Fontana Wins Bragging Rights and Game, 28-26

After the big plays and all the brash talk, all the heart-stopping moments and all the finger pointing, all Fontana Coach Dick Bruich could do was sigh over his team’s 28-26 victory over Edison.

“This was just what I expected,” Bruich said.

For 48 minutes, the Steelers strutted up and down the field at Orange Coast College, proving that speed does indeed kill in football. And, for 48 minutes, Edison answered with its grind-it-out-until-they-drop philosophy.

The Chargers had a chance to tie the score with 3 minutes 3 seconds left. A 64-yard, 18-play, 8-minute drive ended in a one-yard touchdown run by Travis Balding that trimmed the Fontana lead to 28-26.

On the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, quarterback John Khamis was sacked by Richard Stephens.

In the end, time ran out and Fontana had the ball. Time to talk trash.

“There’s this talk about how Orange County is so superior,” quarterback Gary Tessitore said. “They’re just a bunch of rich kids. When it comes down to doing real work, Fontana did it.”

This was the tone of the game from the start. Fontana (4-0), the No. 2-ranked team in Division I, played with the swagger worthy of its reputation.

The Steelers are known almost as much for their cockiness as their talent. Both made an impact.

“If that’s the way they play, that’s fine,” Edison Coach Dave White said. “It’s just not our style.”

No, the Chargers (2-2) were content to control the football, keeping their defense and, more importantly, the Steelers’ offense off the field.

It worked, for the most part. Balding slammed into the Fontana line 27 times, gaining 116 yards.

In the first half, Edison ran 40 plays to Fontana’s 14. The Steelers, however, don’t need many plays to score.

Stephens, who had 136 yards rushing, scored on an 83-yard run in the first quarter and Stevie Woods returned a kickoff 99 yards in the second quarter. Woods also caught a 38-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.

“We just don’t have any speed,” White said. “They are not the first team to do that to us.”

Still, the Chargers led, 20-14, at halftime on the strength of Khamis’ arm. He threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Mike Eidam and a 12-yard touchdown pass to Geoff Bell. Khamis finished 14 of 21 for 217 yards.

Fontana took the lead in the third quarter. A 46-yard run by Mike May set up a 19-yard touchdown pass from Chad Reed to Stephens.

Then, on fourth and eight at the Edison 38, Tessitore hit Woods, who had streaked past Eidam.