Football: Los Alamitos 16, Edison 10

In much the same way that Newport Harbor is inside the head of the Los Alamitos football program, it’s fair to say Los Alamitos takes up ample room inside Edison’s helmet.

The Sunset League rivalry between the schools turned another chapter on Thursday as Los Alamitos scored its best victory in years by posting an upset of the Chargers, who came into the game No. 2 in the Southern Section Southwest Division 6 rankings.

The victory moves Los Alamitos into position to win a share of the league title if it can win its remaining two games.

Score: Los Alamitos 16, Edison 10

Key Stats: Edison committed four turnovers against the Los Alamitos defense.

Pivotal Moment: Tied at 10-10, Los Alamitos’ Jerry Raye returned a punt 89 yards to the Edison 1-yard line, and Mike Hayden scored on the next play for a 16-10 lead with 6:30 left in the game. The point-after was blocked, but the Griffins had the big play necessary to win this defensive struggle.

Records: Los Alamitos (7-1 overall, 2-1 in league), Edison (5-3, 2-1)

Notes: Edison was ranked No. 9 in Orange County and No. 2 in the Southern Section’s Southwest Division VI. Los Alamitos was ranked No. 5 in the division. … Even though Los Alamitos has failed to win a playoff game since reaching the Division I finals in 2004, the Griffins have beaten Edison four of the last seven years. Only two games in that span have been decided by more than a touchdown. … Hayden scored twice from 1 yard for Los Alamitos. The first gave the Griffins a 7-3 lead in the second quarter, the second midway in the fourth quarter provided the winning margin. … 

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Brett Mathis kicked a 22-yard field goal to give Los Alamitos a 10-7 lead with 4:23 left in the third quarter. … Edison answered with 2:13 left in the third quarter on Tyler Warren’s 2-yard run. … Warren rushed for 153 yards for Edison, and Christian Heffelman passed for 113. … Nick Wendell passed for 100 yards for Los Alamitos, but the running game was non-existent. Kendall Brownlow rushed for a team-high 13 yards. … Heading into Friday games, Fountain Valley (6-1, 2-0) is the only Sunset League team that is unbeaten. It faces Newport Harbor. … Los Alamitos ends the season against Fountain Valley on Nov. 8. Next week, the Griffins play Huntington Beach.