Edison’s Quarterback Waits a Year to Even Score With Fountain Valley
Edison High School quarterback Donnie Smith has been waiting a year for another shot at Fountain Valley. At times, it seemed even longer.
Last season, Smith was stopped one-yard short of a tying touchdown by the Barons. Coming that close against your biggest rival is not easily forgotten.
Friday night was pay-back time for Smith, who engineered a 58-yard drive in the final four minutes to give the Chargers a 28-25 Sunset League victory in front of 7,500 at Orange Coast College.
Smith finished the Barons off and erased a bad memory with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Mike Cunningham, who made a diving catch. It gave the Chargers (4-3 overall, 1-1 in league play) their first victory over the Barons since 1985.
“We got so close last year and couldn’t punch it in,” Smith said. “That’s been with me for a year. Tonight, we punched it in.”
Smith had practiced little all week because of bone chips in his right elbow, but he showed little sign of rust as he completed 11 of 19 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
The Chargers dominated most of the game but watched as Fountain Valley scored 15 fourth-quarter points to take a 25-21 lead. But in this I-want-it-you-take-it-let-me-have-it game, it was Edison that capitalized on defensive letdowns.
After Brian Williams scored on a two-yard run to give the Barons a 25-21 lead, Cunningham returned the kickoff 33 yards to give Edison the ball on its own 42.
Shane Sherman, who had 159 yards rushing, gained 23 yards on the ensuing drive, including a five-yard run on a fourth-and-one play.
That set up Smith, who on the next play lofted a pass to the left side of the end zone. Cunningham reached over defensive back Rob Fisher and made the catch while falling backwards.
“I didn’t think he had a chance at it until the last moment,” Smith said. “The ball was too high and the defender had good position. But Mike made a great play.”
The Chargers had taken a 21-10 halftime lead on the running of Sherman, who had touchdown runs of seven and 12 yards. However, the Chargers’ defense fell apart in the fourth quarter as quarterback Willy Puga drove the Barons to two touchdowns.
Puga was 14 of 24 for 189 yards, but could not pull the game out in the final 47 seconds. He drove the Barons to the Edison 40, but Edison’s Chad Ponegalek made an interception at the three as time ran out.
The loss puts Fountain Valley (2-5, 0-2) in a desperate situation. The Barons, the defending Southern Section Division I champions, will likely have to win the remainder of their games to have a chance at making the playoffs.
