Corona del Mar football beats Edison with spark from Nolan Scott

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HUNTINGTON BEACH — Corona del Mar’s football team took the field Thursday seeking to beat Edison for the first time since 2019 and continue its fast start.

Edison aimed to bounce back from a frustrating loss last week and correct mistakes.

Nolan Scott led the Sea Kings to their goals with his physical play on both sides of the ball.

The junior linebacker/wide receiver recorded a sack, an interception and two receptions that led to scores as Corona del Mar handled Edison 27-7 at Huntington Beach High.

Scott highlighted a breakout performance with a 24-yard reception late in the third quarter in which he broke about seven tackles along the sideline to reach the Edison 2. The Chargers never took down Scott, who was finally knocked out of bounds in setting up the go-ahead touchdown run by quarterback JD Annett.

“He’s unbelievable,” Corona del Mar coach Kevin Hettig said of Scott’s tackle-busting play. “It happened Week 0 in Lakewood, too. He carried five guys into the end zone. Same thing here, and that’s Edison. He’s the real deal.”

Corona del Mar (3-0), ranked No. 8 in Orange County, outscored its first two opponents — Lakewood and Santa Barbara — a combined 85-10.

After Scott’s reception, the Sea Kings scored 24 unanswered points.

Corona del Mar took on a 10-7 lead on Annett’s TD run with 1:55 left in the third. The Sea Kings extended their advantage on the ensuing possession on a 15-yard interception return for a touchdown by cornerback Hudson Zinone with 59 seconds left in the third.

Corona del Mar’s defense, coordinated by Brian Pearsall, intercepted four passes leading to 13 points.

“We knew we could dominant them,” Scott said of Edison. “Everyone played great. Tucker (Murray) goes both ways as well. We stay together.”

After Corona del Mar’s defense forced a quick punt early late in the third, the Sea Kings drove an 8-yard touchdown pass from Annett to JJ Haley to open a 24-7 lead with 7:42 remaining.

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Annett, a junior, came off the bench to complete 12 of 17 passes for 157 yards. Hettig said the Sea Kings kept with Annett because of his hot hand.

Edison (1-2), ranked No. 11 in the county, also had four turnovers in a 32-28 loss to Pinnacle of Arizona.

Chargers coach Jeff Grady credited Corona del Mar’s defense for delivering pressure and different looks.

“When you play good teams, they take advantage of your mistakes,” he said.

Corona del Mar led 3-0 at halftime. Chuck Naylor snapped the scoreless duel with a 25-yard field goal with 7:35 left in the second quarter.

The kick followed a diving interception by Scott at the Edison 31.

Scott almost sparked another field goal late in the first half. Coming out of an Edison timeout, he recorded a sack on third-and-13 that pushed the Chargers back to the Corona del Mar 31.

The Sea Kings held on fourth down and then inserted Annett. Scott made a leaping, 39-yard reception to set up another 25-yard field goal attempt but Edison’s Ricardo Azernitzky blocked the kick with 13 seconds left in the half.

Murray and Zack Cox also had interceptions for Corona del Mar. Dawson Steward had one for Edison.

Sophomore quarterback Kellen Hairston came on relief to score on a 2-yard run on third-and-goal to give the Chargers a brief 7-3 lead in the middle of the third.

Next week, Corona del Mar renews its rivalry with Newport Harbor (2-1) on Thursday, Sept. 10 at Newport Harbor High.

Edison plays host to Palos Verdes (3-0) and Nevada committed quarterback Ryan Rakowski on Sept. 11 at Huntington Beach High.

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