Prep football: Edison pours it on early to beat ‘Iolani

August 16, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

As Hurricane Lala drenched parts of the Hawaiian Islands, the calm remained at sunny Father Bray Athletic Complex.

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By 1:30 p.m., Edison kicked off to host ‘Iolani, and the Chargers from Huntington Beach, Calif., put a jolt into the Raiders with a 41-27 win at Eddie Hamada Field. Sam Thomson threw three touchdown passes, while running backs Brett Dempsen and Gavyn Degiacomo combined for 183 yards and three TDs on 21 carries.

It was a 27-0 lead before the home team began to find its footing. Edison played a mix of reserves and starters from beginning to end. ‘Iolani coach Patrick Samsonas found solace in his team’s in-game resilience.

“I feel wet. It’s a wet game,” he said of the gusty, rainy conditions by game’s end. We battled in the second and that was the test. They answered some of the calls. That’s a really good team in the CIF (California Interscholastic Federation). I’m proud of our guys for battling. We’ve got a bye week before we get another mainland team.”

‘Iolani (1-1) hosts Westview (San Diego) on Aug. 29.

Edison’s crisp offensive attack, taking any cushion the defense allowed with quick passes, was impressive. It wasn’t enough to make longtime coach Jeff Grady ecstatic.

“We didn’t really think or talk about (the hurricane) much, to be honest with you,” Grady said. “I think we played well in the first half. I wish I could say there’s a whole bunch of good things, but we feel as a staff, there’s a lot of things if we don’t improve, we play in one of the toughest leagues around, people are going to make us pay for those.”

Degiacomo, a sophomore, finished with 76 yards and two TDs on 12 carries. He wore No. 39 and looked the part of old-school Miami Dolphins bruiser Larry Csonka.

“We had some sophomores step up. Degiacomo stepped up. Everybody played and contributed in some way,” Grady said. “I thought ‘Iolani got tougher as the game went on. They ran the ball really well on us. They’re tough up front and they executed their passing game when they needed to.”

The visitors, clad in white jerseys, pants and helmets, scored on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Thomson to Dominic Harrison on a fake bubble screen. It was 6-0 with 8:22 left in the opening quarter.

After pushing ‘Iolani’s offense backward, Edison drove and scored on a 1-yard blast by Degiacomo. That gave the Chargers a 13-0 lead with 3:28 to go in the first quarter.

A 25-yard TD pass from Thomson to Harrison opened the lead to 20-0 with 14 seconds to play in the opening quarter.

After Dempsen bolted for a 59-yard TD untouched, Edison was cruising with a 27-0 lead and 3:36 left in the first half.

The Raiders got on the scoreboard on a pick-6 by defensive back Taueve Sataraka. His 31-yard return to pay dirt came with 1:56 remaining in the first half.

Scoring Summary

Game

Qtr

Scoring Play

Score

Edison vs. ‘Iolani

1st

ED — Dominic Harrison 17 pass from Sam Thompson (run failed)

ED 6–0

1st

ED — Gavyn Degiacomo 1 run (Crue Bradshaw kick)

ED 13–0

1st

ED — Dominic Harrison 25 pass from Thomson (Bradshaw kick)

ED 20–0

2nd

ED — Brett Dempsen 59 run (Bradshaw kick)

ED 27–0

2nd

IOL — Taueve Sataraka 31 interception return (kick failed)

ED 27–6

2nd

ED — Logan Hampton 13 pass from Thomson (Bradshaw kick)

ED 34–6

3rd

IOL — Joshua Griffin 1 run (Ty Mitsunaga kick)

ED 34–13

4th

IOL — Jadon Anzai 21 run (Mitsunaga kick)

ED 34–20

4th

ED — Degiacomo 2 run (Bradshaw kick)

ED 41–20

4th

IOL — Karim Boursiquot 7 pass from Nixon Ling (Mitsunaga kick)

ED 41–27

Orem vs. Kamehameha

1st

OREM — Javoni Halalilo 64 interception return (Adrian Sanchez kick)

OREM 7–0

2nd

KS — Maddox Sharrer 4 run (Tyler Fujimoto kick)

TIE 7–7

3rd

OREM — Sanchez 31 FG

OREM 10–7

4th

OREM — Brooks Ross 23 pass from Rock Speredon (run failed)

OREM 16–7

Individual Statistics (Orem vs. Kamehameha)