Edison’s football season ends in semifinals rematch at Palos Verdes
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PALOS VERDES ESTATES — Edison battled gamely, if not always efficiently, into the fourth quarter of its CIF Southern Section football semifinal at Palos Verdes. They trailed by 13 points, and looked helpless as the Sea Kings again marched into the red zone.
It was just like last time, a nonleague encounter, same field, back in September. Edison trailed by 13 in that one, too, headed to the fourth quarter backed against its goal line, then, miracle after miracle, pulled out a one-point triumph by blocking a sure-thing field-goal try at the finish.
The Chargers summoned the first miracle Friday night, but no more were coming, and their bid for successive Division 3 titles vanished in a convincing 23-10 defeat.
They struggled against a stout defense, surviving largely on quarterback Sam Thomson’s connections with Teo Hampton and Matthew Auau, but couldn’t slow Palos Verdes’ ball-control attack after halftime, and produced nothing tangible when its chance arrived.
“We just couldn’t seem to put anything together on offense, and you have to against a team like that,” Edison coach Jeff Grady said. “That was the key. They did a great job of running the clock and possessing the ball, and we didn’t do that enough on offense.
“We had our opportunities, and when you play a good team like that, you’ve got to capitalize and stay on the field and keep their quarterback off the field.”
Junior Ryan Rakowski, a third-year standout at quarterback, ran for one touchdown, threw for another, and totaled 185 yards to lead Palos Verdes (10-3) , last year’s Division 5 and CIF State Division 2-A champions, into Friday’s final, at home, against Oxnard Pacifica (13-0), a 42-24 winner over Chino Hills.
Thomson passed for 222 yards — a tad more than half of that in Edison’s lengthy last-ditch, end-in-red-zone drives — and favored Auau (eight catches for 86 yards) and Hampton (five catches for 90 yards) in lieu of an effective run game. Maddox Thomas’ first-quarter touchdown sprint covered 18 yards. The Chargers’ other 15 carries gained just 20 yards.
“It sucks,” said Thomson, a junior. “They’re a good team. There’s a reason that they’re reigning CIF champs, like us, and there’s a reason that they’re back this year. I just didn’t play well enough to get it done today. I’m proud of my guys and the way they fought, but it wasn’t enough today.”
Palos Verdes went ahead on its first drive, or, rather, its remnants: Rakowski scored on a short run three plays after Auau misplayed a punt into the red zone. Edison (7-6)responded immediately, using three plays to traverse 72 yards, a short-throw, 35-yard Hampton reception and personal-foul penalty setting up Thomas’ touchdown.
The Sea Kings took a 10-7 lead into the break after Niko Dragin’s 37-yard field goal, then marched 90 yards to start the second half, the last 6 yards on Dominik Hernando’s run up the middle, to extend its edge to 10 points.
Edison, which won last year’s State Division 1-A title, settled for a 36-yard Crue Bradshaw field goal on its first second-half possession. Rakowski hit Morley Boyd, who had slipped behind the Chargers’ secondary, with a 48-yard bomb five plays later to make it 23-10.
Palos Verdes drove inside the 10-yard line the next time it had the ball. Then a bit of déjà vu.
Defensive lineman Nathan Stevens stripped the ball from Sea Kings running back Christian Reis two steps from the end zone, and Edison had 8 minutes, 11 seconds to make up 13 points.
“We all were, ‘Right?’” said Guy Gardner, who has guided Palos Verdes to six Southern Section finals with three titles since 2012. “I mean, as coaches, we’re like, ‘Oh, so we’re going to do this again?’ I’m not going to say that [scoring there] doesn’t solidify the game or anything, but it sure makes some breathing room if we can finish that drive right there. But we don’t do that, again, and we’re thinking, ‘OK, here we go.’”
Grady “absolutely” was thinking the same thing. Thomson? “‘Let’s go make a play.’ That’s usually a situation I can convert in.”
The Chargers came close, using 21 plays and nearly six minutes to get from their 12-yard line to the Palos Verdes 14 as Thomson passed for 70 yards, spreading the ball among four receivers, and ran for another dozen.
An ineligible-receiver-downfield flag cost them a 34-yard gain, to the Sea Kings’ 18, on a double-reverse pass from Logan Hampton to Teo, his older brother. “An unfortunate break,” Thomson said, “but [a lineman] can’t be downfield.”
Three end-zone incompletions, two of them catchable, ended the threat, and there was only 1:44 to go when Edison got the ball back. That possession ended with 10 seconds left at the Palos Verdes 15.
“Not the best feeling, but I don’t think this game [speaks to] where we are as a team,” Auau said. “Everybody fought their butts off, just going all out for one another. I’m proud of everybody, and I just hope the younger guys next year finish the job.”
CIF Southern Section Division 3 semifinals
Palos Verdes 23, Edison 10
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Edison 7 - 0 - 3 - 0 — 10
Palos Verdes 7 - 3 - 13 - 0 — 23
FIRST QUARTER
PV — Rakowski 2 run (Dragin kick), 8:40.
E — Thomas 18 run (Bradshaw kick), 7:11.
SECOND QUARTER
PV — Dragin 37 FG, 7:56.
THIRD QUARTER
PV — Hernando 6 run (Dragin kick), 6:09.
E — Bradshaw 36 FG, 3:00.
PV — Boyd 48 pass from Rakowski (kick failed), 1:05.
FOURTH QUARTER
None.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
E — Thomas, 6-26, 1 TD; Thomson, 7-13; Godinez, 1-(-1).
PV — Hernando, 17-59, 1 TD; C. Reis, 5-49; Rakowski, 11-47, 1 TD; Habif, 2-1; DiMascio, 1-(-5).
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
E — Thomson, 21-35-0, 222.
PV — Rakowski, 11-14-0, 138, 1 TD.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
E — T. Hampton, 5-90; Auau, 8-86; Vares, 3-28; L. Hampton, 2-10; Thomas, 2-3; Lo, 1-5.
PV — Boyd, 4-82, 1 TD; A. Robles, 2-25; Flowers, 2-18; Hernando, 2-3; DeMoss, 1-10.
