Edison Has No Trouble Defeating Westminster
Thursday’s nonleague game between Westminster and Edison did little to foster the local pipe dream of someday getting a reunited Huntington Union High School District league.
Eight-ranked Edison dominated its unheralded, former Sunset League opponent on both sides of the ball, barely broke a sweat and took a 38-6 victory at Huntington Beach.
Charger tailback Darin Pope rushed for 149 yards and four touchdowns. His 90-yard kickoff return for an apparent score was called back on a clipping penalty.
Quarterback Jason Kripavicius had half a dozen of his passes dropped and still managed 180 yards before being lifted in the third quarter.
Wide receiver Jeff Kadau had nine receptions for 156 yards. Defensive back Mike Bridges returned an interception 50 yards for a score and defensive back Brendon Cornell picked off one pass and knocked away another in the end zone as the game wore down, denying the Lions one of their few scoring opportunities.
The Chargers (3-0) gained 485 yards in total offense.
Westminster (2-1), which moved to the Golden West League five years ago, just couldn’t figure out much about Edison. The Lions lost their top running back, Mike Cope, with a twisted right ankle early in the first quarter after a four-yard run.
Westminster quarterback Kelly Coburn, under heavy pressure, completed 10 of 25 passes for 111 yards. He was sacked four times and was intercepted once.
The Lions’ lone score came on a 69-yard scoring run by Maurice Cureton late in the fourth quarter against Edison’s reserves.
Edison Coach Dave White kidded after the game that he wouldn’t mind returning to an all-district league, what with Orange County principals a year behind in formalizing realignment proposals. But he admitted it would be tough to argue for one based on Thursday’s result. Westminster suited up just 33 players, less than half that in uniform for Edison.
White was, however, critical of the Chargers in several areas.
“We dropped some passes. We never got in rhythm. We came off a big win against Capistrano Valley last week [42-27] and, I don’t know, we didn’t seem sharp tonight.”
They didn’t have to be.
Pope said he is pleased with the way the team is coming together. After all, he pointed out, this was supposed to be a rebuilding year because the Chargers returned only four proven starters.
“Everyone knows that we weren’t supposed to be that great, but we told ourselves that we all had to come out this season and step it up,” he said.