Edison football loses heartbreaker to Orange Lutheran in CIF playoff opener
The first time that Orange Lutheran High football played Edison this season, the Chargers used a huge fourth quarter to bury the Lancers.
Three straight touchdowns led to a misleading final score.
It also led Orange Lutheran to look forward to Friday night’s rematch in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs even more.
“It was personal for me, you know what I’m saying?” Orange Lutheran sophomore quarterback TJ Lateef said. “Going out there, I had the mindset that I need to beat this team.”
This time, Orange Lutheran didn’t wilt late at Cap Sheue Field.
The Lancers overcame a 10-point fourth quarter deficit and edged Edison 38-37, ending the Chargers’ season.
Edison (9-2) drove the length of the field in the final two minutes, pulling within a point on Parker Awad’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Tucker Tripp with six seconds left.
Coach Jeff Grady decided to try the two-point conversion for the win. Awad rolled right under pressure, and wasn’t quite able to connect with Tripp in the back corner of the end zone.
Orange Lutheran’s Gabe Morin recovered the ensuing onside kick. The Lancers (7-4), last year’s Division 2 champions, will play on the road against No. 2-seeded St. John Bosco in a Division 1 quarterfinal game next week.
“We had a shot to win it, it just didn’t go our way,” Grady said. “It wasn’t from a lack of effort, though. That’s just our team. That’s kind of who our team was from the beginning of the season to the end. We’ve just got a bunch of tough young men that fight. It’s a great group of guys. It’s just such a rad group. I’m going to miss the heck out of them.”
Awad had a standout game, completing 31 of 46 passes for 431 yards and five touchdowns. The five touchdown passes went to five different receivers — Carter Hogue, Dom Lopez, Mason York, Ashton Hurley and finally Tripp.
Hurley finished with 10 catches for 230 yards.
“That’s just the way we are,” Awad said of spreading the ball around. “We’re so receiver heavy, so much depth. They all are not selfish and just love sharing the ball around. Great receivers make it easy for me. We all push each other, we all love each other. It’s a brotherhood. I’ll never forget these guys.”
Lateef also stood out, accounting for three passing touchdowns and two rushing scores. He rallied the Lancers from a 24-14 deficit entering the fourth quarter.
Edison’s defense forced a turnover on downs early in the quarter, with good coverage from Jared Schnoor causing an incompletion on fourth-and-goal from the Edison 2-yard line. But the momentum quickly flipped.
Orange Lutheran got a safety when Edison was called for intentional grounding in the end zone, then quickly took advantage of the short field that followed. Lateef scored on a one-yard keeper and then made the conversion pass to Garrett Schnabel to tie the score at 24-24 with 8:17 left.
The teams traded haymakers. Hurley made a catch in traffic near midfield and took off for a 64-yard touchdown, giving the Chargers back the lead. But Orange Lutheran immediately responded when Lateef found Jackson Weng over the middle for a 43-yard score.
Weng had six catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns.
“That’s my senior receiver,” Lateef said. “We were a little hurt on the offensive side, so we just had to go with what we had. People stepped up, and that’s all we needed.”
After Edison punted, Orange Lutheran scored again, with Lafeef finding Tyler Hennessy on a two-yard touchdown pass with 1:31 remaining.
But the Chargers didn’t quit. Awad completed five straight passes, including a 40-yarder to Hurley, to bring Edison to the Orange Lutheran 13-yard line. Three plays later, he connected with Tripp for the score.
“These kids are my brothers. I’d play with them against anyone,” said Lopez, a linebacker who flew around the field for numerous tackles Friday night. “It was the best week of practice we’ve ever had, it just didn’t go our way. But we fought until the end, and that’s all I could ask for. I’m proud of my boys.”
Jake Giles and Jackson Irwin both had first-half strip sacks to aid the Edison defense. On the latter play, Hunter Venham recovered the fumble on the last play of the first quarter.
The Chargers stayed on the field for a while after the loss, consoling each other but also congratulating teammates on a great season. Lopez alluded to the offseason featuring tragedy; teammates Josh and Jeremy Page were killed in a car accident last March.
“Since last year, we’ve been through a lot,” he said. “This is a real team. We’re a family. A lot of coaches say that, but we’ve been through some real tough stuff together. These are all my brothers.”
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CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs
First round
Orange Lutheran 38, Edison 37
O. Lutheran 14 – 0 – 0 – 24 — 38
Edison 7 – 10 – 7 – 13 — 37
FIRST QUARTER
E — Hogue 17 pass from Awad (Preston kick), 9:42.
OL — Lateef 5 run (Kelly kick), 5:23.
OL — Weng 61 pass from Lateef (Kelly kick), 3:10.
SECOND QUARTER
E — Preston 37 FG, 11:27.
E — Lopez 1 pass from Awad (Preston kick), 6:59.
THIRD QUARTER
E — York 27 pass from Awad (Preston kick), 7:27.
FOURTH QUARTER
OL — Safety (Edison intentional grounding in end zone), 9:47.
OL — Lateef 1 run (Schabel pass from Lateef), 8:17.
E — Hurley 64 pass from Awad (Preston kick), 7:01.
OL — Weng 43 pass from Lateef (Kelly kick), 5:37.
OL — Hennessy 2 pass from Lateef (Kelly kick), 1:31.
E — Tripp 13 pass from Awad (pass failed), 0:06.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
OL — Lateef, 7-61, 2 TDs.
E — Hogue, 13-41.
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
OL — Lateef, 21-31-0, 367, 3 TDs.
E — Awad, 31-46-0, 431, 5 TDs.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
OL — Weng, 6-153, 2 TDs.
E — Hurley, 10-230, 1 TD.
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