Edison rises to challenge, beats Dana Hills

COSTA MESA - Edison coach Dave White challenged his players to become a better team this week.

He said he recognized the threat Dana Hills posed, and he didn't want his players to take the Dolphins lightly with games against Trinity League powerhouses Mater Dei and Servite on the horizon.

The Chargers stepped up to the challenge on offense, defense and special teams to produce a dominating 48-20 victory over Dana Hills on Friday night at Orange Coast College.

The Dolphins (2-1) are a much improved from the team that struggled through a 1-8-1 season in 2007 and should be a contender for a playoff in the tough South Coast League. But the Chargers (3-0), ranked No. 6 in the county, just happen to be that much better and have the look of a real contender in the Pac-5.

"We had to do this. We had to get better this week, because we knew that Servite and Mater Dei are our next two games. We told the kids, 'Win or lose tonight, whatever the score is, we have to make some great strides tonight, just to be able to compete with Servite and Mater Dei.'

"I thought we made some great strides tonight. We have to make some great strides the next two weeks, but at least we have a chance now."

Edison forced four turnovers in the first half and turned that into a 27-6 lead at the half. The Chargers added three more touchdowns in the third quarter before bringing in their subs in the final quarter with a 48-6 lead.

Chargers quarterback Matt Viles had a solid game, completing 13 of 20 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns. Jeff Crissman had three catches for 99 yards, including one that went 53 yards for a score.

Jeff Trojan had three catches for 52 yards, including touchdown catches of 14 and 31 yards. Tailback Davion Orphey had 12 carries for 181 yards, including touchdown runs of 26 and 30 yards in the third quarter.

"Our first group played really well, basically (holding Dana Hills to) 48-6," White said. "We played well. We kind of challenged the kids.

"This team (Dana Hills) has been scoring 50 a game and the quarterback (Sean Schroeder) is throwing for 300 (yards) a game. We pretty much shut him down except for that one play. Our first group played very well on both sides of the ball."

The Duke-bound Schroeder was able to put up his usual numbers, completing 17 of 29 passes for 279 yards and two touchdowns.

Dylan Danso was a big bright spot for the Dolphins, making eight catches for 231 yards, including touchdowns of 70 and 52 yards. But Schroeder also fumbled twice, got picked off once and got sacked eight times.

Defensive tackle Wesley Graves got three of those sacks and defensive end Dinald Sneed had two sacks.

"I feel we got better this week," Graves said. "Like coach says, we have to get better with each week. I think we did a lot of good things this week, but we'll see tomorrow at film what we did wrong."

The glaring issue the Chargers do need to shore up is the penalty situation. Edison was penalized 10 times for 106 yards.

The Chargers play Servite next Friday at Cerritos College, then they play host to Mater Dei on Oct. 3 at Orange Coast College.

Contact the writer: carias@ocregister.com