Edison’s O’Connor honored as Sunset League football MVP again

Edison High senior quarterback Griffin O’Connor took home the Sunset League MVP award for the second time in as many football seasons.

O’Connor is one of seven local players who earned top honors in the Sunset League. Edison senior wide receiver David Atencio shared the Offensive Player of the Year award, while Edison seniors Mateo Gallego and Brandon Moradian shared the Defensive Back of the Year award.

Huntington Beach junior John Gosney and Edison junior Luke Hoggard split the Linebacker of the Year award, and Edison senior Jack Morrell was the Kicker of the Year for the second straight year.

Edison, which finished 8-4 overall, second in league at 4-1, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs, had 12 players on the first team. The others were senior offensive lineman Griffin Kosick, Hunter Griggs, a senior defensive end and running back, senior defensive end Parker Thomas, senior offensive lineman Ryan Osterkamp, junior linebacker Cameron Eden and junior cornerback Isaiah Palmer.

Making the first team for third-place Fountain Valley (7-5, 2-3 in league) were senior quarterback Nick Welch, senior running back Benn Vallier, junior receiver Kishaun Sykes, senior linebacker Billy Ngo and senior offensive lineman Nathaniel Wight. The quintet led the Barons to their first playoff win since 2003.

Fountain Valley reached the Division 6 quarterfinals, where it lost on the road to No. 2-seeded Santa Clarita Golden Valley 41-14.

Newport Harbor (2-8, 2-3) had senior receiver Jake Bashore, senior defensive lineman Spencer Blake, junior quarterback Sam Barela and sophomore linebacker Chad Koste earn first-team recognition.

For Huntington Beach (3-7, 2-3), Arick McLawyer, a versatile junior, Jeremiah Flanagan, a junior receiver and defensive back, Caleb Webb, a senior cornerback and running back, and senior defensive back Nick Napoli made the first team.

The Sailors and Oilers shared third in league with Fountain Valley, but Newport Harbor and Huntington Beach did not qualify for the postseason in their respective divisions.

Senior all-purpose player Ian Green and Seth Bontrager, a senior linebacker, defensive tackle and fullback, were on the first team for last-place Marina (3-7, 0-5).

O’Connor passed for 2,486 yards and 26 touchdowns. He completed 169 of 297 passes and threw 11 interceptions. O’Connor, bound for Yale, is Edison’s career passing leader for yards (7,205) and touchdowns (73). He had 67 carries for 198 yards and five touchdowns.

Atencio, a two-time first-team pick, finished with 58 receptions for 1,077 yards and 15 touchdowns. He and Los Alamitos senior quarterback Grant Caraway shared the Offensive Player of the Year award. For his career, Atencio totaled 135 catches for 2,317 yards and 24 touchdowns. The receptions rank No. 1 all-time at Edison and the receiving touchdowns are No. 2. Atencio played free safety in his senior year and made 33 tackles, intercepted five passes and recovered one fumble.

Gallego, a linebacker, totaled 55 tackles with one interception, eight passes defensed, one forced fumble and two blocked punts. As a receiver, Gallego had 39 catches for 518 yards and three touchdowns. Gallego, a repeat first-team pick, also completed eight of 12 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns in a start at quarterback, and he rushed for a touchdown.

Moradian, a strong safety, produced 54 tackles, three interceptions (returning one 33 yards for a touchdown), six passes defensed and one sack. Moradian caught 24 passes for 332 yards and three touchdowns as a receiver.

Hoggard and Gosney shared the Linebacker of the Year award with Los Alamitos senior Alex Miskela. Hoggard totaled an Edison-best 121 tackles to go with 1½ sacks, one interception and three passes defensed. He’s a two-time first-team selection.

Morrell made 12 of 14 field-goal attempts and 42 of 46 extra-point kicks.

Gosney led Huntington Beach with 100 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, eight sacks and 22 quarterback hurries. He recovered three fumbles, forced two fumbles and blocked a punt.

Kosick and Osterkamp paved the way for Edison to average 35.2 points per game.

Griggs finished with 62 tackles, eight sacks, five pass deflections and one forced fumble. On offense, Griggs had 33 carries for 207 yards and five touchdowns.

Thomas, a two-time first-team pick, recorded 53 tackles with five sacks, four fumble recoveries, four passes defensed, one forced fumble and one blocked field goal.

Eden amassed 100 tackles with two sacks, two interceptions, two passes defensed and one forced fumble.

Palmer had 31 tackles, three interceptions and nine passes defensed.

Welch passed for 2,370 yards and 19 touchdowns and rushed for 1,031 yards and 10 touchdowns. Welch was 150-for-279 passing with 10 interceptions. He averaged 8.1 yards on the ground.

Vallier rushed 131 times for 911 yards and 11 touchdowns. He caught 20 passes for 211 yards and one touchdown.

Sykes finished with 25 receptions for 585 yards and five touchdowns. He rushed 16 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns.

Ngo led the Barons with 10 sacks and he had 65 tackles.

Wight, a left tackle, never allowed a sack.

Bashore had 44 catches for 647 yards and five touchdowns.

Barela completed 132 of 281 passes for 1,515 yards and 14 touchdowns, with seven interceptions.

Koste totaled 91½ tackles with four tackles for loss.

McLawyer played quarterback, receiver and defensive back for Huntington Beach. McLawyer threw for 397 yards and eight touchdowns, rushed for 400 yards and six touchdowns, and caught 19 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns.

McLawyer finished with 50 tackles, two tackles for loss, two interceptions (returning one 50 yards for a touchdown), four passes defensed, two forced fumbles and a blocked field goal.

Flanagan had 27 receptions for 468 yards and six touchdowns. Flanagan intercepted three passes, returning one 54 yards for a touchdown and another 46 yards for a touchdown. He had 22 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks and four passes defensed.

Webb finished with 53 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, four interceptions, 12 passes defensed and one fumble recovery.

Napoli had 55 tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception and six passes deflected.

Green was a quarterback, wide receiver, defensive back, punter, punt returner and kick returner for Marina. Green completed 65 of 128 passes for 1,162 yards and 12 touchdowns. He threw seven interceptions. Green had 135 carries for 538 yards and five touchdowns. As a receiver, Green caught seven passes for 144 yards and one touchdown.

Defensively, Green finished with 32 tackles, four passes defensed and one forced fumble. On special teams, Green averaged 27.6 yards per punt. He averaged 15.7 yards per punt return and 15.4 yard per kickoff return.

Bontrager totaled 94 tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack.

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