High School Football Game of the Week

Oh, the wars of the Sunset League.

Or, is that, woes of the Sunset League?

In a league where a team has to be at the top of its game week in

and week out if it hopes to survive a rigorous five-game schedule, the

Edison High Chargers will have to put their best gameplan forward Friday

if they hope to topple unbeaten and preseason league favorite Los

Alamitos.

The Independent’s Game of the Week kicks off at 7 p.m. at

Huntington Beach High’s Sheue Field.

After cruising through a 5-0 nonleague season, Edison itself was

toppled from the ranks of the unbeaten in last week’s opener with Marina

and suffice it to say, another loss in just two league games would put a

serious crimp in the Chargers’ bid for a Sunset championship.

Edison will be looking for its first league win ever against the

Griffins.

“If we hope to beat Los Alamitos, then we’ll need to be more

consistent, execute much better, and block better than we did against

Marina,” Edison Coach Dave White said. “We still have a shot at winning

the league championship, and this game presents us with the chance to

redeem ourselves. We’ll have to do it against a very good Los Alamitos

squad.”

Although solid, the 1999 Griffins, ranked second in Division I,

aren’t quite the explosive offensive team that the school has fielded in

the past. They’ve averaged 24 points per game - good by most school’s

standards, but have favored the run this season over their usual potent

passing attack this season.

The leading rusher in the Los Alamitos backfield is senior Damon

Johnson (6-foot-2, 205), who has gained 775 yards and a 5.1 yards per

carry average in his first six games.

Quarterback Mike Sanford hasn’t been overpowering, and has

struggled at times. The 6-4, 180 senior has thrown for 743 yards (a 12.6

average) and eight touchdowns, but has been intercepted five times.

Sanford’s main target has been junior wide receiver Steve Shinen

(13.4 avg.).

“Their strength has been their running game, and they have a very

good back in Johnson,” White said. “If we can slow him down, then

obviously we’ve increased our chances of winning this game.

A big concern of White’s is Los Alamitos’ defensive front, which

he terms “exceptional.” It will pose a formidable challenge to an Edison

offense that has been averaging 37.5 points per game, as well as Charger

running back Darryl Poston, who passed the 1,000 yards rushing mark this

season in last week’s loss at Marina.

The junior has rushed for 1,028 yards and 16 touchdowns this year.

“There’s no doubt that this a big game for both teams,” added

White, whose team will put its No.8 ranking on the line. “This league is

so balanced from top to bottom that I don’t think any team will go

unbeaten.”