Like Lincoln Friday night, Granite Hills was trying to become a second San Diego team this weekend to pull off a comeback and earn a spot into the state championship.

But Granite Hills fell behind Huntington Beach Edison by 20 points in the first half of Saturday’s Southern California Regional Division 1-A playoffs and fell 34-28 on Saturday night at Huntington Beach High School.

Edison will face the winner of St. Ignatius College Prep of San Francisco (10-2) and Central High of Fresno (11-4) on Dec. 14 at Saddleback College beginning at 3:30 p.m.

The Eagles’ comeback bid began when senior running back Max Turner threw a 44-yard touchdown jump-pass to junior wide receiver Tristan Diaz with 8:30 remaining to cut the deficit to 27-14.

After Edison (11-4) scored, Turner posted back-to-back 1-yard touchdown runs to make it a one-possession game.

In between Turner’s second-half touchdowns, Granite Hills (11-3) senior Parker Vance recovered a fumble with 9:16 left. On the ensuing play, he caught a 26-yard pass to set up Turner’s third touchdown of the night where he had to battle multiple Chargers defenders before getting into the end zone.

Granite Hills tried to complete the comeback with a second fourth-down completion during its final drive. However, sophomore quarterback Zac Benitez threw an interception with 2:24 left.

Saints’ playoff run ends in 4-A regionals

In Division 4-A, St. Augustine faced a nearly identical team with a spot in the state championship game at stake.

St. Augustine went 0-10 in the regular season, made the playoffs and got hot. St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy lost its first eight games, leading to a 1-9 regular season record. The Warriors also turned it on in the psoteason, winning the CIF-Southern Section Division 8 title.

Saturday, St. Pius X-St. Matthias was simply better on the way to a 28-7 victory in the Division 4-A  SoCal Regional title game. The Warriors will face the winner of Kerman (12-2) and Sonora (11-2) next week at Long Beach City College for the state title.

The Saints were held scoreless until sophomore running back Pai Polamalu scored a 3-yard touchdown run in wildcat formation with :08 left in the game.

St. Augustine had opportunities but gave the ball away. The Saints (4-11) fumbled and threw an interception on their first two possessions. Saints senior Vincent Smith also threw a pick-six with 8:48 left in the third quarter as the Warriors (6-9) took a 21-0 lead.

St. Pius X-Matthias Academy junior quarterback Jassi Williams threw touchdown passes for 56, 39 and 62 yards.