Edison beats Stevens, finishes season at 4-6
BY SHAWN LAYTON Correspondent
The Edison High School football team snapped a five-game losing streak to win its third straight Turkey Day meetingwith crosstown rival J.P. Stevens by a score of 33-21. The two teams battled from start to finish but the Eagles managed to outlast the Hawks to finish the season 4-6.

PHOTOS BY RICH GRAESSLE Above: J.P. Stevens quarterback Charles Conley (1) scores a touchdown during his team's game against Edison on Nov. 27. The Hawks lost to Edison, 33-21. Below: Edison's Kittim Sherrod (24) runs through the J.P. Stevens defense during the game.

Edison built an early 13-0 lead but saw it erased in the closing minutes of the first half. Edison quarterback Erik Janz helped put the Eagles on top 7-0 with a 67-yard pass play to Kittim Sherrod. Janz, Edison's Most Valuable Player for the game, ran the team's second score into the Stevens end zone from 28 yards out.

After Stevens took a 14-13 halftime lead, Edison regained the lead on its first drive of the second half. Janz put the Eagles back on top with a 59-yard scoring strike to Javon Campbell.

"It was a great game to watch," Edison head coach Matt Fulham said. "Our score early in the fourth quarter helped put the game out of reach. Stevens came back on us twice and made things exciting, but our running game was able to take control of things late in the game. Erik Janz came up big in his final game."

Janz, one of five team captains, simply refused to lose his final game in an Edison uniform. The three-year starter finished his career with three Thanksgiving Day victories and close to 3,000 career passing yards.

"Erik had a solid year directing our offense," Fulham said. "We missed him for two games with a concussion and ran into a rut as a result."

After starting the season 3-1, Edison had high hopes of battling for a division title and qualifying for the state playoffs. Unfortunately, injuries to Janz and tailback Claudio Polanco took its toll on the Eagles. Polanco was the team's leading tackler at safety.

"Overall, the season was a little disappointing," Fulham said. "In addition to the injuries, we just hit a bad spurt. We stopped tackling and doing the little things and that resulted in five straight losses."

Along with losing Janz and Polanco, the Eagles will lose the two-way talents of Sherrod and Dan Lungo. Sherrod was an All-County selection his junior year and is a likely candidate for similar honors once again this season. Lungo anchored both the defensive and offensive lines as a team captain.

Fortunately, the Eagles have a nice crop of underclassmen ready to lead next year's team. Junior lineman Travis Woods appears ready to take over where Lungo left off and linebacker/full back Tom Kuhn enjoyed a nice season on the varsity squad this fall. Sophomore running back Jared Jenkins should also be a key player next season. Jenkins ran for 99 yards on 15 carries with one touchdown against Stevens. Also expected to return is Campbell, another underclassman with a touchdown on Thanksgiving Day.