Edison beats Corona del Mar convincingly for second place in Sunset League: 5 takeaways

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – The Chargers dealt with the flu, a sluggish first half, and quite a few penalties on Friday. Head coach Jeff Grady said they "weren't playing their best football" at any point on the night.

But when all was said and done, Edison shined yet again. With its 40-13 victory against Corona del Mar, Edison has now beaten CdM for second place in the Sunset League for the third straight season, and finished the regular season 9-1.

Here are five takeaways from the game:

1. HOGUE HAS CAREER NIGHT

Carter Hogue has been a steady two-way presence on a nightly basis for the Chargers this season, holding it down as both an every-down running back and an impact safety. Friday was his best performance yet. 

Hogue ran for 3 touchdowns, recorded over 150 yards of offense – more than half of which came in the air – and grabbed an interception on defense.

His first touchdown came with 4:02 left in the first quarter to open the scoring. The second came on the last play of the first half when the Chargers led 12-7, and gave them control of the game that they'd never relinquish. Once he scored his final touchdown to put Edison up 26-7 early in the third quarter, the outcome was officially no longer in doubt.

With that said, it was another Hogue highlight a couple minutes later that didn't result in a touchdown that amounted to the play of the night. Up 26-13, Edison had a 3rd-and-11 starting at its 46 when Hogue caught a short pass from Parker Awad while moving right, broke a tackle, cut left, broke three more tackles, and carried a horde of CdM defenders with him a few more yards once they slowed him down for a gain of about 20. That 1st down had Edison's entire team, sideline, and crowd fired up.

For the second straight year, the Chargers have a standout offensive line, a star QB in Awad, and one of the deeper receiving groups in the state. It's an ideal situation for an RB to play in, and Hogue has been so consistent and durable that no other Edison RB has more than 7 carries on the year.

Is there anything more a tailback could ask for?

"Not at all man," Hogue confirmed. 

"I mean, our line is... one of the best lines in California for sure. They put up the numbers – their blocking percentage is amazing. And when you've got a quarterback and receiver corps like that, it makes the holes wide open. [Defenses] have got to focus on the pass."

MORE: INTERVIEW WITH CARTER HOGUE

"We do have a lot of good receivers, and we're protecting," said Grady.

"Carter is getting out of the backfield and catching the football, blocking when he's... in protection."

"Carter has been very involved every week, and we tried to get him a little bit more involved today. Not just running, but he's such a good receiver in the backfield. He's a weapon. Obviously, he's a weapon in the secondary too.

2. MORE TOP PERFORMERS

As Grady pointed out after the game, much of the Chargers' offensive success starts up front with its high-caliber offensive line. While CdM's athletic defensive line did get to Awad a few times, led in part by Cannon Pohlig, Edison's front five set the tone nearly the whole night.

Awad was surgical, efficiently throwing for over 350 yards on the night. 

Ashton Hurley caught a touchdown with 5:57 left in the second quarter that put them up 12-0, and Tucker Tripp took a screen pass to the house with 8:43 left in the game to give Edison a 40-13 lead. 

Mason York also had a strong night catching the ball for Edison. He didn't find the end zone, but racked up several receptions that set up early scores.

Dominic Lopez ran for a touchdown and helped spearhead a staunch Edison defensive effort at LB.

And DB Malachi Pierce might've been the game's top player. He recorded two impressive interceptions for the Chargers, and was overall key to containing CdM's explosive passing game.

While it was a tough night for the Sea Kings, the QB/WR tandem of David Rasor and Cooper Hoch did have some bright moments, and connected for both of CdM's touchdowns.

Kaulin Post recorded an interception on a 2-point conversion for Corona del Mar.

3. CHARGERS OVERCOME 'ROUGH WEEK'

"We just had a rough week," said Grady.

"We were missing over half the team on Monday and Tuesday, started getting guys back on Wednesday, and then we got a couple more back on Thursday. We're still missing Jared Schnoor. But we're just like everyone else. Everyone has adversity, and we had our share, and battled through it."

"I'm super proud," said Hogue on the all-around team effort.

"We played pretty sloppy in the first half for sure, because we had a lot of guys sick and that definitely impacted us. For a while we had like half our team. But we played really good in the second half."

Corona del Mar was also at less than full strength health-wise.

4. EDISON CEMENTS ITSELF AS A DIVISION 1 PLAYOFF TEAM, TOP-10 TEAM IN THE STATE

The Chargers entered Friday widely ranked as a top-10 team in California, and as a projected Southern Section Division 1 playoff team. With the win secured and the regular season now over, those two honors are just about set in stone. 

It is unclear how many teams will comprise Division 1 this year, and the CalPreps rankings are yet to be finalized for this weekend of action. But if it's eight like in previous seasons, or if it's more, Edison is going to be in D1. Assuming Edison plays a higher-ranked team to open the playoffs, it's hard to imagine that even a lopsided loss would knock them down substantially in the pecking order. And if the Chargers pull off an upset, then obviously they can only move up.

Whatever happens from here on out, Edison has only continued sharpening its distinction in 2022 as one of the best-run football programs in the state.

What has Grady been most proud of during the team's 9-1 regular season?

"Our consistency," he said. 

"Showing up to practice everyday, practicing hard... it's like I've said a bunch of other times – we have such a cool group of young men. It's fun to be around them."

5. SEA KINGS APPEAR TO BE A DIVISION 3 HEAVYWEIGHT

It's too early to say for sure, but Corona del Mar seems like a lock for Division 3 with this loss. 

If the Southern Section opts for 12 or more teams in Division 1 and the loss doesn't hurt CdM much in the rankings, a Division 2 placement is possible. But it's safe to say that the Sea Kings project as a Division 3 championship threat for the time being. Assuming they do end up in D3, they'll be one of its higher seeds, and one of the most battle-tested teams in the bracket. Division 3 will be a dogfight, but the Sea Kings have the requisite talent and playoff pedigree to go far in it.

In fact, let's remember what happened the last time Corona del Mar was in the Southern Section Division 3 playoffs. In 2019 under a different system – and of course with completely different players – it was known from the start of the season that CdM would be in Division 3. But the Sea Kings spent that postseason completing the undefeated year with a section title and CIF State 1-A title despite having to deal with arguably tougher competition than they would in this year's hypothetical run. 

CdM has proven its ability to step up in the postseason multiple times under Dan O'Shea's coaching staff, and 2022 might be no different.