HUNTINGTON BEACH – A pair of substitutes came up big for Edison as the Chargers defeated Huntington Beach, 28-13, in a Sunset League game Friday night at Huntington Beach High.
Sophomore quarterback Griffin O’Connor and junior running back Turner Maza combined to score three touchdowns as the Chargers scored in every quarter and won their third consecutive game to remain undefeated atop the Sunset League standings.
O’Connor, who took over at quarterback when starter Grant Lowary went down with a shoulder injury against Los Alamitos two weeks ago, capped two long drives with short touchdown runs. Maza, who replaced injured starter Jacob Marines in the second quarter, rushed for 155 yards and a touchdown.
“Turner is a tough kid, he came up for us huge tonight,” Edison coach Dave White said.
Leading 14-10 at halftime, the Chargers (5-3 overall, 3-0 Sunset) extended their lead to 21-10 when Maza capped a long drive with a 7-yard touchdown run with 1:36 remaining in the third quarter.
Huntington Beach (3-5, 1-2) had an opportunity to score after an Edison turnover, but the Chargers limited the Oilers to a field goal and led 21-13 early in the fourth quarter.
Edison continued to feed Maza the ball as he grinded it out and ran down the clock. Maza ran for 143 yards in the second half.
“It was a matter of staying focused and following my linemen,” Maza said.
Huntington Beach’s Hunter Simmons, who entered the game as the third-leading rusher in the county (1,303 yards), ran for 140 yards.
Trailing 3-0 in the first quarter, the Chargers countered with a six-play, 76-yard scoring drive to take a 7-3 lead. O’Connor keyed the Edison attack with two long completions to Garrett White and David Atencio. Marines capped the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run.
In the second quarter, the Chargers put together a 12-play, 60-yard drive that O’Connor capped with a 1-yard touchdown run for a 14-3 lead.
White said Lowary is unlikely to return before the playoffs.
