High School Football: Edison clinches at least share of Sunset League title

They say the No. 13 is unlucky, not if you asked Edison football coach Dave White on Friday.

In his 31st and final year in charge of his alma mater, White won his 13th Sunset League title. What better way for White to reach No. 13 by downing rival Fountain Valley.

Edison routed the host Barons, 56-12, to claim the Battle for the Bell for the 12th straight time at Orange Coast College. In doing so, the Chargers clinched at least a share of the league crown.

One league game remains for Edison (8-1, 4-0 in league), and it can wrap up first place outright with a victory against Huntington Beach next week. The Chargers have gone unbeaten in league seven times under White, four of those have come since 2009.

While Edison is looking to close out league perfect, Fountain Valley hopes to avoid is first winless season in Sunset League play. The Barons joined the league in 1974, the same year they and Edison played to a scoreless tie.

That has been the only tie in the series between the two schools, and the 49th meeting showed Edison and Fountain Valley are far from even on the field.

Edison dominated the Barons (1-8, 0-4), scoring 28 first-quarter points. As if the offense needed a lift, Shaun Colamonico came back after missing the previous four games. The senior wide receiver was out with a hairline fracture of the fibula, and in his return, Colamonico was impressive.

Almost everyone Edison quarterback Griffin O’Connor threw to stood out. The junior completed 22 of 27 passes for 395 yards and five touchdowns in the first half.

Two of those scores went to Colamonico. He hauled in an 18-yard fade in the end zone late in the opening quarter. The next touchdown connection went for double that amount of yards, giving Edison a 42-6 lead midway through the second quarter.

By halftime, Colamonico had five receptions for 100 yards. O’Connor’s three other first-half touchdowns went to David Atencio, on a nine-yard pass, while McCade Barrett and EJ Ginnis each caught a 23-yard touchdown.

“We have five really good receivers,” said White, who saw Ginnis (five catches for 99 yards), Atencio (eight catches for 98 yards) and Barrett (five catches for 68 yards) shred the secondary all night.

The Chargers went into the break up, 56-12. One half is all it took Edison to post more points than it ever had in a game with the Barons. Edison’s previous best was 42 points, which it produced in a win in 1994.

Edison, ranked No. 2 in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 poll, could have scored more, but White didn’t let O’Connor play in the second half. The Chargers had already made a huge statement in White’s final Bell Game, giving him a 21-10 record against the Barons.

The stadium was near capacity at 7,600, and many fans began to leave in the third quarter, right after Edison defensive back Bowen Blake picked off Andrew Ross. The turnover marked the Barons’ third through the air.

The other two interceptions were by linebacker Mateo Gallego. He almost returned both for touchdowns, falling two yards short of the end zone on his 33-yard return in the opening quarter. The pick helped set up O’Connor’s one-yard sneak for a touchdown.

Gallego found the end zone at the 5:04 mark in the second quarter. The throw went right to him, and Gallego raced in for a 25-yard pick six. The Chargers were on their way to taking a 34-14-1 edge in the series with the Barons.

The goal now for Edison is to close out league without a blemish. The Chargers are a game ahead of Los Alamitos and Newport Harbor, which both improved to 3-1 in league with wins on Friday.

“If we take care of business, we should be able to do that,” White said of going undefeated in league. “The consistency that we’ve had [winning league 10 times since 2003] is what is impressive. These kids … have won every year. Their freshmen year they were league champs, their JV year and their varsity year. They’ve been league champs every year at every level.”

Sunset League

Edison 56, Fountain Valley 12

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Edison 28 – 28 – 0 – 0 — 56

Fountain Valley 0 – 12 – 0 – 0 — 12

FIRST QUARTER

E – Atencio 9 pass from O’Connor (Morrell kick), 9:17.

E – Nguyen 1 run (Morrell kick), 6:10.

E – O’Connor 1 run (Morrell kick), 3:57.

E – Colamonico 18 pass from O’Connor (Morrell kick), 1:58.

SECOND QUARTER

FV – Hernandez 23 pass from Ross (kick failed), 8:01.

E – Barrett 23 pass from O’Connor (Morrell kick), 7:09.

E – Colamonico 36 pass from O’Connor (Morrell kick), 5:23.

E – Gallego 25 INT return (Morrell kick), 5:04.

FV – Krause 34 pass from Ross (pass failed), 3:02.

E – Ginnis 23 pass from O’Connor (Morrell kick), :26.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

E – Nguyen, 5-21, 1 TD.

FV – Hernandez, 4-37.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

E – O’Connor, 22-27-0, 395, 5 TDs.

FV – Ross, 18-39-3, 121, 2 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

E – Colamonico, 5-100, 2 TDs.

FV – Hernandez, 8-65, 1 TD.