Inglewood

On a wet and rainy night, the Edison football team took down Inglewood 9-7 on Friday at Inglewood High School in the CIF-SS Division 3 quarterfinals.

By holding the Sentinels to their lowest point total of the season, the Chargers advanced to the semifinals where they will face Palos Verdes. The Sea Kings edged Dana Hills at home 14-13.

The game didn’t start off good for Edison, as it muffed the opening kickoff resulting in Inglewood recovering. Despite allowing the home team to get all the way to the two, the Chargers’ defense stood their ground and forced a turnover on downs.

Edison went three and out on its first drive and on Inglewood’s next drive, it started to see more success from the run game. Eventually, Semaj Welch ran it in from two yards out to give the Sentinels their first touchdown.

The Chargers tried to get their offense going, but Inglewood’s defense and the rain made it tough on them to move the ball effectively. Defensively, the Chargers held the opposition in check for the most part, as it also struggled to move the ball as well.

Edison didn’t score its first points of the game until the 4:02 mark of the second quarter where Crue Bradshaw nailed a 23-yard field goal. Eventually, Inglewood went into halftime up 7-3.

As the game went on, the rain came down harder, resulting in both teams struggling to have any sort of success on offense. The Chargers had a promising drive getting all the way down to the Inglewood 37, but the Inglewood defense forced a fumble on Sam Thomson, who recovered the ball before the hosts could.

After three quarters, the Chargers had only had 72 yards of offense. Both teams’ kept battling for field position with punts trying to pin each team deep.

With eight minutes remaining, Edison eventually got the ball back and put together a promising drive, getting all the way down to the Inglewood 20. But Thomson was picked off by Iroc Cordova with about five minutes remaining, exciting the Sentinel side.

Inglewood appeared determined to run the clock down, as Allen Wilson ran for 15 yards on a 3rd and 12, picking up a first down. All appeared to be lost for Edison, but two plays after that, the Sentinels fumbled the handoff and Blaise Burwell recovered for the visitors at the Inglewood 49, giving the Chargers newfound life and encouraging the Edison faithful who made the long drive in the rain.

Thomson led his team down the field slowly but surely and got Edison to the Inglewood five-yard line with 30 seconds left. Facing a fourth and goal with its season on the line, Thomson hit Maddox Thomas on a five-yard check-down touchdown pass to give the Chargers their first lead.

The extra point was missed following the touchdown, giving the Sentinels one last chance to win. But Teo Hampton ended the night with an interception on the last play of the game, as Edison avenged its playoff loss to Inglewood four years ago, where it lost on that same field in the quarterfinals.

The Chargers have now won eight straight postseason games dating back to last year when they won the CIF-SS and State Championship.
Edison will look to continue its playoff run when it hits the road for a second straight game to play Palos Verdes in the semifinals with a time and day to be determined. The Chargers edged the Sea Kings earlier in the year, winning 21-20 at Palos Verdes on September 12 off a blocked field goal from Burwell.