Football: Edison is dangerous test for Gardena Serra

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

I’m getting the feeling that Gardena Serra fans already have their tailgate party places picked out for next week’s CIF state championship Division II bowl game at the Home Depot Center.

The Cavaliers first have to get past Huntington Beach Edison in Saturday’s regional bowl game at Orange Coast College, and they better not overlook the Chargers. Remember last season when Serra was thinking ahead and was upset by Culver City in the first round of the Western Division playoffs.

Edison is 13-1, won the Southwest Division and is used to playing in big games, having been in the Pac-5 Division for years. The Chargers came close to knocking off Santa Ana Mater Dei in the regular season and beat Anaheim Servite.

Their offensive and defensive lines are very good. Defensive end Derek Baljeu has 11 1/2 sacks and another defensive player, Trent Aschoff, has 10 sacks. The offensive line, led by Jeremiah Frost, has been effective opening holes.

The good news for Serra is that the Cavaliers have started to reach peak form, and wins over Lompoc and Chaminade indicate they are playing their best football of 2012.

-- Eric Sondheimer