Edison gets boost from winning tournament

HUNTINGTON BEACH - In theory, these various summer passing tournaments are nothing more than meaningless exhibitions. In reality, however, winning these one-day competitions can mean just as much in terms of pride and team morale as winning a regular-season game.

"It's all about competing," Edison coach Dave White said. "This isn't a real football game, but it means something to these kids. We want to come out here and compete. That's all we can ask to do."

On Saturday, the host Chargers downed Mater Dei, 29-20, in the championship game of their 7-on-7 passing tournament at Edison High.

"This is a tough tournament to win," White said. "You get out here and teams like Mater Dei, Tesoro, Santa Margarita and Valencia are throwing the ball real well and have been doing so all summer.

"Winning just gets our guys excited going forward. Hopefully it'll carry through the rest of the summer."

After advancing through pool play, Edison downed JSerra in the quarterfinals and Valencia in the semis to set up a championship tilt against Mater Dei.

Earlier in the afternoon, the Monarchs edged a pair of Trinity League foes in Santa Margarita (28-27) and St. John Bosco (32-0) to reach the finals.

In the championship game, senior quarterback Alek Torgersen led the Chargers on four scoring drives and a game-clinching two-point conversion.

Meanwhile, the Edison secondary forced turnovers on four of Mater Dei's seven possessions.

"It's big for quarterbacks and wide receivers and even defensive backs," White said referring to the structure of the tournament. "These are some real game situations -- second-and-long, third-and-long -- and we want to know who's going to the make the big play.

"We have a lot of pride hosting this tournament and we always try to get quality teams to compete with us. That's why it's a big deal to win."