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Orange Lutheran quarterback TJ Lateef throws a 2-yard deciding TD pass to Tyler Hennessy with 1:31 remaining. (Photos courtesy Jim McCormack, For OC Sports Zone).
If you thought the weather a little chilly to watch an entire football game Friday night you could have stopped by Huntington Beach High School in the fourth quarter and gotten your money’s worth.
Or even the last 1:31 for that matter.
Host Edison and Orange Lutheran clashed in a CIF Division 1 first-round playoff game that was filled with drama throughout, but particularly so in the final period, Orange Lutheran ultimately prevailing 38-37.
The Lancers trailed 24-10 entering the final quarter but rallied behind talented sophomore quarterback TJ Lateef to take a 38-31 lead with 1:31 to play.
Game over, move on to the next round.
Not so fast.
A resilient Edison team, which had already rallied twice from deficits, drove from its own 20 to the Orange Lutheran 13 with 24 seconds to play.
To see the slide show, click on the first photo:
Two passes fell incomplete, but, on third down, Edison quarterback Parker Amed threw his fifth scoring pass of the night, hitting a sprawling Tucker Tripp with six seconds to play in the end zone.
Edison Coach Jeff Grady decided immediately, to go for the win, calling for a two-point attempt.
After a timeout, Amed rolled to his right, under pressure, and threw to Tripp and the back of the end zone, but the pass was inches beyond Tripp’s reach.
The Lancers (7-4) then recovered the ensuing on-side kick and earned a game in the quarterfinals, Friday against No. 2 seed St. John Bosco at St. John Bosco.
Edison finished its season with a 9-2 record.
Both coaches saw the logic in the conversion attempt.
“I’m not sure I would have done that,” said Orange Lutheran Coach Rod Sherman, “but they had momentum, they had driven 70 yards in a minute, so I can see the logic in it.”
Edison Coach Jeff Grady had to recognize how freely the Orange Lutheran offense had moved in the fourth quarter and took the chance that one play would win it for the Chargers.
“We had a chance,” Grady said. “It just didn’t go our way. If there was a turning point in the game, interestingly, it came after Edison, protecting a 24-14 fourth-quarter lead, made a remarkable goal-line stand to deny OLu a score early in the quarter, stopping the Lancers at the two.
Starting from the two, Edison’s Amed took the snap in the end zone and, while pressured by Lancer Jireh Moe, was called for intentional grounding, resulting in a safety.
Orange Lutheran took the required Edison kick from the 20 and moved quickly downfield, Lateef eventually scoring on a 1-yard run and then throwing a 2-point conversion pass to Tyler Hennessy and the score was tied at 24 with 9:17 to play.
Edison responded almost immediately, Ashton Hurley making a leaping catch of a 3 rd -down pass over the middle and outrunning the Lancer secondary on a 65-yard play.
Orange Lutheran countered two minutes later, Lateef hitting Jackson Weng on a short pass over the middle and Weng turning it into a 43-yard TD play.
Orange Lutheran scored again, Lateef hitting Hennessy with a two-yard pass with 1:31 remaining, setting up the final-minute drama.
Lateef finished the night with 378 passing and 47 rushing yards, throwing three TD passes and running for two more.
Amed completed 31 passes for 435 yards and five scores.Weng caught six passes for the Lancers, gaining 163 yards and scoring twice. Hurley caught 10 passes for 242 yards and a TD for Edison.
For earlier story and photo, click here:
—Courtesy Jim McCormack for OC Sports Zone
