Triton senior fullback and linebacker Landon Cook running the ball against Newport Harbor September 21. Photo by Brian Miller
by Steve Breazeale
Late September usually means league play is right around the corner for southern California high school football teams. Friday night’s non-league game between San Clemente and Edison provided both teams with a chance to fine tune before hitting the meat of the schedule.
But injuries have derailed the Tritons recently and Edison showed it had more than just prolific running game as the Chargers proved to be the sharper team in a 31-3 lopsided victory at Thalassa Stadium.
It would be the second straight game dropped by the Tritons (4-2), who have been without senior starting quarterback Sean Donnelly for the past two weeks. The Tritons were only able to muster up three points against the Chargers (4-1) all night and San Clemente’s lone score came on a 43-yard field goal by senior kicker Bret Miller in the second quarter when the Chargers were leading 21-3.
Edison’s defense has been their strong point this season and they got after Tritons third string quarterback Loren Applegate early and often. The Chargers made it apparent they would attack the banged up offensive line of San Clemente and Trenton Aschoff sacked Applegate 2 1/2 times. Edison would tally four total sacks on the night.
Charger quarterback Aleksander Torgersen had his way with the Triton secondary in the first half and connected with wide out Trevor Borkowski on a 65-yard touchdown play with just under two minutes to go in the first quarter. Torgersen then engineered a 13 play, 91-yard scoring drive on the Chargers next possesion that ended with him running the ball in from three yards out to give Edison a 14-0 lead.
Things started slipping away for the Tritons when Edison’s defense made it’s presence felt by stripping Derek Winokur of a completed pass and returning the fumble all the way back for a touchdown which gave Edison a commanding 21-0 lead just before halftime.
Edison has been targeted as a run-first team this season but Torgersen threw for 235 yards and a touchdown Friday night.
The Chargers would tack on 10 more points in the second half while holding the Tritons scoreless.
With a league match up against El Toro set for October 4 next week, the Tritons are hoping another week will help their roster achieve something it hasn’t had in weeks — health.
