Prep Football : Edison’s Diversified Attack Too Much for Mater Dei

When we left Mater Dei High School’s football team last Friday night, the Monarchs had just upset Santa Ana, primarily because they had stopped the Saints’ powerful, but one-dimensional, running game.

What do you know? Edison Coach Dave White heard about that game.

“We knew we couldn’t just try to run straight at them or just pass on them,” White said. “We knew we had to mix it up.”

Smart plan. Quarterback Greg Angelovic completed 10 of 18 passes for 119 yards and running back Gus Miranda rushed 21 times for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead Orange County’s third-ranked Edison past Mater Dei, 21-9, in front of 4,500 at Santa Ana Stadium Friday night.

“Our kids executed really well,” White said. “We had a couple of long, sustained drives, and that’s what you like to see from an offense.”

Entering the game, Mater Dei’s run defense was considered one of the county’s best. But the Edison offensive line took control of the game early, opening up often gaping holes for Miranda and Angelovic, who frequently called his own number on counters and bootlegs.

“They whipped our butts,” Mater Dei coach Chuck Gallo said. “They shut us down, and our defense did not play all that well. They are a good football team, and they showed it.”

But the Chargers weren’t as dominating as the statistics might sound, just efficient.

How else could you explain the kind of night had by Mater Dei quarterback Danny O’Neil, who completed 18 of 31 passes for 236 yards and 1 touchdown, but looked even better. Especially in the first half, he was getting the kind of zip on the ball that make many feel he’s destined to be one of the county’s best. But many balls were dropped, and it seemed once the Monarchs got inside the Chargers’ 20, all the air went out of the offense.

The real star of the night for Mater Dei was wide receiver Tony Pena, who caught 12 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown. But most of his yardage went for nothing.

Mater Dei’s first possession of the game summed up the rest. In a drive that began at their 22, the Monarchs drove 74 yards in 11 plays and ate up more than 6 minutes, but had to settle for Mike Ammann’s 21-yard field goal.

In the first half, Miranda scored on runs of 2 and 3 yards to cap Edison drives of 83 and 72 yards as the Chargers took a 14-3 lead.

“We were backed up to our goal line the whole night, and so were they,” Gallo said. “The difference is that (Edison) drove themselves out of that field position.”

Edison pushed its margin to 21-3 with 5:27 left in the third quarter when Angelovic scored on a 14-yard bootleg. But Mater Dei rallied in the fourth quarter, as O’Neil led the Monarchs on a 67-yard march culminated by a 24-yard scoring pass to Pena. Mater Dei recovered an onsides kick with less than 5 minutes remaining, but couldn’t convert.