Edison Goes for Two and Falls One Short, 14-13

This is one season in which Edison High School might have been pleased to have a chance to tie Fountain Valley, but when the opportunity came, there was nothing doing.

Edison, for a change the underdog in this longstanding football rivalry, drove for a touchdown in the final minutes, scoring with no time remaining on Greg Angelovic’s 10-yard pass to Chip Hanlon just inside the end zone. That touchdown, scored on a play that began with five seconds remaining, cut the Baron lead to 14-13.

But the Chargers shunned the tie and went for the victory, losing when Fountain Valley’s Eric Sassenberg tackled Angelovic in the backfield, ending the two-point conversion attempt and the game, which was played in front of 7,000 at Orange Coast College.

The Chargers had the option, of course, of kicking the extra point for a tie.

“No way,” said Dave White, Edison coach. “No way. We wanted a win.”

It was a victory that clinched at least a tie for the Sunset League title for Fountain Valley (5-4, 4-0).

That final play was designed primarily for Hanlon, who had only one reception in the game.

“We didn’t quite get it off,” White said. “We didn’t quite get the protection.”

Edison (1-8, 1-3), is a traditional football power enduring the worst season in the school’s 18-year football history. But Friday, on a night when boosters sold Edison T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “The Winning Tradition” and with a history of the many Charger wins in the Fountain Valley rivalry, things seemed different.

Edison, which was led by Kaleaph Carter’s 61 yards rushing and 70 yards receiving, took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when Gus Miranda scored on a three-yard run. The play was set up two plays earlier when the Chargers recovered the ball at the Baron three-yard line after Fountain Valley partially blocked a long Edison field-goal attempt. That lead held until late in the third quarter, as Edison held Fountain Valley to just three first downs in the first half.

But the Barons, who were led by Courtney Dubar’s 85 yards in 19 carries, tied the score when quarterback David Henigan scored on a sneak from a yard out with three minutes to play in the third quarter.

Fountain Valley’s next scoring drive nearly stalled when a Henigan pass fell incomplete in the end zone on third down and five, but a pass interference call gave the Barons a first-and-goal at the five and Dubar scored on a run on the next play, taking a 14-7 lead with 8:46 remaining.

After exchanging possessions, Angelovic directed the drive that would end in the touchdown with no time remaining. Angelovic’s own scrambling runs--he rushed for 83 yards in 9 carries--and his two completions to Brian Ryder set up the touchdown.