HUNTINGTON BEACH – The Edison football team served notice Friday night on the rest of the Sunset League that it is as good as billed.
Parker Awad passed for 300 yards and three touchdowns in the first half and the Chargers, No. 10 in the MaxPreps state rankings, stifled crosstown rival Huntington Beach en route to a 42-8 victory in the league opener for both schools.
The onslaught began quickly when Awad hit his favorite target, Mason York, behind the Oilers’ coverage at midfield and went untouched the rest of the way for a 74-yard touchdown less than 90 second into the game.
Five mintues later Awad found Austin Hurley for a 24-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
Edison (6-0, 1-0) then all but put the game away with two touchdowns in 16 seconds for a 28-0 lead.
Starting at midfield after a Huntington Beach punt, Awad scrambled for 10 yards on first down, then Carter Hogue went up the middle for 40 yards and a touchdown with 2:59 left in the quarter.
On the next play from scrimmage, Edison’s Noah Thompson stripped Oilers running back Tyler Young and linebacker Matt Lopez recovered for Edison at the Huntington Beach 20.
Awad and York struck again, with York pulling in Awad’s pass in the left corner of the end zone with 2:43 left in the first quarter.
“He’s just been very consistent,” Edison coach Jeff Grady said of Awad. “He prepares that way, and practices that way every day. I think the guys around him are like that. As a quarterback you’ve got to have that camaraderie.”
York and Awad were an unstoppable duo, with York catching eight balls for 162 yards.
“He’s been playing fast for us all year,” Brady said. “He’s another guy who practices just like he plays.”
Edison rolled up 545 yards of total offense, even with Grady clearing the bench in the second half and the game being played with a running clock in the fourth quarter.
The Chargers were just as relentless on defense. They held Huntington Beach (4-2, 0-1) to 81 yards of total offense in the first half.
A mark of things to come was when Dylan Walters and Hunter Venham ended the Oilers’ first possession with sacks on second and third down. Edison also intercepted two passes and tipped a punt.
The Oilers avoided the shutout when Aj Vandermade, who caught eight passes for 111 yards, scored on an 11-yard swing pass with 2:35 left in the third quarter.
