Edison comes up short

LONG BEACH — Earlier in the week, Edison High football coach Dave White said his team would need to play error-free ball if the Chargers hoped to knock off Los Alamitos.

The Chargers didn’t, and it cost them.

In one of the biggest games on the 2008 Sunset League slate, Los Alamitos turned two quick Edison miscues in the second quarter into points Thursday night that put the Griffins into the lead and in command, and they ended up holding on for a 23-19 home victory at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach.

The win, which came in their homecoming game, puts the Griffins, ranked No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section Pac 5 Division, at 2-0 in league and still perfect at 7-0.

Fifth-ranked Edison, meanwhile, is 1-1 in league and 5-2 overall.

The Chargers misfired all around most of the night but, incredibly, still had a chance at victory. From the Los Alamitos 45-yard line, Matt Viles’ Hail Mary pass to the end zone, where two Chargers were surrounded by three Griffins, was batted down by Los Al’s Paul Richardson on the game’s final play.

Edison had an uphill climb most of the game. Fumbles, penalties, dropped passes and lack of execution, led to the Chargers’ downfall. So, too, did the play of Los Al quarterback Clark Evans whose big passes and crafty keepers kept the Griffins in control.

“We had too many turnovers and you can’t do that in a big game like this,” Dave White said. “[Los Al] caused them and they deserved to win. They were the better team tonight.

“We had issues all night. You can’t give up big plays to a team like Los Al. We didn’t execute, either, on either side of the ball.”

Edison, which was without its top receiver, Jeff Crissman (ankle injury), and saw limited playing time for other injured starters Preston Spence and Davion Orphey, took an early 7-0 after safety Jullien Herrera intercepted Evans on the fifth play from scrimmage to set up the game’s first score. Herrera picked off Evans - who threw just his fourth interception of the season - at the Los Al 37 and returned it to the 24.

Three straight runs by Wade Houston took the ball down to the four and on second-and-goal, Viles hit Will Andrew with a four-yard scoring pass. Lucas Vandeman’s conversion up the Chargers up seven with 7:58 left in the opening quarter.

Los Alamitos then went 80 yards on its ensuing possession to pull to within 7-6. Two key penalties against the Chargers kept the drive alive. The first was an encroachment call on a fourth-and-two play from the Edison 37 that led to an automatic first down and the second, was even bigger. On third-and-13 from the 38, Jeff Trojan appeared to have a clean pick of an Evans pass at the three-yard line but the Chargers were hit with a pass interference call on the play and the Griffins had new life at the 25.

Later in the drive, Evans, who has committed to Colorado, hit Richardson with a seven-yard pass on fourth down to make it first-and-goal at the eight. He then hit Jonathan Cheri with a seven-yard touchdown pass but Zach Kadletz was wide right on the conversion and Edison still had a one-point lead with 9:57 left in the half.

But then, the game suddenly changed for the Chargers.

Houston fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Los Al’s Mychal Mente recovered the ball at the Edison 25. But the Charger defense stiffened and the Griffins had to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Kadletz but the kick still gave Los Al a 9-7 lead with 6:01 remaining.

On the Chargers’ first play from scrimmage following Kadletz’s field goal, Viles hit Trojan in stride for a 16-yard gain out to the Edison 40 but Trojan fumbled when he was being brought down and the Griffins’ Josh Barut pounced on the loose ball at the Edison 45.

Evans then made the most of the turnover by coming up with several key plays to lead the Griffins to another score.

On third-and-16 from his own 49, he eluded a heavy rush and hit Darryl Jenkins on the run for an 18-yard gain down to the Edison 33. On third-and-seven from the 30, he hit Cheri for 18 more yards to put the ball at the 12. He then capped the drive by bullying his way into the end zone from the two and Kadletz’s kick gave the Griffins a 16-7 lead with 2:16 left in the half.

That’s how the score stood at halftime.

Amazingly, Edison only ran five plays in the first 21:44 of the game.

The Chargers had just nine offensive plays by the end of the first half.

“I said earlier this week that one key for us was to keep them off the field, and we didn’t do that,” White said. “We kept ourselves off the field.”

Edison also had to settle for a 35-yard field goal by Vandeman at the 5:50 mark of the third quarter that made it a 16-10 game. The Chargers had driven down to the Los Al 16 but an incomplete pass, followed by a fumble on an inside handoff that was recovered by Roman Sapolu that allowed Edison to retain possession, brought up third down. Viles then hit Scott Sherman at the three but Sherman dropped the pass to bring up fourth down.

Whatever life the Chargers may have gained after trimming the deficit to six, Evans took it away in two minutes.

On a double-pass play just four plays after Vandeman’s field goal, Evans, from the Los Al 47, hit a wide open Richardson at the Edison 20 and the senior receiver zipped his way to the end zone. Kadletz’s kick pushed the Griffins into a 23-10 lead with 3:51 left in the quarter.

Edison reached midfield on its next possession but a chop-block call against the Chargers negated the drive. After forcing Los Al to punt in four plays, the Chargers moved from their own 12 down to the Los Al 27. Viles connected with Dylan Leener on a 14-yard pass play to the 13, but Leener fumbled the ball and Cheri was there for the recovery for the Griffins with 5:44 to play.

Edison scored its final offensive touchdown with a quick drive from the Los Al 38 with 3:05 on the clock. Viles and Trojan hooked up on three consecutive pass plays, the last of which went for an 11-yard touchdown. Vandeman’s conversion pulled the Chargers to within 23-17 with 2:35 left.

Evans was able to twist, turn and sputter his way for a key first down on Los Al’s next possession to keep the clock moving and on a fourth-down play, in punting formation from his own 29, he ran into and then through the back of the Los Al end zone to take a safety with three seconds left.

The ensuing kickoff traveled out of bounds without any time ticking off the clock, giving the Chargers on last chance at the Los Al 45. Viles’ pass then was knocked down in the end zone by Richardson to end the game.

“It’s a tough one to lose,” White said. “The two games we have lost, this one and Servite, we played sloppy.

“In spite of the bad things tonight, there’s still three games left and plenty of football to play. We’re not out of this yet. I know our kids will bounce back.”

Edison takes on Marina Thursday in a Sunset League game at Orange Coast College.

MIKE SCIACCA covers sports. He can be reached at (714) 966-4611 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.