Edison football rally falls short against San Clemente
Braeden Boyles would be the first to tell you that a loss is a loss.
When one considers that the Chargers lost starting quarterback Patrick Angelovic to a broken collarbone in their Week 3 game at San Juan Hills, Thursday night’s nonleague game against San Clemente was anything but that for the Chargers.
Although the visiting Tritons thwarted a dazzling comeback by the Chargers, Edison will enter Sunset League competition with a ray of hope.
The Chargers rallied from an 18-point deficit, but San Clemente scored 10 unanswered points late to hand Edison a 31-24 defeat at Huntington Beach High.
Boyles, a sophomore making his first varsity start, displayed dual-threat playmaking ability. The Chargers took the good with the bad, allowing Boyles to be a gunslinger.
He threw for 260 yards and a touchdown, but he also threw two second-half interceptions. Yet, the Chargers (2-3) would not have had a chance without the plays that were made.
“He just made plays,” Chargers coach Jeff Grady said. “That’s the easiest way to explain it. He just found a way to get it done, time and time again.
“When the protection broke down, he took off, got what he could with his legs. When nothing was there, he did what he could with his arm. He did a good job tonight. I’m real proud of him. The team rallied behind him.”
Boyles wound up with 74 rushing yards on 11 carries. He took four sacks, including one on fourth down by Kade Coury with the Chargers driving in San Clemente territory in the final minute.
Mike Walters scored a pair of rushing touchdowns for Edison out of the Wildcat. The second, a seven-yard run up the middle, gave the Chargers a 24-21 lead with 8:08 remaining.
I just felt like I had to get some momentum going for us because we were down 21-3. Everyone was down, and we had to get something going. We needed points.
— Braeden Boyles, Edison High quarterback
San Clemente (2-4) answered with a 34-yard field goal by Cole Thompson to tie the score at 24-24 with 5:06 left.
Boyles had found a safety blanket in Nicholas Frengel in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for the Chargers, a deep pass intended for Frengel was intercepted by Jake Brannon.
San Clemente needed just three plays to go 60 yards. Tritons senior quarterback Brendan Costello had a 30-yard run to begin the drive. RJ Donaldson completed it with a 25-yard rushing score, as San Clemente took a 31-24 lead with 2:44 to go.
With the comeback, the Tritons flipped the script from their heartbreaking 21-20 loss against visiting Corona del Mar on Sept. 14.
“Last week was a pretty emotional loss,” Costello said. “We all wanted to win this week, break that kind of losing streak that we had.
“We all worked really hard in practice. We pushed each other. It’s really emotional to get this win. We’re all really happy about it.”
Edison’s passing game ripped off big gains on the Chargers’ final two drives of the first half. Boyles found Jacob Biddle over the middle for a 27-yard gain before he lost the ball on a fumble at the end of the play. Preston Rex made the recovery for San Clemente.
On the ensuing possession, the Tritons opted to run a trick play. Senior tight end Jay Baggs attempted a pass downfield after receiving a lateral pass himself. Isaiah Palmer got his head turned around just in time, and he came away with the interception.
Already down 21-3, the Chargers had nothing to lose. Then Boyles showed a gift not many sophomore quarterbacks possess. He threw the ball 50 yards in the air, connecting with Cole Koffler on the right side for a 53-yard gain.
“I just felt like I had to get some momentum going for us because we were down 21-3,” Boyles said. “It was not looking good. Everyone was down, and we had to get something going. We needed points.”
The following play saw Boyles toss a 12-yard touchdown to Nathan Nabal to bring the Chargers closer before the half.
“It’s awesome to see him step up like this,” Frengel said of Boyles. “It’s his first game starting on varsity. Honestly, I expected it out of him. We’ve always kind of had a connection in practice. It’s just been getting stronger. I trust him to lead this team.”
Nonleague
San Clemente 31, Edison 24
SCORE BY QUARTERS
San Clemente 7 – 14 – 0 – 10 — 31
Edison 3 – 7 – 7 – 7 — 24
FIRST QUARTER
E – Spradlin 20 FG, 8:32.
SC – Smith 30 pass from Costello (Thompson kick), 3:11.
SECOND QUARTER
SC – Donaldson 7 run (Thompson kick), 9:18.
SC – Costello 10 run (Thompson kick), 6:02.
E – Nabal 12 pass from Boyles (Spradlin kick), :31.
THIRD QUARTER
E – Walters 4 run (Spradlin kick), 5:37.
FOURTH QUARTER
E – Walters 7 run (Spradlin kick), 8:08.
SC – Thompson 34 FG, 5:06.
SC – Donaldson 25 run (Thompson kick), 2:44.
INDIVIDUAL RUSHING
SC – Costello, 13-109, 1 TD.
E – Boyles, 11-74.
INDIVIDUAL PASSING
SC – Costello, 15-22-0, 180, 1 TD.
E – Boyles, 16-25-2, 260, 1 TD.
INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING
SC – Baggs, 2-71.
E – Koffler, 4-103.
Twitter: @ProfessorTurner
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