LA MIRADA – The reality of it all didn’t start to sink in until late in the fourth quarter when Edison wide receiver David Atencio took a short pass from Griffin O’Connor, bobbed and weaved his way past numerous defenders and eventually gained 88 yards all the way down to the La Mirada 5-yard line.
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O’Connor rumbled his way into the end zone on the very next play, and with 3:32 remaining in the contest and a 20-point lead, it was only a matter of time.
The hugs started on the sideline with 20 ticks left on the clock. The Gatorade shower ensued as soon as the scoreboard read zeroes.
It was the beginning of a celebration Edison’s Dave White will remember for the rest of his life, and an accomplishment that will keep the longtime head coach on the sideline at least one more week.
Chargers running back Jack Carmichael ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries, O’Connor added a pair of rushing scores of his own in leading second-seeded Edison to a 44-24 victory over top-seeded La Mirada Friday night in the CIF-SS Division 3 championship game at La Mirada High.
“It’s been an honor and a privilege to coach at Edison High School,” a misty-eyed White said after the game. “It’s my alma mater, I’ve been there 42 years. It’s a special place and we’ve got a special group of kids.
“I’ve been telling them the last four weeks, if we lose, I’m not going to cry because we lost. I’m going to cry because it’s going to be over. I’m just glad they gave me one more week and I’m going to enjoy every second of it like I have been.”
As White has maintained throughout the season, his biggest thrill remains the actual coaching and day-to-day interaction with a group of players he’s spoken so highly of since the summer months. In grabbing his second CIF championship and improving to 13-1 overall, Edison advances to next weekend’s State Regional Bowl Game.
“I think it’s kind of the culmination of all the work we’ve put in,” senior center Mike Saffell said. “Edison is a program built on hard work and toughness. Coach White coached us hard and conditioned us hard throughout the year, and it all came together tonight.”
The Chargers never trailed at any point on Friday evening. They held a 28-10 advantage at halftime, and extended that lead to 34-10 midway through the third quarter when junior corner McCade Barrett picked off a Tristan Meyer pass at the Edison 9-yard line and surged 91 yards in the opposite direction for the score.
The Matadores (11-3) – who won a CIF and State championship a season ago – responded as White and Co. expected they would, scoring a pair of touchdowns within a 74-second span, quickly turning what was a 24-point deficit into a 34-24 game.
“It was gut-check time there,” O’Connor said. “We always talk about fourth quarter, what are we going to do in the fourth quarter. We came back with a different attitude after they scored, and we had to come at them.”
The Chargers offense bounced back with Jack Morrell’s 29-yard field goal, and defensively, they stalled a 13-play La Mirada drive at their 4-yard line with 4:57 to play, all but sealing the victory.
Contact the writer: kconnolly@scng.com