Chargers rally back into CIF title game

COSTA MESA — They have worked long hours since summer, when they won a pair of passing-league tournaments and doubters said, “We’ll see what they do when the real games start.”

They have won every game in a daunting regular-season schedule, including nonleague games against some of the best teams in Orange County and an undefeated run through the tough Sunset League.

Now, the Edison High football team’s special senior class is now just one win away.

The Chargers withstood a spirited second-half rally from Lakewood and topped the Lancers, 37-29, Saturday night at Orange Coast College in a CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division semifinal.

Top-seeded Edison (13-0) will play third-seeded Servite (12-1) for the CIF title Saturday night at Angel Stadium. The Chargers are trying to win their first CIF crown since 1985.

“We’ve wanted to do this our whole freaking lives, man,” senior linebacker Jordan Zumwalt said. “We’ve all been talking about it since freshman year. We were supposed to be the special team, and we’re pulling it off, man.”

Zumwalt also saw some action on offense Saturday night. He caught a pair of play-action passes from senior quarterback Matt Viles in the first half, the second one going for a five-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter. He also dropped another wide-open pass in the flat, but as he said after the game, “I’ve got linebacker hands, so come on.”

Lakewood (11-2) scored on its second possession, when USC-bound senior quarterback Jesse Scroggins found the end zone on a keeper from eight yards out. The Chargers responded with Zumwalt’s grab, then Viles found Jeff Trojan on a 34-yard touchdown pass midway through the second quarter.

Junior Davion Orphey scored on a three-yard touchdown run to open the second half, and after senior Markus Trujillo nailed a 20-yard field goal, the Chargers appeared to be cruising, 23-7, late in the third.

Not so fast. Lakewood senior Terrance Woods ran the ensuing kickoff back 82 yards, and the two-point conversion was good. And, after an Edison three-and-out, Scroggins hooked up with senior Justin Utopo to knot the score at 23-23.

“We knew we had to score to win the game,” Trojan said. “They had all the momentum. We just couldn’t give up on each other. We’ve worked too hard, too long. We had to do whatever we could to win the game.”

The Chargers did, going on a 60-yard drive that culminated in a nine-yard touchdown pass to senior Dylan Leener, who finished with seven catches for 91 yards. All seven catches came in the second half, and Leener also played most of the game on defense.

“Dylan was out of this world,” said Trojan, who himself had 100 yards on seven catches. “That’s the best game I’ve ever seen him play in my life.”

On Lakewood’s ensuing possession, Zumwalt’s big hit on Woods caused a fumble that senior Kris Bonham recovered, giving Edison excellent field position. They capitalized on senior running back Wade Houston’s eight-yard touchdown run, making it a 37-23 game with 4:23 left in the game.

Considering the opponent, Houston had one of his best games of the year, with 110 yards on 19 carries. Even after Lakewood scored again to narrow the gap, he came up with big runs that forced the Lancers to burn timeouts and eventually, allowed Viles to kneel down.

Viles finished with 278 yards passing and three touchdowns.

“They never quit,” Houston said. “We thought we had it in the bag but they came back, and we had to pick it up. Matt did a great job and so did the line.”

Edison Coach Dave White was extremely proud of his Chargers, who played without junior defensive end Charles Burks, senior linebacker Shaun McLaughlin and senior receiver Michael Rivera. But, in turn, Nicholas Masaniai, Alema Atoafa and Roland Blackistone, among others, have stepped up.

“That’s how this team’s been,” White said. “I knew it was going to be back-and-forth. They’re a big-play team and we just had to limit their big plays, and we did. They got them, but we limited them, and we made big plays when we had to.”

Lakewood Coach Thadd MacNeal said the Lancers won the Moore League for the first time since 1973, and beat perennial power Long Beach Poly for the first time in 26 years.

“We’ve done some good things,” he said. “We just didn’t have enough tonight.”

Edison did, and will now face Servite for the second time this year. Zumwalt knows he and his teammates will be ready for anything; that’s how they beat Lakewood.

“They had talent up the [behind], and we just pulled together for each other, man,” he said. “We played really well as a team. We all love each other to death and I know I’d die for any of my players, and they’d do the same. That’s how we pulled it off. It was a lot of fun. A lot of heart.”