now, it looks like Edison is the team to beat in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division, as the Chargers leapfrogged to No. 1. Mission Viejo is at No. 2; Servite falls from No. 2 to No. 3. Edison has also moved up to No. 6 in the state rankings by Calhisports.com, as well as No. 3 in Southern California as ranked by the Los Angeles Times.

The Edison homecoming halftime theme that night was based on the video game “Super Mario Bros.” Edison looked like Mario after eating the one-up mushroom.

Players from Edison stayed on the field for a while after the game, savoring the moment and obliging all the interview requests. The quote that best summed it up, though, might have been the first words spoken by Servite Coach Troy Thomas after the midfield handshakes.

“They kicked our butts,” Thomas said.

Thomas may have had plenty of people in mind with that statement. Senior quarterback Matt Viles, with his 231 yards passing, certainly did it. The Chargers were able to excel on many short passes to senior running back Wade Houston, as well as seniors Michael Rivera, Jeff Trojan and Luke Eddy. But then there was the 52-yard bomb that Viles threw to Leener in the fourth quarter that helped put the game away, Viles finding Trojan moments later on a four-yard touchdown pass.

Houston was a steady runner all night for the Chargers. Only twice did he have a run of 10 yards or greater, but then again only twice was he stopped for a loss. When it was all said and done, he finished with 108 yards behind an offensive line anchored by senior center Roman Sapolu.

“The offensive line made big holes and I just found the hole,” Houston said. “Anybody could have done that, I feel. Our coaches just had us real prepared for this game. I thought we were going to go more to the air, but after I broke one, we just started moving the ball more and more.”

He was equally impressed with the defensive play. Senior linebacker Jordan Zumwalt showed his will to win, playing with a cast on his broken left hand even if it meant tackling would be a bit difficult. As far as the line play, fans at the game saw No. 55 and No. 93 in the Servite backfield plenty, because senior Luke Gane and junior Charles Burks were doing work.

Houston, a defensive back, at first could only grin when asked about Burks.

“Charles Burks was magnificent tonight,” he said. “He was really good tonight. He’s a great player.”

These were the kind of performances that helped against Servite. And they’ll be the stuff that Edison will need in the future, starting tonight, when Chargers play a Mater Dei opponent that might be relatively down but definitely not worth overlooking.

Then there’s a bye next week before opening Sunset League play at Esperanza on Oct. 16. The next three league games? At Newport Harbor on Oct. 23, Los Alamitos on Oct. 30 and the Battle for the Bell against Fountain Valley on Nov. 6 at Orange Coast College.

This isn’t passing league anymore and it won’t be easy, not that it ever is in the Sunset League. Los Al (No. 6), Fountain Valley (No. 7) and Newport Harbor (No. 10) are all ranked in the Pac-5 Division. The teams’ combined record is 10-0.

But here’s another quote from Troy Thomas: “They ran it down our throat.”

If Edison can keep kicking butt and taking names, the Chargers should be in good shape.

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or at [email protected].