Vikings overcome sluggish start to beat Flames

STOCKTON — It was a sluggish start to the evening.

Eventually, though, the Edison High football team found the right gear, leaving visiting Lodi in the dust.

The Vikings shrugged off a scoreless first quarter to beat Lodi 48-6 in a nonleague matchup Friday night at Edison.

Seniors Dmetrio Cavens-Summers and Artist Taylor, and sophomore Safdar McCrary each had a rushing score while sophomore Raleek Brown had two for Edison (3-1).

Trevyon Brekenridge added two TD pass to Jayden Jones and Johnathan Taylor.

Malakai Lomano and Oscar Largaespads also had fumble recoveries as part of a strong defensive effort by the Vikings.

For Lodi, two-way player Logan Stout picked off a pair of passes as a safety on defense, then later scored a 67-yard TD on a quarterback keeper.

Through a quarter of play, Edison and Lodi were knotted in a 00 game, thanks to a combination of defensive effort and offensive blunders on both sides.

But, after Edison sacked Stout on fourth down with 9:41 to play in the second quarter, something seemed to click.

Less than two minutes later, Cavens-Summers took a handoff off to the right side and muscled his way into the end zone from short.

The play itself was set up by

Brown, who on consecutive plays spun and weaved his way to a big catch and run.

Lodi punted on its next drive, and Edison seemed to return to the same page of the playbook. Another pair of big-yardage plays - this time by Brown and senior quarterback Treyvon Brekenridge - set up Brown to squeeze his way across the goal line from close.

Edison almost scored a third time just before half, but Stout snatched a bobbled catch out of the air near Lodi's end zone to keep the deficit where it was.

After the break, though, the Vikings went back to the formula. A couple of sizable gains, a red-zone opportunity and a short rushing score, courtesy of Brown once more with 10:21 to play in the third.

Stout broke free for a long rushing score on Lodi's next possession, but it couldn't do much to swing the momentum.

Edison outscored the Flames 27-0 the rest of the way, handing Lodi (3-1) its first loss of the season. At the same time, the Vikings bounced back from a tough loss to Buhach Colony two weeks prior, with a road game at Enochs up next.

Lodi will play its final non-league game against Bear Creek at the Grape Bowl next Friday.