Football: Edison 28, Newport Harbor 16

After Newport Harbor’s overtime victory a week earlier against Los Alamitos, the Sailors went into their home game Friday against favored Edison with first place at stake.

The Sailors had trouble finishing their drives against a stiff Chargers defense; three times they reached the scoring zone and had to settle for field goals.

Score: Edison 28, Newport Harbor 16

Key Stats: Edison’s Christian Heffelman rushed for 87 yards and two touchdowns, and passed for 83 yards and one touchdown.

Pivotal Moment: With first place on the line and Edison leaning heavily on its ground game, Newport Harbor took a 16-14 lead midway through the third quarter. But 21 seconds later, Edison scored on a 75-yard pass play from Christian Heffelman to Jeremy Maxwell.  After a night spent defending the run, the pass play—one of onl five by Edison—was the Sailors’ undoing.

Records: Edison (5-2 overall, 2-0 in Sunset League), Newport Harbor (3-4, 1-1)

Notes: Edison’s go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter accounted for 75 of Heffelman’s 83 yards passing on the night. … Heffelman rushed for touchdowns of 16 yards to open the game and 12 yards to close it, but Tyler Warren led the Chargers with 21 carries for 157 yards rushing. … Warren’s 10-yard run with 58 seconds left in the first half gave Edison a 14-13 lead. … Chance Siemonsma led Newport’s offense with 125 yards rushing.  Cole Norris passed for 119. … 

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Michael Schultz kicked field goals of 36, 38 and 28 yards. The latter gave Newport its 16-14 lead with 6:26 left in the game. … Garrett Hall’s 4-yard run in the second quarter gave Newport a 13-7 lead. … Edison is ranked No. 10 in Orange County and No. 2 in the Southern Section Southwest Division behind La Habra. … The Chargers have won 16 consecutive league games and 21 of the last 22. They face Los Alamitos next Thursday. ... Newport Harbor, ranked sixth in the division, plays host to Fountain Valley (6-1, 2-0) on Friday.