Edison defeats Lakewood, 37-29
There’s a reason linebacker Jordan Zumwalt of Huntington Beach Edison has picked up scholarship offers from USC and UCLA in the last month. His reputation as a crushing tackler has become well known.
It was a Zumwalt hit with 6:47 left Saturday night that knocked the ball loose from Lakewood’s Terrance Woods, resulting in a fumble recovery and a turning point in the Chargers’ 37-29 victory in a Pac-5 Division semifinal game at Orange Coast College.
Lakewood had rallied from a 23-7 third-quarter deficit with touchdowns on an 80-yard kickoff return by Woods and an 18-yard touchdown reception by Justin Utupo, plus two two-point conversions.
Edison (13-0) responded with a 60-yard, eight-play drive, with Dylan Leener catching a nine-yard touchdown pass from Matt Viles for a 30-23 lead in the fourth quarter.
That’s when Zumwalt asserted himself, jarring the ball loose from Woods on the Lakewood 39. It set up a Wade Houston six-run touchdown run with 4:23 left, and the Lancers never recovered despite a valiant effort by USC-bound quarterback Jesse Scroggins.
After passing for only 47 yards in the first half when Lakewood trailed, 14-7, Scroggins completed 11 of 17 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns in the second half.
Edison received a big game from Viles, who survived an intense pass rush from Lakewood (11-2) to complete 22 of 34 passes for 282 yards and three touchdowns. He was sacked four times. Jeff Trojan caught seven passes for 101 yards and one touchdown and Leener caught seven passes for 97 yards.
It’s the third time this decade that Edison has earned a spot in the top division championship game. The Chargers will face an Anaheim Servite team that they beat, 23-9, on Sept. 25 in next Saturday’s final at Angel Stadium.
Even more impressive is that Edison has pulled off this unbeaten season after failing to make the playoffs a year ago. That disappointment has fueled the senior-dominated and No. 1-seeded Chargers.
And no individual player has performed better than Zumwalt, who also caught a five-yard touchdown pass Saturday.
-- Eric Sondheimer Moorpark beats Valencia to advance
There were plenty of reasons why Moorpark prevailed with a 40-14 victory Saturday over Valencia in the CIF Southern Section Northern Division semifinals.
Musketeers senior tailback Austin Edmonson had 22 carries for 200 yards and three touchdowns. Moorpark pressured Valencia senior quarterback Alex Bishop, who went 17 of 31 for 194 yards with four interceptions and no touchdowns. Vikings junior tailback Steven Manfro ran for at least 100 yards in nine games this season, but the Musketeers defense limited him to 14 carries for 65 yards and one touchdown.
Moorpark advances to the schools’ fifth Northern Division championship game next Friday where it will face Westlake, which gave the Musketeers (12-1) their lone loss in the regular season.
Musketeers Coach Tim Lins, who hasn’t won a Northern Division championship in three appearances, says a regular-season schedule that included Eastlake, Notre Dame and Westlake ultimately prepared his team for the playoffs.
“I don’t know that they’ve seen teams like us on a weekly basis,” Lins said of Valencia. “Our guys were on tonight.”
-- Mark Medina