ORANGE COUNTY PREP FOOTBALL : El Modena Beats Edison Because Game’s on the Line

OK, the busted punt play that turned into a first down was pretty weird. And what looked like a breakaway, sure-thing Edison High School touchdown but somehow ended up giving El Modena first and 10 at the 20-yard line--well, you don’t see that every day.

But in the end, El Modena’s 21-10 victory over Edison Thursday in front of 3,500 at LeBard Stadium came down to simple things like blocking and tackling and the fact that El Modena did a great bit of each and Edison didn’t.

It was all pretty well summed up in El Modena’s first touchdown:

A few minutes into the game, El Modena running back Steve McClaskey took a handoff from quarterback Trey Frank at the El Modena 22. McClaskey, whose name is safe from ever getting mixed up with the word graceful, ran dead center into the Edison line and hesitated, almost stunned, because he hadn’t been hit. He then took off to his left, running 68 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead for El Modena.

It continued like that all night. El Modena linemen simply blowing Edison linemen off the line of scrimmage. McClaskey had another long run of 33 yards and ended the night with 123 yards on just six carries.

Pat LeBorio, another El Modena runner, had 12 carries, 5 of which went for 9 yards or more. He finished 79 yards.

“Our line has really come along,” said Bill Backstrom, El Modena coach. “They know what contact is about.”

And they seemed to be giving Edison a lesson in the finer points all night. On defense, El Modena sacked Edison quarterback Greg Angelovic five times. Edison’s highly touted rushing game, gained a total of 62 yards.

Granted, the biggest part of that rushing game, Kaleaph Carter, rushed only four times for 13 yards because of a pinched nerve in his neck and back spasms, but with the kind of penetration El Modena linemen were getting on the line of scrimmage, it’s hard to imagine even a healthy Carter doing much.

After McClaskey’s scoring run, Edison came back with 10 points in the first quarter. Wayne DuPlantis kicked a 28-yard field goal after an eight-play Edison drive stalled on the El Modena 11.

Four plays later, Edison got the ball on the El Modena 16 when Vanguard punter Marcus Esposito touched his knee to the ground as he handled a low snap from center. Five plays later, tailback Gus Miranda ran four yards for a touchdown.

Miranda, trying to pick up the slack for the injured Carter, rushed 9 times for 53 yards.

On El Modena’s next possession Esposito, the punter, helped make up for his earlier mistake by taking another low snap from center and running 16 yards for a first down. A late hit was called against Edison, and the Vanguards had the ball on the Edison 19. Two plays later, LeBorio ran 18 yards for a touchdown.

Edison’s last gasp came on its next possession when Angelovic scrambled, then completed a pass to Chip Hanlon who ran 75 yards and appeared to be about to score when El Modena safety Nate Bogan caught him from behind, causing Hanlon to fumble into the end zone. Cornerback John Sharpe recovered, and El Modena had the ball on the 20 on the touchback.