Coming off of a tough loss, the Edison Tigers looked to get back on track as they hosted the Bakersfield High School Drillers. The Drillers had narrowly beaten Stockdale in their last game and were attempting to get back-to-back wins. Last season, the Drillers hosted the Tigers and defeated them by a score of 38-20. The Tigers were looking for revenge on the Drillers.
It was Regional Night, meaning all the schools from the Edison region were in attendance, along with their cheer and football teams. There was an at-home audience as well, as the game was broadcast on the CMAC network. Every section of the home side of the stadium was full and was very energetic all night long.
The game started off hot for Edison as running back Tyree Sams took a run to the house to give them an early 7-0 lead. Bakersfield would respond with 2 rushing touchdowns of their own, giving them a one-touchdown lead going into the second quarter. Neither team scored in the quarter, with the Drillers taking a 14-7 lead into the half.
The second half provided lots of fireworks for both offenses, with 5 touchdowns scored. Edison quarterback Phoenix Lawrence had 2 touchdown passes to Rashad Perry while the Drillers punched the ball in 3 times on the ground.
The Tigers were down 34-21 coming into the fourth quarter and couldn’t get the offense going late in the game. They punted once and threw an unfortunate interception late in the game. The Drillers would run the ball in for one last score, finishing with a final score of 41-21.
While Edison’s offense showed flashes of explosiveness, it also sputtered at times. The interception late in the game stopped any previous momentum gained by the Tigers, leaving them with no time left to score twice. Senior linebacker Roman Limon said, “We saw some progression but still fell short. At the end of the day, we still have work to do in terms of being an actual team and family.”
The Tigers will begin CMAC conference play next Friday as they play at San Juaquin Memorial High School at 7:30 p.m.
