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No. 2 Edison shaky at end but wins
No. 2 Edison shaky at end but wins
Visnoski's interception in the final minutes stops No. 8 Newport Harbor, 14-7.
COSTA MESA - Neither offense could be trusted to win this game, never mind that they both were plenty efficient through three quarters.
No. 2 Edison turned the ball over twice in the last four minutes, with opportunities to put away No. 8 Newport Harbor. But the Sailors managed only 7 yards on nine fourth-quarter plays.
A defender was needed to seal this victory. With about a minute remaining, Edison defensive back Brandon Visnoski intercepted a pass by Newport's Andrew McDonald in Chargers territory to preserve a 14-7 margin.
Edison knelt twice, and the game was over.
Neither team scored in the second half.
"We came out flat. This was not an Edison game," Chargers senior running back Wade Houston said. "I just felt that we should have put numbers up. We didn't play to our capability."
Houston rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, and Matt Viles threw for 222 yards and a score on 18-of-32 passing. But Viles got picked off inside the Sailors' 10-yard line by Cecil Whiteside with four minutes remaining. Houston fumbled near midfield with his team attempting to run out the clock with fewer than 90 seconds left. (Full game stats.)
"We weren't very consistent," Chargers coach Dave White said. "We moved the ball well, but we didn't score a lot of points."
The Chargers, who topped Mater Dei in their last game, played Friday without injured two-way starters Preston Spence and Michael Rivera. Jeff& Criswell, who led the Chargers with 76 receiving yards on five catches, sprained an ankle early in the third quarter and did not return.
"That's why you've got backups," White said. "Some kids had to come in against Mater Dei and we had a big win, and we had some guys come in tonight."
McDonald threw for 143 yards for Newport, 104 of which went to J.B. Green on 11 receptions.
Running back Danny Miller scored the Sailors' touchdown on a 26-yard second-quarter run.
Edison had dominated Newport the previous two seasons, winning by a combined 84-6.
On Friday, the Sailors offense helped limit the Chargers' possessions by going three plays and out only once in the first three quarters.
Newport's best chance to tie the score came in the third quarter, but Bryce Brantley sacked McDonald on fourth down and 5 from the Charger 32.
"That was probably our opportunity to get in the end zone," Newport coach Jeff Brinkley said. "We couldn't convert the thing."
