Edison has big challenge

The Edison High football team will face a team with a USC-bound quarterback, an Arizona State-bound receiver, a Notre Dame-bound defensive end and a safety who’s also set to join the Trojans.

And this is just the semifinals.

Nobody ever said it would be easy for the top-seeded Chargers (12-0), trying to win their first CIF title since a co-title with Long Beach Poly in 1985.

“They’ve probably got eight players who will go Division I,” Coach Dave White said of Lakewood, who his Chargers face at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Orange Coast College in a CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division semifinal. “It’s the best team we’ve faced so far. We’ll have to play our best game, try to limit their big plays, and you’ve got a chance.”

Edison is ranked No. 4 in the state by Calhisports.com. Lakewood (11-1) is ranked sixth. The Lancers’ only loss was to Crenshaw, the L.A. City Section powerhouse ranked third in the state, and the loss was by a point, 28-27.

No. 3-seeded Servite (11-1) will face No. 2 Mission Viejo (12-0) in the other semifinal Friday night at Cerritos College.

“We’re excited to be in the final four,” White said. “To get to this point is quite an accomplishment. [Lakewood] is just a great team. They can throw, they can run, they’re athletic. I think the best four teams are left.”

The Chargers, though, will be decidedly at less than 100% for Saturday’s game. Senior linebacker Shaun McLaughlin tore his ACL in last week’s 47-16 quarterfinal win over Dana Hills and is done for the season. White said junior defensive end Charles Burks (cracked fibula), the team’s sacks leader with 14, is expected to miss this week as well.

White called senior receiver Michael Rivera, who injured his hamstring against Dana Hills, a game-time decision for Saturday. Rivera has 502 yards and seven touchdowns this season and is a primary receiver for senior quarterback Matt Viles (2,569 yards and 24 touchdowns) with fellow seniors Jeff Trojan and Dylan Leener.

Lakewood is led by senior quarterback Jesse Scroggins, the USC-bound senior who has thrown for 2,170 yards and 33 touchdowns against five interceptions. His favorite target is Arizona State-bound Kevin Anderson, who has 776 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Notre Dame-bound defensive end for the Moore League champions is Justin Utupo (11 sacks). The USC-bound safety is Dion Bailey.

But the Chargers’ defense has also been playing well, allowing less than 10 points per game this year despite a challenging schedule including Servite, Mater Dei and Los Alamitos. White said juniors Roland Blackistone and Alema Atoafa figure to fill in for McLaughlin.

“We know we’ll be in for a battle,” White said about the Lakewood game. “We know it’ll be a four-quarter game.”

In quarterfinal action from Friday, Edison scored 34 unanswered points in its 47-16 win over Dana Hills at Orange Coast College.

“[Viles] had a great night,” White said. “Our receivers did a great job, we pass-blocked really well, and the defense played great. It’s just a great team effort. To beat the same team twice in a year is hard to do.”

Edison had to rally from a halftime deficit in its first victory over the Dolphins (9-3). But, as White pointed out, that was not uncommon this season for the Chargers.

“We’re used to momentum changes,” he said.

It was true Friday night. The Chargers were up just 13-9 early in the second quarter, after Dana Hills senior quarterback Josh Dean scored on a 10-yard run and the Dolphins added a field goal. But the score wouldn’t stay close for long.

Edison junior tailback Davion Orphey (62 yards on seven carries) had a 15-yard touchdown run up the middle, then just before halftime, Viles hooked up with Trojan on a five-yard touchdown strike at the near right pylon, giving Edison a 27-9 halftime lead.

The Chargers then scored on their first possession of the second half on a 31-yard touchdown pass to Trojan, who finished with six catches for 111 yards.

Wade Houston added a two-yard scoring run early in the fourth quarter. Then, with the reserves in, senior quarterback Stephen Andrew scored from a yard out with 7:08 left in the game, expanding the lead to 47-9.

Leener also caught two first-half touchdown passes for the Chargers.

“They didn’t blitz as much this game,” Viles said. “They ran more zone, but our receivers did a great job tonight. The receivers, line and running backs, they’re all smart players. We were all on the same page tonight. It was clicking.”

 The other local football team still alive in the CIF playoffs, Huntington Beach High, wasn’t as fortunate Friday night. The Oilers fell to second-seeded Tustin, 63-0, in the Southwest Division quarterfinals at Huntington Beach High.

Stanford-bound Tustin senior tailback Anthony Wilkerson was as good as advertised. Wilkerson rumbled for 355 yards and five touchdowns on just 18 carries. He had touchdown runs of 77, 71, 68, 43 and 25 yards.

“He’s fast,” Oilers Coach Eric Lo said. “There were some runs where we just had on one around to take him down. He turned our pursuit angles into just us chasing him.”

Huntington Beach also struggled offensively in the shutout, in which Lo said his team was “overwhelmed” at times. Yet, the season was still a very positive one for the team, which advanced to the CIF second round for the first time since 1993.

“I thought we accomplished a lot,” Lo said. “It was a good year. There were a lot of good things we can take from this season.”