Edison Finally Wins a Close One

Edison Coach Dave White talked about how important Thursday’s win was for all his players who have lost close Sunset League games the last five years--the near-misses against Los Alamitos and Fountain Valley and Esperanza.

The sixth-ranked Chargers got one of those back Thursday. Facing circumstances in which a loss would probably have eliminated them from playoff consideration, they defeated Esperanza, 41-34, at Valencia High.

The Chargers (6-2, 1-2), who won their first five games and then lost their first two league contests, defeated Esperanza (4-4, 1-2) for the first time in five meetings, after losing several close decisions to the Aztecs, including a 27-26 loss in 1997.

And it was no surprise that Darryl Poston played a pivotal role. Poston rushed 43 times for 220 yards and two touchdowns, and added a third when he returned a kickoff 82 yards during a critical 20-second third-quarter span in which the teams combined for three touchdowns.

Edison had scored on its first possession of the second half to take a 26-21 lead, but Esperanza reassumed the lead on Tim Sonuyi’s one-yard run. A two-point conversion failed, but Esperanza led, 27-26.

Then Poston provided Edison a charge. He returned the kickoff for a touchdown, and a two-point conversion on Richard Schwartz’s pass to John Smith gave Edison a 34-27 margin.

Then the Chargers added to it on Esperanza’s first play from scrimmage as A.J. Martinez intercepted a screen pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown and a 41-27 lead going into the fourth quarter.

“That was the key play of the game,” White said. “We were sputtering offensively. That was the best defense we’ve faced this year. And our defense came through.”

Edison’s defense, which has struggled this season, allowed one touchdown in the fourth quarter, after a turnover at the Edison 37-yard line. Ryan Sausedo passed 16 yards to Ryan Murray for the score, and Benny Mastropaolo’s extra point made it 41-34.

Sausedo completed 13 of 22 passes for 261 yards. He threw three touchdown passes, all to Murray, of 66, 80 and 16 yards.

Murray, who had 40 catches in his first seven games, caught 10 passes for 256 yards.

“This was very important,” said Poston, who now has a county-high 24 touchdowns. “If we hadn’t won, we wouldn’t make the playoffs.”

Esperanza, trailing 14-0 in the first quarter, scored 21 in the second quarter to assume a 21-20 halftime margin, the last touchdown coming on Travis Jones’ 49-yard interception return.

Edison’s Schwartz was eight of 15 for 135 yards and two touchdowns, of 20 yards to Benny Flanagan and 22 to Brendan Cornell.