PHOTOS: Edison earns first trip to CIF state final with hard-fought win over Granite Hills

Edison players led by Julius Gillick and Matt Lopez (center) carry the CIF regional championship plaque after Saturday’s victory. (PHOTOS: Fernando M. Donado, For OC Sports Zone).

Edison High School’s football team is going to the CIF state finals for the first time in school history.

Chargers running back Julius Gillick returned and rushed for 239 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead Edison to a 34-28 victory over Granite Hills of El Cajon in the CIF Regional Division 1-A Football Championship Bowl game Saturday night at Huntington Beach High School.

The Southern California champion Chargers (11-4) advance to next Saturday’s state final at 3:30 p.m. at Saddleback College against Fresno Central, which defeated St. Ignatius of Fresno on Saturday.

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“It’s historic, it’s never been done here before, and I knew our team was going to win with or without me,” said Gillick, who has rushed for 2,351 yards and scored 36 touchdowns this season. “I was so anxious in a big way to get back on the field and play today.”

Gillick was suspended for one game and sat out last week’s CIF Division 3 final against Simi Valley because of having two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties called against him in a playoff game two weeks ago. An appeal was denied by the officiating crew.

The Chargers roared out to a 27-7 halftime lead and it appeared they would cruise to victory, but the Eagles had a lot of fight in them and mounted a strong comeback in the second half.

Granite Hills (11-3) took the ball to start the third quarter and promptly marched 81 yards in nine plays for a score. Running back Max Turner faked a run into the line and then surprised the Chargers defense as he tossed a 44-yard touchdown pass to Brenden Lewis, cutting the lead to 27-14.

However, Edison countered on its next possession and scored on a 17-yard TD pass from quarterback Sam Thomson to Jake Minter to regain a comfortable 34-14 lead with 3:54 left in the third quarter.

But the Eagles stormed back and scored a late third quarter TD on Turner’s 1-yard run to make it 34-21. Granite Hills then let an excellent opportunity slip through their fingers when the Eagles fumbled on a fourth-down play, following a Chargers foiled punt.

However, two plays after turning the ball over on downs, the Eagles forced an Edison fumble and two plays later Turner scored on a 1-yard TD run to cut the lead to 34-28 with 8:39 to play in the game.

Granite Hills got the ball back and had momentum, but linebacker Matt Lopez intercepted a pass by Zach Benitez with just over two minutes remaining to halt the Eagles comeback bid.

“The interception happened so quick, the ball hit off the receiver and kind of just fell into me,” said Lopez, who along with Carter Cirillo, Jack Knudtson and Jeremiah Ross held the Granite Hills offense to 65 yards in the first half.

Gillick then helped secure the win by rushing for three first downs on Edison’s final drive to help run out the clock and send the Chargers to the finals.

“This is extra special for me; I went to school here,” said Edison Coach Jeff Grady. “Credit Granite Hills, there is a reason they are here. They didn’t quit. Gillick’s big first down runs on our final drive was huge. This hasn’t sunk in yet; we’re going to the finals for the first time in history.”

The Eagles took advantage of a partially botched Chargers punt on their opening possession of the game and moved 37 yards in 11 plays to take a 7-0 lead. Turner capped the drive with a 3-yard TD run.

After a slow start, the Edison offense started to kick into high gear. Gillick carried the ball six consecutive times and finished a drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the score at 7-7 at the 1:54 mark of the opening quarter.

The Chargers offensive front line of Carter Cirillo, Jayden Pershall, Nathan Stevens, Devyn Blake, Aiden Carr and Blake Price dominated in the first half as Edison scored three touchdowns in the second quarter to take a commanding 27-7 lead at halftime.

The Chargers marched 73 yards in 10 plays early in the second quarter to up their lead to 14-7. Gillick carried the ball on eight of the 10 plays and Thomson lofted a 35-yard TD pass to Aidan Brown who made an outstanding over the shoulder catch in the end zone for the score.

Moments later, Gillick capped off a six-play drive with a 10-yard TD run, extending the Chargers lead to 20-7 with 4:11 to go in the half.

Desperately trying to ignite some momentum, the Eagles decided to go for a first down on a fourth-down play deep in Edison territory, only to be stopped. The Chargers took over at the 25-yard line, and three plays later, Gillick scored his third touchdown of the game a 3-yard run to lift he Chargers to a 27-7 halftime lead. 

Turner, a Utah Tech commit, finished with 89 yards rushing and has amassed 2,017 yards on the ground this season, along with 36 touchdowns. The Eagles had their six-game winning streak snapped.

Notes:

—-Edison defeated North, Bonita, Vista Murrieta, and Semi Valley to win the CIF Division 3 championship. Granite Hills beat Torrey Hills, Carlsbad, and San Marcos to win the San Diego Section Division 1 championship. The Eagles have lost to only one San Diego school in the last two seasons.  

—Gillick decommitted this week from Montana. He said, “Sacramento State is the only other school that has offered but I expect that to change after the playoff season.”    

—The Chargers appeared in the state football tournament in 2012 and 2016 but lost both times.