High School Football Game of the Week

Just mention the phrase, “The Bell,” and most everyone on the

campuses of Edison High and Fountain Valley High know the significance of

those two words.

Two small words, but one incredible connotation.

“This game has become THE game each and every year for both schools,”

said Edison Coach Dave White, who played in the 1973 game (a 28-24

Fountain Valley victory) and has coached in 21 consecutive series games.

“This year’s game is no exception. In addition to being a big rivalry,

Friday’s game is a key game in the race for the playoffs. Fountain

Valley’s also very much in the running for the Sunset League

championship.”

The Barons, who are on a school-best four-game series win streak, kept

their league title hopes alive by upsetting previously-unbeaten and

top-ranked Los Alamitos, 34-27, last Thursday. At 2-1 in league (the Barons are 5-3 overall), Fountain Valley is just one game behind league

leader Marina with two games to play.

Edison, which got off to a 5-0 start only to drop two close games to

start league play, rebounded to get its first league win last Thursday,

41-34, over Esperanza. That victory has put the Chargers back in the

thick of the hunt for a playoff berth.

Both teams feature outstanding rushing attacks. Edison has a solid

passing game to complement running back Darryl Poston, and Fountain

Valley possesses a formidable defense.

Baron Coach Eric Johnson, formerly a defensive coordinator at Mater Dei,

will be involved in his first Edison-Fountain Valley showdown Friday.

The two schools first met in 1969, and it’s a game that still signifies

the intensity of this rivalry.

Edison, playing without one senior in its starting line-up, was a heavy

underdog, but went on to stun the playoff-bound Barons, 21-20.

And thus, a heated rivalry was born.

Before Esperanza and Los Alamitos arrived on the scene five years ago,

the survivor of the Edison-Fountain Valley game usually walked away with

the Sunset League title. Capacity, standing-room-only crowds are the norm

when these two square off each year at Orange Coast College’s LeBard

Stadium, and Friday’s game will be no different.

This is a rivalry that transcends all the changes that have taken place

within high school football the past 25 years, from league realignment,

to an onslaught of divisional playoffs, to cable television.

The lengths these two schools will go to just to earn ownership of “The

Bell.”

“This is the game both teams point to on their schedule,” White

concluded. “Fountain Valley’s had that Bell for awhile, and we’d like to

get it back.”