High School Football: Edison erupts for win

ORANGE — The change at quarterback certainly didn’t seem to hurt. It also didn’t seem to matter. In the end, the overall explosiveness of the Edison High football team appears to be bigger than any one position.

The Chargers displayed their catalytic capabilities on three straight second-quarter possessions to turn things around on their way to a 38-19 nonleague victory over Canyon on Friday at El Modena High.

After the host Comanches built two early leads, the Chargers (3-0), ranked No. 1 in CIF Southern Section Division 3, erased a 12-7 deficit when senior EJ Ginnis returned a punt 54 yards for a touchdown midway through the second quarter.

Edison drove 67 yards on five plays with its ensuing possession, then, with judicious use of its final two timeouts, took over at the Canyon 27-yard line following a short punt with nine seconds left before halftime.

Senior Bowen Blake threw to senior Shaun Colamonico on a bubble screen and Colamonico rolled to the five-yard line, before he was hit and the ball popped loose.

But senior right tackle Josh Hadlock caught the fumble in the air and covered the final five yards for the touchdown with no time on the clock.

Junior Jack Morrell added the PAT and Edison had a 28-12 halftime cushion that proved to be all it would need.

Canyon, which won the CIF Southern Section Southern Division crown in 2015, fell to 0-3.

Blake came in for starting quarterback Griffin O’Connor early in the second quarter and was at the controls as the Chargers assumed command.

But O’Connor, a junior, started the second half and finished with 190 yards and two touchdowns passing. He completed eight of 12.

Blake completed seven of 14 for 108 yards.

Edison Coach Dave White said the two have been alternating thus far, and that may continue, at least for a while.

“I need to pick one pretty soon, but they both deserve to play right now,” White said.

O’Connor hit Colamonico with touchdown tosses of 60 and 54 yards to help the wideout finish with 148 receiving yards on four catches.

Junior running back Jack Carmichael had 88 yards on 16 rushing attempts for the Chargers, who committed 10 penalties for 120 yards and had the game’s only turnover.

“That was really bad, but we won,” White said. “We were very undisciplined tonight in everything we did, and that’s disappointing. We took a step backward tonight.”

Edison’s defense was gashed early by the Canyon running game, wound up stuffing 11 plays at or behind the line of scrimmage, including three sacks.

A late Canyon touchdown pass halted a run of 31 straight Edison points that included 10 in the third quarter.

Nonleague

Edison 38, Canyon 19

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Edison 7 – 21 – 10 – 0 – 38

Canyon 6 – 6 – 0 – 7 – 19

FIRST QUARTER

Can – Tarango 8 run (kick blocked), 6:01.

Edi – Colamonico 60 pass from O’Connor (Morrell kick), 4:20.

SECOND QUARTER

Can – Tarango 8 pass from Marquez (kick failed), 9:50.

Edi – Ginnis 54 punt return (Morrell kick), 7:17.

Edi – Blake 13 run (Morrell kick), 4:51.

Edi – Hadlock 5 run with fumble (Morrell kick), 0:00.

THIRD QUARTER

Edi – Colamonico 54 pass from O’Connor (Morrell kick), 4:14.

Edi – Morrell 27 FG, 0:15.

FOURTH QUARTER

Can – Downey 36 pass from Marquez (Meyers kick), 3:27.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

Edi – Carmichael, 16-88.

Can – Nequette, 20-60.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

Edi – O’Connor, 8-12-1, 190, 2 TDs; Blake, 7-14-0, 108.

Can – Marquez, 10-17-0, 100, 2 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

Edi – Colamonico, 4-148, 2 TDs.

Can – Downey, 3-52, 1 TD.