A Tough Break

Marina High’s success on the football field has been tinged with

the loss of co-captain Inoke Tukia, who suffered a broken arm early in

the second quarter of last Friday’s 21-13 win at Mayfair. A big time

player at linebacker and one of the area’s best, Tukia will be sidelined

for an unspecified time, Vikings coach Mike Dodd said. “We have mixed

emotions over here,” he said. “We’ve had a some really big wins (Newport

Harbor and Mayfair), but the loss of Inoke is tough to take. We’ll rally

around him, and we hope to get him back soon.”...

Junior outside linebacker/receiver Sam Prince stepped up following the

loss of Tukia and led Marina defensively against Mayfair with an

interception return for a touchdown, as well as a fumble recovery...

One of the area’s longest running rivalries continues Friday when

Marina visits Westminster. The Vikings and Lions will be meeting for the

38th time on the gridiron, with Westminster holding a slim 19-17-1 edge

in the series...

A long time coming: Huntington Beach High’s 17-0 victory last Friday

over Capistrano Valley was the Oilers’ first since beating Dana Hills,

14-7, last Oct. 8. The triumph ended a losing streak at seven games...

Huntington Beach’s defense had been stung for an average of 40 points

in its first two games. “We made a commitment to ourselves on defense

last week, and the kids stayed with it,” Oilers coach Tony Ciarelli said.

“We (coaches) knew they could play like this, but they just hadn’t played

up to their capabilities yet. Our coaching staff deserves a lot of credit

for getting the kids ready for Capo.”...

The shutout also was the first by a Huntington Beach team since the

1998 Oilers blanked Downey, 12-0...

Never look a workhorse in the mouth: Ciarelli said that running back

Russ Oschman never tired of running the ball against Capistrano Valley,

despite the fact that his 50 carries (see this week’s Player of the Week

story) might indicate otherwise. “He never complained about being tired,

and he said he still wanted the ball,” he said. “As long as it was

working, and as long as Russ ready and willing to run the ball, we were

going to stick with it.” Got that, Mission Viejo?...

The downside to the Capo victory was that the Oilers lost starting

offensive guard Matt Ostiz to an arm injury. Ostiz could be sidelined for

a week or two, Ciarelli said...

Friday’s Huntington Beach-Mission Viejo showdown could turn into a

backfield showdown between Oshman and Diablos tailback Robbie Dubois, who

had 214 yards and three touchdowns during last week’s 35-27 win over

Laguna Hills. In three games, the 5-foot-10, 190 junior, who also plays

outside linebacker, has rushed for 502 yards and six touchdowns...

Marcus McCutcheon, the first player in Edison High’s illustrious

history to play at the varsity level as a freshman, scored his first

career touchdown on a kickoff return when he took last Friday’s opening

kickoff 90 yards for a score in a 42-21 win at Dana Hills. McCutcheon,

now a junior, is a jack-of-all trades: in addition to handling kick

returns, he also plays at wide receiver, tailback, and cornerback...

Charger senior inside linebacker Seth Prelesnik showed why he’s

Edison’s top tackler with 15 tackles against Dana Hills...

Future Pacific 10 Conference rival quarterbacks will meet Friday when

Edison’s Richard Schwartz (Cal) and Mater Dei’s Matt Leinart (USC) guide

their respective squads...

Arrive early at Orange Coast College’s LeBard Stadium, because the

Mater Dei-Edison showdown is sure to draw a standing-room-only crowd.