Edison football steamrolls another Sunset League foe, this time beating Newport Harbor

With a blowout win over Huntington Beach in its Sunset League opener last week, the Edison High football team confirmed its place as one of two teams set to dominate the league in 2017.

The Chargers made another firm statement Friday night, blanking Newport Harbor 48-0 for their second consecutive shutout victory, following the 63-0 thumping against the Oilers.

Leading into their biggest matchup of the regular season — a showdown with fellow Sunset League power Los Alamitos — a wave of momentum is building at the perfect moment for the Chargers.

At the forefront of Edison’s success was a well-rounded performance from senior quarterback Griffin O’Connor. Pending a film review, head coach Jeff Grady called it the most complete game from his signal-caller this season.

“Griffin was really sharp,” Grady said. “He managed the game really well. It was fun to watch, because he was on it tonight.”

O’Connor completed 10-of-13 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns with one interception, while adding 19 yards and two more scores on the ground. Of the senior’s 246 total yards on the night, 236 came in the first two quarters as the Chargers built a 35-0 halftime lead.

“Hopefully this pushes us forward and lingers into the Los Al week,” O’Connor said. “That’s going to be a big game for us, and hopefully we can use this momentum for the next week.”

A pair of seniors led the way for the Edison receiving corps, with Mateo Gallego and David Atencio combining for 210 yards and three touchdowns — all in the first half.

Meanwhile, the Chargers (5-2, 2-0 in league) picked up where they left off defensively by suffocating an injury-plagued Newport Harbor offense.

With starting running back Jaylen Andrews absent again due to injury, the Sailors could not find offensive footing. First downs were few and far between, and the offense never reached field-goal range. Junior running back Colin Gregg carried the ball 11 times for 42 yards in the first two quarters, but the offense as a whole was held to just 52 yards at the half and 71 total on the evening.

By the time the start of the third quarter rolled around, both teams agreed to employ a running clock for the remainder of the game. Edison would pile on another two touchdowns before the final whistle, including a 90-yard strike from backup quarterback Patrick Angelovic to sophomore receiver Cole Koffler.

“I liked our mentality tonight,” Grady said. “We focused on us and our performance, not our opponent. I think the guys bought into that and performed really well. It was a very thorough game.”

Edison and Newport Harbor face vastly different outlooks as the home stretch of the regular season enters full swing.

The Chargers arrive at a critical Thursday meeting with Los Alamitos outscoring Sunset League opponents 111-0. With the Griffins outscoring league opponents 113-0 themselves, the showdown will be met with no shortage of anticipation — and Sunset League implications.

As for Newport Harbor (0-7, 0-2), the Sailors host Fountain Valley next week hoping to put a positive spin on what has been a winless 2017 campaign so far.

“We’re going to fight it out,” Newport Harbor head coach Jeff Brinkley said. “You go on a three-week grind, starting with Fountain Valley next week.”

Edison 48, Newport Harbor 0

Edison……………....21 14 7 6 — 48

Newport Harbor…..0 0 0 0 — 0

FIRST QUARTER

EDI - 4 run Griggs (PAT good), 6:06

EDI - 10 run O’Connor (PAT good) , 2:58

EDI - Atencio 35 pass from O’Connor (PAT good) 1:02

SECOND QUARTER

EDI - Gallego 16 pass from O’Connor (PAT good) 5:29

EDI - Gallego 50 pass from O’Connor (PAT good) 1:08

THIRD QUARTER

EDI - 2 run O’Connor (PAT good) 2:07

FOURTH QUARTER

EDI - Koffler 90 pass from Angelovic (PAT no good) 7:34

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

EDI - Walters 12-69 yards

NH - Gregg 11-42 yards

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

EDI - O’Connor 10-13-1, 227 yards, three TDs

NH - Barela 5-14, 35 yards

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

EDI - Gallego 5-139 yards, two TDs

NH - Harvey 2-19 yards

JOSH CRISWELL is a contributor to Times Community News. Follow him on Twitter: @joshccriswell