Sam Thomson leads Edison football past Huntington Beach in CIF-SS playoffs

HUNTINGTON BEACH – Sam Thomson was not the heralded quarterback going into Friday’s Huntington Beach vs. Edison football game.

That would be Brady Edmunds, the Ohio State-committed 6-foot-5, 225-pound junior who certainly earned all of the attention received. He has had a great season.

Edison’s Sam Thomson, though, was the star quarterback Friday. Thomson, a 6-foot, 185-pound junior, completed 15 of 19 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns to lead Edison to a 31-19 win over Huntington Beach in a CIF Southern Section Division 3 first-round playoff game at Huntington Beach High.

The Chargers (6-5) advance to the second round to play Inglewood (6-5) at Inglewood High next Friday (Nov. 14). Inglewood defeated Capistrano Valley in a Division 3 first-round game Friday.

Huntington Beach finished at 8-3. Edison and Huntington Beach were Sunset League rivals for many years before new leagues were created in 2024.

The Edison defensive plan, concocted by Chargers defensive coordinator Troy Thomas known for his CIF championship days as head coach at Servite, was to pressure Edmunds. Edmunds completed 23 of 37 passes for 190 yards, his second-lowest yardage total this season, and one touchdown.

“I thought our defense played really physical,” said Edison head coach Jeff Grady. “We were able to get to him a little bit. Whether that made an impact, I don’t know, but we were relentless and just kept coming.”

Another top player for Edison on Friday was senior receiver/defensive back Matthew Auau. He had eight receptions for 159 yards and a touchdown, and on defense recovered a fumble and knocked away a pass on a crucial third-down play in the fourth quarter.

Edison had a 24-14 lead at halftime. Huntington Beach’s Jason Dunham kicked a 28-year field goal early in the third quarter to make it 24-17. A safety, when the Edison punter stepped on the line at the back of the end zone, added two points to cut the Oilers deficit to 24-19.

Edison regained momentum when Auau recovered the fumble that was caused by Maddox Thomas, and the Chargers converted that into points with a 5-yard touchdown run by Anthony Godinez for a 31-19 lead.

Huntington Beach got the ball two times after that, but did not score on either possession.

Edison was in control in the first half, scoring on its game-opening possession and on the Chargers’ first half-ending possession.

They took a 7-0 lead on a 42-yard touchdown pass from Thomson to Auau.

Huntington Beach tied it on its ensuing possession. Steel Kurtz took a short pass from Edmunds before Kurtz threw to an open Troy Foster for a 21-yard touchdown. Foster had 14 receptions for 120 yards.

Thomson connected with Sean Moran for a 14-yard touchdown pass with 23 seconds left in the first quarter to put Edison ahead 14-7.

Edison then put together a drive on almost seven minutes that resulted in a touchdown on a 7-yard swing pass from Thomson to Thomas for a 21-7 lead.

Huntington Beach scored a touchdown with 23 seconds left in the first half on a 15-yard pass from Edmunds to Jimmel Champion.

Edison, starting at midfield, got completions of 12 and 15 yards to Auau to set up a 42-yard field goal by Crue Bradshaw as time expired to give the Chargers a 24-14 halftime lead.