HUNTINGTON BEACH – It didn’t take long for Thursday night’s Sunset League game between Edison and Marina to get out of hand.
The Chargers’ 70-3 blowout of the Vikings began with a 10-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Griffin O’Connor to Shaun Colamonico three minutes into the first quarter.
Next it was E.J. Ginnis with a 27-yard interception return for a score, then a 94-yard kick return touchdown from Jacob Marines and O’Connor got back into the mix with his second and third touchdown passes of the quarter – 53 yards to David Atencio and 19 yards to Garrett White.
By the time the first half was over, Edison led Marina by 53 points and proceeded to coast to victory at Huntington Beach High.
“Every game is really about us,” Edison coach Dave White said. “We did some good things today, but we still weren’t crisp enough on offense. … We did a great job of playing hard and not playing down to a level.”
The Chargers (4-3, 2-0) were without starting quarterback Grant Lowary, who left last week’s 17-14 win over Los Alamitos because of a shoulder injury.
White said it’s looking like Lowary will be out “for a while,” but Edison has a capable backup in O’Connor who completed six of his eight passes Thursday for 202 yards and three touchdowns.
“He’s only a sophomore, but he’s a really good sophomore,” White said of his quarterback. “I’m very confident in him.”
Edison’s defense stepped up Thursday, as well.
The unit, which is allowing opponents just 16 points per game, forced Marina (1-6, 0-2) into four turnovers: three interceptions – two of which resulted in touchdowns – and a fumble that Chargers defensive back Jonathan Moreida returned 18 yards for a score late in the fourth quarter.
Marina scored on a 33-yard field goal from Rand Keidel in the first quarter.
