We’ve got all the information you need to know about for the CIF Pac-5 Semifinal between Lakewood and Edison tonight at OCC at 7:30pm.  Yesterday we talked about what Jesse Scroggins & Co. will be going up against, and now let’s see what the Red Swarm will see.

Edison “O” vs. Lakewood “D”

The Charger offense is a well-oiled machine that has no problem grinding out a long drive at any point in the game.  They have amassed 436 points this season while maintaining a very balanced attack.  In fact, Edison is almost perfectly balanced with 326 passes to 331 rushes.  The Chargers have gained 2,712 yards through the air and 1,803 on the ground.

The heartbeat of the Chargers lives in the backfield with quarterback (#11) Matt Viles.  There is an eire correlation between how he plays and how Edison performs, on both sides of the ball.  He was 7-for-15 for 60 yards with no touchdowns in the close game against Los Alamitos, and 18-for-28 for 262 yards and four touchdowns last week in the quarterfinals against Dana Hills.  The 6’3″ 192lb senior has thrown 300 passes this year and has competed 60% of them while racking up 20 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Just like the other side of the ball, the key for the Lancers will be getting Viles on his heels.  If they can get pressure without having to blitz too much, they will have the upper hand.  That means huge games from guys like Justin Utupo and Alex Cartwright.

On the ground the Chargers have a few choices, but the two guys the Lancers will need to keep an eye on are (#6) Wade Houston and (#1) Davion Orphey.  Both seniors go both ways and stand at about 6’1″ 180lb, but their shiftiness and acceleration is something Lakewood has not seen since the opener against Crenshaw. Houston leads the team in carries with 162 and has 876 yards (5.5 avg) to go with 12TDs.  Orphey serves as the fresh legs off the bench, and he’s been the most effective back in the Southern Section.  The slasher has only 48 carries and seven touchdowns, but he is averaging 11 yards-per-carry. They key for Lakewood to slow down the tandem is the play inside from defensive lineman like Todd Barr.  The junior has had a breakout year, and if he makes Houston and Orphey bounce everything outside it will come back to haunt the Chargers.  Sure, the speedsters will get their yards early, but as the game wears on and they continually have to go around the Red Swarm instead of though it, again Lakewood will have the upper hand.

On the outside, Viles has a handful of good pass catchers, the best of which is (#12) Jeff Trojan.  The senior is averaging 15 yards-per-catch and has eight touchdowns.  The biggest thing about the receivers/secondary match up is the YAC.  Viles might be the most accurate quarterback in the section, so guys like Trojan will get their catches.  But like I mentioned above, they have no problem with grinding out a drive.  That means a lot of those five yard outs, five yard ins, and 10 yard comebacks.  If the Lancers secondary can tackle well, continue to swarm, and cut down on the yards after catch, it could be a long night for the Edison offense with all those hands on top of them.