Edison Pushes Capistrano Valley to the Brink Before Losing

Capistrano Valley High School survived everything that Edison could throw at it, and then some, Friday night in a 15-14 victory at Orange Coast College.

The Cougars, the No. 2-ranked team in Orange County, endured the passing of Josh Gingrich, the receiving of Mike Cunningham and even a 60-yard field-goal attempt on the game’s final play.

When Brent Hanson’s attempt fell 17 yards short, the Cougars yelled, danced and breathed a sigh of relief.

“It was a 60-yard attempt, so we weren’t too concerned,” Capistrano Valley Coach Eric Patton said. “We were more worried about a fake. But he does have a strong leg, so . . . “

By hanging on, Capistrano Valley proved that it is not a one-dimensional team.

The Cougars (2-0) had won their first two games on the strength of Tony Solliday’s arm. But Friday, it was the running game that rescued Capistrano Valley.

Solliday, who had thrown five touchdown passes through the first two games, was chased, harassed and generally punished by the Chargers (2-1). He completed 14 of 26 passes for 202 yards, but never really found his rhythm.

Edison sacked Solliday four times, twice by linebacker Tom Butcher.

With Solliday on the run, the Cougars turned to running backs Jeremy Brion and Allan Perlas. Brion, who had only 98 yards rushing coming into the game, gained 79 yards in 16 carries, including a five-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.

Brion then scored the two-point conversion, which gave the Cougars an 8-7 lead and was the difference at the end.

“They were really crashing in on Tony,” Patton said. “We had to do something to take the pressure off. This is the first time all season our running game has looked good. It showed up at a good time.”

Perlas and Brion were also the key figures in the Cougars’ other touchdown drive. Perlas, who finished with 61 yards rushing, gained 27 yards on the 80-yard drive and Brion gained 21.

Solliday ended the drive by scrambling 19 yards for the touchdown. Tomek Mikler’s conversion gave the Cougars a 15-14 lead late in the third quarter.

The Capistrano Valley defense managed to hold the lead, but barely.

Gingrich, a senior quarterback, completed 22 of 40 passes for 337 yards. He threw touchdown passes of 85 yards to Ryan Blachard and 11 yards to Mike Cunningham, who caught nine passes for 110 yards.

Gingrich, who had only 296 yards passing coming into the game, drove the Chargers into Capistrano Valley territory three times in the second half. However, each drive ended with a missed field goal by Hanson.