Football: Edison players are motivated to keep their coach working

Friday’s Southern Section Division 3 final between Huntington Beach Edison and host La Mirada could be the final game as head coach for Edison’s Dave White, who is retiring after 31 years in charge of the program.

But his players keep preventing him from having a retirement party.

“It’s been such an honor to not let him retire yet,” center Michael Saffell said. “Him coming back for the last year has meant everything to us. It’s been a fun run with him. It’s been the most fun I’ve ever had.”

The Chargers are playing loose and performing well under pressure. No one is doing better with the game on the line than junior quarterback Griffin O’Connor, who seems to be the perfect player to count on.

He scored on a seven-yard TD run with 54 seconds left last week to defeat Rancho Verde, 32-28, in the semifinals.

“I’ve been playing my whole life,” O’Connor said. “I’ve been in some intense moments. I’ve got some great players and great coaches around me. It’s not that you’re going to be nervous in the moment. It’s going to be very exciting and you want to be in those kind of moments.”

Edison is 12-1, with its only loss to Mater Dei. La Mirada also lost to Mater Dei and is 11-2. The winner will keep going in a state regional bowl game next week.

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