Edison upset in first round

COSTA MESA — Having somehow survived a rash of injuries to go undefeated and win the Sunset League championship, Edison hobbled its way into the CIF Southern Section West Valley Division football playoffs Friday.

The Chargers also hobbled out of postseason play.

Edison scored 17 unanswered points to wipe out a 10-point deficit only to see Rancho Cucamonga answer with the final 20 points of the game, and the visiting Cougars went on to a 30-17 upset victory at Orange Coast College’s LeBard Stadium.

Edison was down nine senior starters and four team captains entering its first-round matchup against the third-place team from the Baseline League, and lost a few more starters to injury during the game including key defender Gaspar Atencio who exited early in the first half after taking a big hit.

“It caught up with us a bit,” Edison Coach Dave White said of his injury-riddled team that had already lost its starting quarterback, top running back and two top receivers. “But I’m proud of the kids and the way they kept fighting through it all. It’s a tough way to end the season but we lost to a good team. They have a lot of speed and we had to play a real clean game to win it, but we didn’t do that.”

Rancho Cucamonga not only scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to pull away from a 17-17 tie, but the Cougars defense also came up with three interceptions in the final 12 minutes – and four in the game, overall, to stymie the Edison offense.

The victory sends Rancho Cucamonga (8-3) into a second-round home game with Tesoro which routed Great Oak 49-3 Friday.

Edison’s season ends at 7-4. Friday’s loss ended the Chargers’ winning streak at five games.

Edison trailed, 10-7 at the half but rallied in the third quarter. The Chargers pulled into a 10-10 tie with 5:25 left in the third quarter on Bobby Jinkins’ 21-yard field goal. Two plays later, they had their first lead when Bowen Blake scooped up a fumble by Rancho Cucamonga running back Aaron Manning at the Cougars’ 28-yard line and returned it for a touchdown. Jinkins’ conversion gave the Chargers a 17-10 lead.

It was brief.

Rancho Cucamonga regrouped and went 70 yards in just four plays to pull into a tie. Manning, who had three touchdowns on the night, ripped off a 41-yard gain on first-down to take the ball out to the Edison 29. Three plays later, quarterback Angel Matute hit Tyree Baker inside the five and he went into the end zone on a 13-yard pass play with 3:28 to go in the quarter.

The Cougars got the ball back with under a minute left in the quarter. Starting at their own 25, they got to their 40 when the QB dumped a short screen pass to Jaylon Redd who turned the play into an 18-yard gain to the Edison 42. Facing a fourth-and-four later in the drive, Matute hit Thomas Graham with an inside screen for an 11-yard gain to the 29. On the next play, Manning scored on a tackle-breaking run to put the Cougars on top for good, 24-17, with 9:34 remaining.

Redd stepped in front of a Griffin O’Connor pass intended for David Atencio on Edison’s next possession and came up with an interception at the Rancho Cucamonga 42. The Cougars marched downfield in six plays, the drive aided by a personal foul penalty against Edison, with the final play being the big blow with Matute finding Manning in the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-three.

Rancho Cucamonga had a 30-17 lead with 5:17 to go, then got the ball back with 4:28 on the clock on an interception by Darren Hall whose 15-yard return set up the Cougars at the Edison 44.

The Chargers got the ball back with 2:10 left, but the Cougars got their third interception of the quarter with 1:40 to play, and then ran out the clock.

“I thought we weren’t perfect tonight but we made the plays when we needed to,” Rancho Cucamonga Coach Nick Baiz said. “Those four interceptions definitely were big plays for us.

“That’s a very good team we beat. They are well-coached and I have a lot of respect for them. I thought it was big, too, to get the lead early.”

Edison was sluggish from the get-go. The Chargers alternated Blake and O’Connor at quarterback, with Blake starting the game.

“We wanted to mix things up a bit,” White said. “Blake is more of a running quarterback and Griffin can throw the ball. We got behind, but we scored 17 straight, but [Rancho Cucamonga] got hot again.”

Edison had three first-quarter possessions, and managed only 33 total yards. Rancho Cucamonga scored on its second possession, getting a 22-yard field goal from Dylan Correa with 2:30 remaining in the opening quarter. The Cougars extended their lead to 10-0 less than two minutes into the second quarter on a 29-yard touchdown run by Manning. The scoring drive was set up by an interception by the Cougars’ Cameron Smith near midfield.

The Chargers mounted their only serious drive of the first half following Manning’s score. They used 11 plays to reach the end zone, and when receiver E.J. Ginnis turned a short O’Connor pass into an 18-yard gain to the 44, it put the Chargers inside Rancho Cucamonga territory for the first time. It was the first of three third-down conversions for the Chargers, who also converted a fourth-down play, in the drive which culminated in a one-yard scoring run by running back Turner Maza. Jinkins’ kick made it 10-7 with 6:25 to go until halftime.

“We fought back but just couldn’t finish,” White said. “[Rancho Cucamonga] came right back at us after we took the lead, and they were able to take control.

“It’s tough to end the season this way but again, I’m real proud of our guys. They won the Sunset League, and were very resilient through all our injuries this year.”

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Friday CIF Scoreboard

West Valley Division

Rancho Cucamonga 30, Edison 17

Murrieta Valley 48, Fountain Valley 7

East Valley Division

Brethren Christian 51, Sherman Indian 0

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Prep Football Logs

Edison (7-4)

16...Tesoro...35

38...Buena Park...0

35...Canyon/Anaheim...0

14...Servite...21

26...Mater Dei...42

17...Los Alamitos...14

70...Marina...3

28...Huntington Beach...13

33...Fountain Valley...7

27...Newport Harbor...17

17...Rancho Cucamonga...30

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Fountain Valley (7-4)

7...Servite...45

11..Long Beach Wilson...26

31...Trabuco Hills...24

55...West Adams Prep...12

38...Mira Mesa...18

51...Newport Harbor...20

20...Los Alamitos...7

49...Marina...7

7...Edison...33

37...Huntington Beach...22

7...Murrieta Valley...48

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Brethren Christian (10-1)

62...Riverside Prep...0

56...Boron...19

49...Workman...7

42...Capo Valley Christian...33

52...Heritage Christian...32

45...Rio Hondo Prep...16

42...Dymally...14

31...St. Margaret’s...34

49...Sage Hill...7

51...Crean Lutheran....36

51...Sherman Indian...0