Mike SciaccaOn the first day of preseason...

Mike Sciacca

On the first day of preseason camp leading up to the start of the

2003 prep football season, Edison High Coach Dave White took stock of

what he had.

And, what was missing.

Having lost several key players from a 2002 squad that earned a

CIF Southern Section Division I playoff berth, White turned his focus

to the 2003 unit, a group, he called “great.”

Yes, youth will be served at Edison this fall.

Sure, there were plenty of new faces, but the talent’s there.

After all, it’s Edison football, and these proud but young

Chargers will be looking to carry on the program’s winning tradition.

“We are a very young team,” said White, a former quarterback for

the Chargers who is entering his 18th year as head coach.

“We have a great group of young men who have worked very hard in

the off-season.”

White noted that only six seniors will “probably” start on opening

night, which is Friday at San Clemente.

It’s a tough place for the young Chargers to start. San Clemente,

which again figures to make a serious run for the South Coast League

title, reached the Division II semifinals last fall.

“It’s going to be a tough opener,” White said. “In fact, we have a

very difficult preseason schedule.”

A lot of juniors and sophomores figure to see plenty of playing

time -- nine juniors and three sophomores are in the hunt for

starting spots -- and will try to fill the void left by the

graduation of six All-Sunset League players, as well as Tommy Grady,

the league’s Co-Offensive Player of the Year the past two years.

The Chargers will miss the pin-point passing of Grady, who has

taken his game to the University of Oklahoma.

Grady amassed more than 5,000 passing yards in his Edison career

and threw for a school-career-record 50 touchdowns.

Taking over the quarterback reigns this fall will be sophomore

Brian Shrock.

Shrock tasted outstanding success in his only year of Edison

football last fall, quarterbacking the freshman team to a 10-0

record.

“He will be only the third sophomore [quarterback] in school

history to start,” White said.

Gone, too, from the Edison lineup are all-league players Andy

Avila, a running back-defensive back, wide receiver Travis Simon,

linebacker Bubba Reynolds, defensive linemen Sean Campregher and

Kevin Cone, as well as offensive lineman Jon Simpson.

But back for their senior go-round are three returning all-league

players who should provide Edison with experience and leadership.

Wide receiver and defensive back Matt White, son of the head

coach, was a first-team all-league and All-Orange County wide

receiver last year.

White also will return punts and kickoffs.

Receiver Nate Mitani and linebacker Donnie Spreeman were

second-team all-league picks.

“Those three will give us a big boost,” Dave White said. “Matt

should make a lot of big plays for us, Nate’s one of the best

athletes on our team and Donny has a nose for the football.

“We are young but we will improve as the season goes on.”

The 2003 schedule includes six home games and four road dates,

including Friday’s opener at San Clemente, which finished second to

two-time Division II champion Mission Viejo in the 2002 South Coast

League race.

In Week 2, the Chargers continue their nonleague series with

Capistrano Valley. Santa Fe, up next, is a new addition to the

schedule.

The final two weeks of the nonleague season include showdowns with

parochial powers Mater Dei and Servite, the latter serving as

Edison’s homecoming game.

The Chargers barely catch a breath following their stacked

nonleague schedule as they jump right into the thick of the Sunset

League. First up among five league rivals is defending champion Los

Alamitos at Huntington Beach High.

Edison played Los Al tough in last year’s meeting, but the

Griffins pulled away from the Chargers in the second half to clinch

the Sunset League title.

Los Al went on to claim not only the league championship, but the

CIF Division I crown as well, as it defeated Mater Dei, 41-14, in the

division final.

In a throwback to yesteryear, Edison’s annual Sunset League

showdown with its chief rival, Fountain Valley -- a game that billed

as, the “Battle for The Bell” -- will be played at Edison

International Field on Nov. 7.

The Barons went 4-7, 2-3 in league last year, but still managed to

reach the Division I playoffs.

The Chargers, who went 11-1-1 two years ago and lost to Long Beach

Poly in the 2001 Division I title game, fell to the Jackrabbits,

30-7, in the first round of last year’s playoffs.

The only Charger score in that game came when Mitani returned a

blocked punt 20 yards for the touchdown.

“Los Al again is the team to beat in our league,” White said.

“Esperanza and Fountain Valley are right there behind Los Al.”