The Bottom Line

To say that the Sunset League is balanced from top to bottom this

year - as many of the league’s six coaches have even before the 1999

season played out - is an understatement.

Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, the standings are

anything but secure.

And it all starts at the top.

Three teams - Marina, Fountain Valley, and Los Alamitos, share a piece of

first-place at 3-1, but one of them will be eliminated from the title

picture Friday when Marina and Los Alamitos square off in a showdown at

Huntington Beach High.

Fountain Valley’s title hopes also are on the line Friday when the Barons

battle Esperanza.

A win there gives the Barons a share of the crown with the survivor of

the Griffins-Vikings showdown.

“They’re all huge games Friday,” Marina Coach Mark Rehling said. “This is

a very strong league from top to bottom, and that’s evident by the fact

that not one team will get through this year’s race unbeaten.”

Should Marina upend preseason favorite Los Alamitos, then the Vikings

will enter next week’s CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs as the

Sunset League’s top entry - regardless if Fountain Valley does defeat

Esperanza.

That’s because the Vikings scored a key 20-3 win over the Barons in a

head-to-head confrontation back on Oct. 22.

“I felt we had as good as talent as anybody in the league before the

season began, and now our kids are in position to share a league

championship,” Fountain Valley Coach Eric Johnson said. “We’ve beaten

both Los Alamitos and Edison these past two weeks, which just makes

Friday’s game with Esperanza all that much bigger.”

Edison (1-3 in league and 6-3 overall) still has a shot at postseason

play, but the Chargers must defeat Huntington Beach to remain in the hunt

for Division I wild-card berth consideration. By finishing 7-3 overall,

Edison would be hard to pass over. A Fountain Valley win over Esperanza

would also bolster the Chargers’ chances.

“If Fountain Valley does win, then I think we have a good shot at a

wild-card spot,” said Edison Coach Dave White, whose Chargers are looking

to reach the playoffs for the first time since the 1995 squad earned a

wild-card berth.