Edison Jumps Out to 27-0 Lead, Holds Off ‘Iolani Rally, 41-27

Edison opened its season in dominant fashion, racing out to a 27-0 lead before surviving a furious second-half push from ‘Iolani for a 41-27 win Saturday at Eddie Hamada Field in Hawaii.

The Chargers wasted no time establishing control on offense. Their opening drive covered 80 yards in 12 plays, finishing with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Sam Thompson to a wide-open Dominic Harrison. A bobbled snap forced Edison to go for two, but the attempt failed, leaving the score at 6-0.

Edison’s defense set up the next score when Micah Rogers intercepted ‘Iolani on the Raiders’ second possession, giving the Chargers the ball at the 16-yard line. Gavyn Degiacomo punched it in from a yard out three plays later to make it 13-0. After forcing a three-and-out, Edison needed just six plays to cover 50 yards, with Thompson connecting with Harrison again, this time from 13 yards, to push the lead to 20-0 by the end of the first quarter.

The rout continued into the second quarter. Brett Dempson broke off-tackle for a 59-yard touchdown run to make it 27-0. ‘Iolani’s lone bright spot of the half came moments later, when cornerback Tauveve Sataraka jumped a Thompson swing pass and returned it 69 yards for a pick-six, cutting the deficit to 27-6. But Edison answered right back — after a fumble exchange gave the Chargers the ball at their own 46, Thompson hit Logan Hampton on a 43-yard gain down to the ‘Iolani 11, then found Hampton again for a 13-yard touchdown to make it 34-6 heading into the locker room.

Thompson was efficient all half, completing 17 of 23 passes for 180 yards and three touchdowns. Edison’s defense was just as sharp, limiting ‘Iolani to negative total yardage in the first half behind three sacks and multiple forced fumbles.

‘Iolani found more traction after halftime. The Raiders put together a 77-yard scoring drive in the third quarter, finished off by Joshua Griffin’s 1-yard touchdown run, cutting it to 34-13. Sataraka added a second interception shortly after, setting up Jadon Anzai’s 21-yard touchdown run that trimmed the lead to 34-20 early in the fourth quarter.

Edison answered the pressure by recovering the ensuing onside kick and marching 57 yards in eight plays, with Degiacomo scoring his second touchdown of the day to push the lead back to 41-20. ‘Iolani had one more answer, an eight-play drive capped by a 7-yard touchdown pass from Nixon Ling to Karim Boursiquot, making it 41-27 with just under four minutes left. But Edison recovered the following kickoff and ran out the clock to secure the win.

Edison improves to 1-0 to open the season, while ‘Iolani falls to 1-1.