Edison pulls away from Dana Hills in second half, 34-13 | dana, hills, edison on Astini News
With his team clinging to a six-point lead in the third quarter, Edison junior running back Elijah Herrera provided a spark to help the Chargers maintain their undefeated start.
Herrera ran for 103 yards and a score in the second half, while senior quarterback Chase Favreau threw for two touchdowns, as Edison defeated Dana Hills, 34-13, on Friday night in a nonleague game at Dana Hills High.
"I just tried to keep my eyes on where the defense was, and if they overloaded one side, I would just try to make a cutback," Herrera said. "The offensive line did an excellent job tonight."
Edison (3-0) is 7-0 all-time against Dana Hills (1-2) including five victories in the past four seasons. The Chargers' next opponent is No. 1 Servite next Friday night.
"We're going to have to clean things up, tackle better and get in a little better shape for Servite next week," Chargers coach Dave White said. "They have been the best team around for the last couple of years, and we will have our hands full, but we're excited to play them and we will be up for the challenge."
The Dolphins defense put the first points on the scoreboard less than four minutes into the game, as Favreau's first pass was intercepted by senior linebacker Colton Freedman and returned 21 yards for a touchdown for a 7-0 Dana Hills lead.
The Chargers tied it less than two minutes later, as a six-play, 80-yard drive ended in an 8-yard touchdown run by Chargers senior running back Marquis Ross, who rushed for 95 yards on 11 carries.
The Dolphins had a chance to take the lead late in the first quarter, as their ensuing possession would see them drive to the Chargers 6-yard line. But a 27-yard field goal attempt by kicker Logan Warren was no good.
Edison then drove 80 yards in 14 plays on their next possession to take the lead, aided by two consecutive pass interference penalties inside the Dolphins' 20-yard line. The drive ended when Favreau connected with senior wide receiver Troy Baljeu on a 9-yard touchdown pass. The ensuing extra point was no good, giving the Chargers a 13-7 lead they would take into halftime.
The Dolphins had the first scoring chance of the third quarter, but a fumbled exchange between quarterback Shane Scambray and running back James Deane was recovered by Edison at the Chargers' 14-yard line.
Edison capitalized on the ensuing drive, as Herrera found a huge hole along the right side of the line and scampered 40 yards for a touchdown to increase the lead to 20-7.
Just before the end of the third quarter, Favreau lofted a beautiful 40-yard touchdown pass to senior Sedric Hill, giving Edison a 27-7 lead heading into the fourth.
Hill then capped the Chargers offensive output less than two minutes into the fourth, as he weaved his way through a wave of would be tacklers for a 73-yard punt return touchdown.
Dolphins QB Shane Scambray completed 25 of 44 for 219 yards., threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to senior Hunter Briggs with 5:49 remaining for the game's final points.
"They won the turnover battle, and usually when you win the turnover battle, you win the game," said Dolphins head coach Todd Rusinkovich. "My players continued to fight and we just have to keep getting better."
