Edison football owns fourth quarter in big win over Orange Lutheran
Edison High football coach Jeff Grady said there wasn’t much talk about last year’s narrow loss to Orange Lutheran leading into this year’s contest.
The Chargers came up just short then, after the Lancers hit a go-ahead field goal in the final minute.
“Obviously you watch the game and you see what happens,” he said. “The kids all know what happened, but we can’t do anything about last year.”
This year’s matchup came into the fourth quarter tied, and again seemed to be headed down to the wire.
But Edison flipped the script.
Two fourth-quarter interceptions on defense, by Carter Hogue and Dylan Walters, led to touchdowns on offense. The hosts rolled late for an impressive victory.
Edison beat Orange Lutheran 34-13 on Friday at Cap Sheue Field, improving to 3-0 this season.
“Our guys stepped up and really put pressure on their quarterback all night,” Grady said. “We got a lot of pressure with our front four, and obviously some key turnovers. … Of course I’m happy we’re winning, but what’s more important is how we’re playing, the spirit we’re playing with, the energy. You just try to grow a little bit more, week in and week out.”
Edison has its first 3-0 start since the 2016 season after beating last year’s CIF Southern Section Division 2 champion Orange Lutheran (2-1).
Senior quarterback Parker Awad finished 17 of 25 for 203 yards. He had a pair of long touchdown passes to Ashton Hurley and Mason York, respectively.
Meanwhile, Hogue had career-best numbers at running back, with 16 carries for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
Nicholas Preston added a pair of field goals for the Chargers, helping them forge a 6-6 tie at halftime. Orange Lutheran’s Noah Rodriguez had scored a short rushing touchdown in the second quarter, but Edison’s Jackson Irwin blocked the extra point.
Irwin had two quarterback sacks, putting an exclamation point on the win by recording one on the game’s final play.
“That was definitely the biggest relief, for sure,” said Irwin, who also forced a fumble. “It’s the best feeling ever beating a Trinity League school. We really just stepped up today. I didn’t want to lose to them two years in a row.”
Dom Lopez added an interception for Edison, which was tied 13-13 going into the fourth quarter.
That was when things started to shift in the Chargers’ favor. First, Awad hit York on a 58-yard bomb that allowed Edison to retake the lead with 7:19 remaining. On the ensuing Orange Lutheran possession, Hogue made a diving interception over the middle, giving Edison possession at the Lancers 38-yard line.
He said Edison running backs coach and defensive coordinator Mike Walters, who sees Hogue on both sides of the ball, asked him if he wanted a breather.
“I was like, ‘No, coach, not right now. I’m fired up,’” Hogue said with a smile after the game. “You’ve got to try to stay on the field as much as you can.”
Hogue then finished off a short, four-play drive with a two-yard touchdown run, giving Edison a 27-13 lead.
Orange Lutheran drove into the Edison red zone, but Dylan Walters jumped a route to the right. He returned it 60 yards all the way to the Lancers 25-yard line.
Five plays later, Hogue scored on a seven-yard touchdown run.
“He’s doing a great job, and he’s playing almost every snap, both sides of the football,” Grady said. “Troy [Fletcher] did the same thing last year.”
Logan Gregory, Noah Thompson and Jake Giles added quarterback sacks for Edison.
The Chargers will try to keep their momentum going next week, when they host Palos Verdes (1-2) on Thursday night.
“The way we played today, it showed a lot,” Hogue said. “O-Lu is no joke. They’re a Trinity League team and they play against Mater Dei, JSerra, [St. John] Bosco, Servite. They’re legit, so this team, I feel really confident that we’ll go very deep into the playoffs and have a chance of winning CIF.”
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Nonleague
Edison 34, Orange Lutheran 13
SCORE BY QUARTERS
O. Lutheran 0 – 6 – 7 – 0 – 13
Edison 0 – 6 – 7 – 21 – 34
SECOND QUARTER
OL – Rodriguez 3 run (kick blocked), 11:52.
E – Preston 31 FG, 6:33.
E – Preston 27 FG, 1:02.
THIRD QUARTER
E – Hurley 33 pass from Awad (Preston kick), 8:16.
OL – Khanrad 16 pass from Lateef (Kelly kick), 3:06.
FOURTH QUARTER
E – York 58 pass from Awad (Preston kick), 7:19.
E – Hogue 2 run (Preston kick), 5:07.
E – Hogue 7 run (Preston kick), 1:31.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
OL – Lateef, 11-30.
E – Hogue, 16-138, 2 TDs.
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
OL – Lateef, 18-31-3, 244, 1 TD.
E – Awad, 17-25-0, 203, 2 TDs.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
OL – Ia, 2-76.
E – York, 4-85, 1 TD.
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