Edison claims victory over Los Alamitos in Alpha League opener

Edison halfback Julius Gillick (9) runs for a touchdown during a game against Los Alamitos on Friday.

By Scott FrenchSpecial Contributor

Oct. 20, 2024 11:37 AM PT

Edison’s annual showdown with Los Alamitos was billed as a battle for second place in the new, elite Alpha League — San Clemente might have something to say about that — but the Chargers aren’t limiting themselves.

Their 21-10 victory Friday night at Huntington Beach High, secured with big plays on both sides of the ball, has them thinking in bigger terms, no matter how improbable knocking off Mission Viejo, ranked third in California and as high as fifth nationally, might appear.

“Still got to play games,” said Edison coach Jeff Grady, who beat the Griffins for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic and second since taking the reins from legend Dave White in 2017. “Of course, the league is stacked. There’s four really good teams. Obviously, Mission is destroying people. So we’ll see.”

Edison quarterback Savelio Niumata (11) jogs into the end zone after eluding Los Alamitos defender Jackson Bennett (24).

They’ll tangle next week on the Diablos’ field. Mission Viejo (8-0) opened Alpha play with a 23-7 win at San Clemente (4-4). Edison (6-2) would be unbeaten but for last-second, one-point losses in its first two games.

The Chargers made their case behind bruising running back Julius Gillick’s 228 yards rushing, sophomore Sam Thomson’s precise work after stepping in for injured quarterback Savelio Niumata, and devastating defensive work that limited Los Alamitos (4-4) to 180 yards of offense between Lenny Ibarra’s 79-yard touchdown run on the Griffins’ first offensive play and the late, frantic, hope-for-a-touchdown-and-onside kick march that ended with four incompletions from the Edison 12 with 1:57 to go.

Big plays — Gillick’s 74-yard run to the 6-yard line, then Niumata’s 48-yard bomb to Ayden DeGiacomo at the 11 — led to a 14-7 lead on touchdowns from the Chargers’ third and fourth drives, on runs by Gillick and, on the fourth play of the second quarter, Niumata.

Edison receiver Ayden DeGiacomo (6) makes a catch down the sideline for a big gain in front of Los Alamitos' Tron Baker (3).

Maybe bigger was Thomson’s fourth-down toss to DeGiacomo, a 28-yard play, to make it 21-10 with 3:16 to go. Thomson, a second-year backup who has completed 71.3 percent of his throws for 881 yards and eight touchdowns, came on when Niumata exited with what appeared to be a minor shoulder injury on the third quarter’s penultimate play, hit on five of seven passes for 74 yards and connected with DeGiacomo on third-and-7 eight plays before the touchdown.

“Oh my god, what a laser,” Gillick said. “When I have the confidence in my backup to step in and deliver a ball like that ... shout out [to] Samuel Thomson. We’re leaving Edison in some good hands. I’m very excited to see what happens in the years to come.”

The defense responded in kind. The Griffins drove into the red zone four times and came up with just three points, on Benji Gamarnik’s 34-yard field goal near the end of the third quarter. The others were thwarted by a third-down Jeremiah Ross sack midway through the second quarter (that led to a field-goal miss); Matt Lopez’s second sack of the game, a 13-yard loss, followed by Maddox Thomas’ interception at the 15; and the blanket coverage after Los Alamitos moved from its 32 to Edison’s 12 with three rapid-fire passes as the finish neared.

Edison linebacker Matt Lopez (31) drags down Los Alamitos quarterback Alonzo Esparza by his ankles for a sack on Friday.

“Our defense stepped up late in the fourth, and even from the start,” said Lopez, a senior linebacker. This type of team, Los Al, you have to start on them quick, for them to start dying down throughout the game. Our defense is amazing. Electric when we start fast, can do some nasty things up front. ... Our defensive line is huge, creates games for linebackers to run through, and even for our safeties to run through.”

Edison closed the game behind Gillick, who sprinted 30 and then 51 yards to the Los Alamitos 7. Niumata then returned for three kneel-downs.

It was Gillick’s 17th triple-digit effort and sixth over 200 in 19 games since arriving from Seattle last year, followed last week’s 224-yard, six-touchdown performance against La Mesa Helix, and pushed his season total to 1,497 and two-year mark to 3,093.

Edison defenders including Devyn Blake (55), Matt Lopez (31) and Conrad Barrera (54) wrap up Los Alamitos' Alonzo Esparza.

“I don’t know what to say, to be honest,” Grady said. “He’s special. Breaks tackles, runs like a man possessed. He’s just a hell of a back.”

Los Al and Edison were the prevailing powers in the Sunset League the past 30 years, and the Griffins — winners of the last four and six of the last seven Sunset titles, one shared with Corona del Mar — supplanted traditional rival Fountain Valley as Edison’s chief adversary.

“This is historic. They call us ‘Green School.’ It’s that bad. They hate our blood,” said Gillick, who has committed to Montana. “It’s a good, good feeling to come out here [and win]. We’re in the Alpha League now, a lot of competition, so coming out and open the league with a win against a great school means so much to this whole city, this whole community. You see the stadium was packed out. They love their football here, and I’m very grateful to be here, too.”

Edison linebacker Jeremiah Ross gets to Los Alamitos quarterback Alonzo Esparza for a sack on Friday.

Gillick, who called it “a rivalry I knew about before I ever moved to California,” calls Edison a “Trinity [League]-level team,” something only Mission Viejo and Corona Centennial, among public schools, are generally considered to be.

“We’re in it, we’re in this,” he said. “Mission is a great team, and they’re next. That’s all I can say. You can’t count out the ‘Green School.’ You can’t count out Edison. We’re in this for the long run.”