The second season

Mike Sciacca, Independent

The 2001 edition of the CIF Southern Section football playoffs begins

Friday night with no less than three Huntington Beach schools in the hunt

for a championship.

In Division I play, Sunset League co-champion Edison hosts St. John

Bosco. Marina, the Sunset League’s No. 3 entry, travels to take on

unbeaten Redlands. In Division VI, Ocean View, the No. 3 team out of the

Golden West League, visits perennial power Newport Harbor.

A closer look at the matchups:

DIVISION I

St. John Bosco (6-4) vs. Edison (8-0-1)

(at Orange Coast College, 7:30 p.m.)

Edison and St. John Bosco have never met in postseason play but have

met four times during the regular season, with the Chargers having never

lost to the Braves. They’ll be facing a Bosco team that is experienced

despite its youth.

“They are scoring a lot of points and have played teams really tough,”

Edison Coach Dave White said of the Braves. “They have one senior

starting on offense and just three or four on defense. We, on the other

hand, have great senior leadership and are playing well. If we continue

to play our own style of football, then I like our chances (of winning).”

Edison and Bosco, an at-large team out of the Serra League, have

common opponents in Mater Dei, Servite and Los Alamitos. The Chargers

defeated both Mater Dei and Servite and tied Los Al, while the Braves

beat Servite but lost to Los Al and dropped a 38-28 decision to Mater Dei

last Friday.

The Braves are led by a trio of players, including quarterback Joseph

Souza, who has thrown for 1,533 yards. Six-foot five-inch receiver Joe

Cowen has 820 yards and is averaging nearly 25 yards per reception, but

the most dangerous player might be running back/cornerback Derek

Williams, who has a 6.5-yard-per-cary average.

Edison quarterback Tom Grady enters the game with 17 touchdown passes

and has been intercepted just twice.

“Tommy’s having an outstanding season,” White said. “That’s the best a

quarterback at this school has ever done.”

The winner advances to play the winner of Friday’s matchup between

Bishop Amat (8-1) and Long Beach Wilson (4-5-1) Nov. 23.

Marina (5-5) vs. Redlands (10-0)

(at the University of Redlands, 7:30 p.m.)

Being part of the playoff picture looked anything but certain for

Marina after an 0-2 start in Sunset League play. But, after scoring just

one touchdown in each of those one-sided losses, the Vikings came on

strong to defeat Esperanza, Fountain Valley and Huntington Beach to claim

third place and an automatic berth.

Marina has averaged 29 points during that three-game win streak, and

they’ll need every one of those points if they hope to derail a Redlands

team that is the division’s No. 2 seed.

“From what I’ve seen of them on film, they are a well-disciplined

team,” said Marina Coach Mike Dodd. “We’re playing well and we’ll need to

continue that trend. This is a tough game but hey, it’s the playoffs, and

every game from here on out will be tough.”

There’s plenty to celebrate at Redlands this week as the Terriers

completed their first 10-0 season since 1952. They also won their first

Citrus Belt League championship in 25 years and their first outright

league crown since the 1974 season.

They also have pulverized their 10 opponents this fall, outscoring

them, 293-72. They have shut out four of those foes and held another to

one touchdown. Defensive leaders include talented linebackers Kurt Hummel

and Ca’Shun Robinson and linebackers Dave Shrekenhamer and Geoff Meier.

Redlands runs the Wing-T offense. Leading rusher Ryan Rogers has 1,220

yards and 13 touchdowns, and the rotation of two fullbacks has seen Rocky

McBroom rush for 422 yards and seven touchdowns and Ron Guess gain 352

yards and score five times.

Quarterback Greg Brock, a steady three-year starter, hasn’t been

required to throw much. He is 41 of 69 for 681 yards with five touchdowns

and two interceptions.

Redlands last reached a CIF final in 1979, when Edison pinned a 55-0

defeat on the Terriers in the Big 5 Conference title game.

The winner advances to meet the winner of Friday’s game between Long

Beach Jordan (7-2) and Mater Dei (6-4) Nov. 23.

DIVISION VI

Ocean View (3-6-1) vs. Newport Harbor (8-1-1)

(at Newport Harbor High, 7:30 p.m.)

Ocean View is in the playoffs by virtue of Tustin having to forfeit

all four of its Golden West League victories due to an ineligible player.

The Seahawks limp into this first round clash having given up 92 points

to that same Tustin team just a week ago in 92-0 setback. Not a good way

to enter the playoffs against powerful Newport Harbor, which won the Sea

View League crown.

At least the Seahawks get a reprieve.

“We are not that bad a team and our guys are glad to have the chance

to redeem themselves,” said first-year Ocean View Coach Sean Simpson.

Newport is coming off its first loss of the season, a 26-22 nonleague

home defeat to once-beaten Westchester. The loss proved costly as it

dropped Newport from a potential No. 1 seed, to No. 3. Still -- shed no

tears -- the Sailors, who won section titles in 1994 and 1999 and reached the division final a year ago, will be tough to beat.

Newport enters the game with a defense that has allowed just six

points per game and has three shutouts. The 26 points scored by

Westchester were the most given up by the Sailors in a single game this

season. They are scoring 25 points per game.

Senior quarterback Morgan Craig has thrown for 1,291 yards and 18

touchdowns with three interceptions. His leading receiver, Adam Kerns,

has a 22-yards per catch average and has scored 10 touchdowns. Leading

rusher Dartangan Johnson, a junior tailback, has churned his way to 1,204

yards and has reached the end zone on 11 occasions.

Ocean View will be severely tested on both sides of the ball. The

Seahawks are scoring an average of just 10 points while the defense has

been burned for an average of 28 points per game -- and that’s not

counting the 92 given up to Tustin.

The winner advances to play the winner of Friday’s matchup between

Cerritos (8-1) and Loara (3-6) Nov. 23.