Edison loses another close one to San Clemente

Three football games are how many Jeff Grady went to go watch Edison High play last year. The last one came against San Clemente and it marked the end of an era.

Dave White retired after 31 years in charge, losing his final game as Edison’s coach. He barely missed leading the Chargers to their first CIF State Bowl Game, as they lost to San Clemente by just four points in the Southern California Regional Division 1-A Bowl Game at Cap Sheue Field in December.

Seven weeks later, Grady took over for his former coach, becoming Edison’s fifth coach in its history. Grady remembers how his alma mater almost made history a year ago, until San Clemente scored with 48 seconds left to pull off the comeback win to reach its first state final.

The Chargers had their chance to exact some revenge on Friday. Edison traveled to San Clemente, and it produced the game’s first six points, but after that, it struggled offensively.

The Tritons stayed undefeated, edging Edison 23-20 in a hard-fought nonleague game.

While there wasn’t as much scoring as the last time these two programs met, the game one went down to the wire again.

San Clemente’s defense proved to be the difference. The Tritons (6-0) held Edison without a first down during an 11-minute 9-second span from the second quarter to the third quarter.

The Chargers (3-2), ranked No. 4 in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 poll, finally moved the chains early in second half, and they produced a touchdown. Griffin O’Connor’s 25-yard touchdown pass to David Atencio cut the Tritons’ lead to 17-13 with 8:41 left in the third quarter.

Then with 67 seconds left to play, Edison trimmed the lead to three. O’Connor threw his second touchdown, an eight-yarder to Brandon Moradian. The Chargers got the ball back on their three with 36 seconds to go, managing to get to the Tritons’ 43.

Five seconds remained, and the Chargers weren’t in field goal range, so O’Connor dropped back, but defensive end Chris Kane sacked him to end the game. O’Connor completed 18 of 37 passes for 210 yards.

“There was a lot on the line,” Kane said. “Everybody is trying to get their revenge [on us]. We’ll take an ugly win over an ugly loss.”

The Tritons scored 17 points in the second quarter, running Austin Whitsett, who finished with 31 carries for 139 yards. He helped San Clemente overcome a sloppy start and more than 100 yards of penalties, mostly coming in the second half.

San Clemente failed to score on the game’s opening drive as Tristan Trager missed a 45-yard field goal try. On their next two series, the Tritons began on their 14 and 17, and each time they went backward.

And each time Edison made San Clemente pay. Isaiah Palmer picked off Brendan Costello, returning it 26 yards to the opponent’s 17.

The Chargers only managed to get three points on Jack Morrell’s 26-yard field goal. They had to settle for another Morrell field goal, a 23-yarder, three minutes into the second quarter.

Edison had San Clemente backed up one inch from the end zone. The Tritons got some breathing room, moving to the 11, and punted, but Charles Bein’s punt only traveled 14 yards as he kicked it out of bounds.

Edison began on the Tritons’ 25-yard line, and the offense got to the six on O’Connor’s 12- and seven-yard passes to Atencio. The next two passes fell incomplete, and Edison brought on Morrell to give Edison a 6-0 lead.

“We’ve been down there so often and come away with field goals,” Grady said. “We just need to finish drives.”

Looking for a spark, Whitsett gave it to San Clemente.

He returned the ensuing kickoff 42 yards, and the Tritons started near midfield. They needed eight plays to cover 57 yards, capping the drive with Costello’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Chase Berman.

The extra-point kick put San Clemente up 7-6 with 5:34 left in the first half, and it would extend the lead 64 seconds later.

Edison gave the ball away. Chad Pavlik fumbled, and linebacker Aaron Frohner recovered the ball for San Clemente. Three plays later, on Costello’s 18-yard run, the hosts went ahead 14-6.

The Chargers couldn’t do much in the second quarter, moving the chains only once. They went three-and-out on their next possession, and the Tritons took over inside the Chargers’ 40-yard line. San Clemente managed to tack on three points, coming on Trager’s 35-yard field goal with 10 seconds left before halftime. Trager also made a 41- and 34-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.

Edison totaled 53 offensive yards through two quarters, compared to San Clemente’s 132. The Chargers missed the services of running back Jack Carmichael, who Grady said was out with a fractured ankle he suffered in a 28-0 shutout of San Juan Hills on Sept 15.

Despite having a bye week to prepare for the Tritons, Edison’s offense never got in a rhythm. Edison, which won the CIF Southern Section Division 3 title last year, turned the ball over twice, and San Clemente won its 12th straight game dating back to last season’s historic year in which it won the CIF Southern Section Division 2 and CIF State Division 1-A championships.

“We were down a number of players at the end, and guys just kept stepping up,” said Grady, who lost Atencio to an injury twice in the game.

Grady said he didn’t know what injury Atencio suffered, but they’re going to need the senior as the Chargers begin their Sunset League title defense next week against Huntington Beach.

San Clemente 23, Edison 20

Edison………….…..3 3 7 7 — 20

San Clemente……0 17 0 6 — 23

FIRST QUARTER

E – J. Morrell 26 FG, 2:37.

SECOND QUARTER

E – J. Morrell 23 FG, 9:18.

SC – Berman 10 pass from Costello (Trager kick), 5:34.

SC – Costello 18 run (Trager kick), 4:30.

SC – Trager 35 FG, :10.

THIRD QUARTER

E – Atencio 25 pass from O’Connor (J. Morrell kick), 8:41.

FOURTH QUARTER

SC – Trager 41 FG, 10:21.

SC – Trager 34 FG, 2:55.

E – Moradian 8 pass from O’Connor (J. Morrell kick), 1:07.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

E – O’Connor, 8-17.

SC – Whitsett, 31-139.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

E – O’Connor, 18-37-0, 210, 2 TDs.

SC – Costello, 12-23-1, 116, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

E – Atencio, 4-50, 1 TD.

SC – Kane, 4-63.

david.carrillo@latimes.com

Twitter: @ByDCP