Edison faces Esperanza

With their eyes on the Sunset League title, Chargers and Aztecs clash Friday at Valencia High.It’s the opening weekend of play in the Sunset League, where a game is more than a game and each week seems to produce a matchup larger than the last.

As opening weekends go, it doesn’t get any bigger than this: Edison, with a record of 4-1, meeting Esperanza, also 4-1, Friday at Valencia High in Placentia.

It’s the CIF-Southern Section Division I top-ranked Chargers versus the No. 5 Aztecs.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Although it’s a big road test for Edison, the visiting team in the last six years of this rivalry has found the road to be kind -- each has won three times on the opposition’s home field.

“That’s big for us, because we’re the road team this year,” Edison coach Dave White said. “This is a huge game for both teams.”

Edison is coming off a bye week, but the Chargers moved from No. 2 in the Division I poll to No. 1 after previously undefeated and top-ranked Long Beach Poly fell to Dominguez, 39-37.

The Chargers have won four straight games since beginning the season with a loss to Kamehameha in Hawaii on Sept. 2. They’ve handled their opponents well during that four-game winning streak. Their most recent win was a 24-21 victory over host Mater Dei.

Esperanza could have its hands full with an Edison offense that is powered by senior Brian Shrock, one of the top passing quarterbacks in the county.

The Chargers have averaged 29 points per game.

Shrock’s main target has been senior Jimmy Flanagan, with fellow senior Thomas Marcin giving the Chargers a dangerous one-two receiving punch.

Defensively, Edison came up big against Mater Dei. The Chargers turned away the Monarchs on their opening drive of the game deep in Edison territory, and senior Dominique Vinson returned an interception 47 yards for a touchdown later in the first quarter to break a scoreless tie.

Senior Justin Christjaener delivered another one of the game’s big blows when he ran back the second-half kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown to give Edison a 17-7 lead.

The Chargers were up by as much as 24-7, but Mater Dei scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns.

“It was a big win for us, but we never really were able to get into any offensive rhythm against Mater Dei,” White said. “They controlled the game clock, and that kept our offense off the field.”

The Chargers defense will face its stiffest challenge of the season against Esperanza’s rushing tandem of senior Rocky Taloa and junior Charles Neal.

Taloa (6 feet 2, 220 pounds) is one of the county’s top rushers, with 840 yards and eight touchdowns in five games. Neal has rushed for 435 yards.

The Aztecs offense is averaging 34 points per game and has scored an average of 47 points in their last two outings.

“Their offense is very good, even better than last year,” White said. “Their running game is one of the best in the county, and they just churn the ball out. They also have five good, senior linemen.

“Our big task is to contain their rushing game. We’re not going to stop it completely, but we will need to slow them down.”

Edison has lost two senior right tackles, Aaron Schlom and D.J. Faizi, to knee injuries.

Tonight

Los Alamitos (5-0) vs. Huntington Beach (3-2)

(at Huntington Beach High, 7 p.m.)

Huntington Beach faces the task of taking on a third-ranked Los Alamitos team that has looked sharp the first five weeks of the season.

The Griffins begin defense of their Sunset League title tonight. Last year, they went 5-0 in league play.

Huntington, which is coming off a 35-25 loss to Trabuco Hills, will have its potent rushing game put to the test by a Los Alamitos defense that has two shutouts to its credit and is giving up an average of one touchdown per game.

Last year’s score: Griffins 42, Oilers 0

Friday

Marina (0-5) vs. Fountain Valley (2-3)

(at Huntington Beach High, 7 p.m.)

Marina is after that elusive first victory when it opens Sunset League play against Fountain Valley.

The Vikings completed another tough nonleague schedule last week with a 26-0 loss to Paramount.

Marina, which hasn’t scored in its last two games, will need to find its groove on offense if it hopes to derail Fountain Valley.

The Barons’ three losses have come at the hands of highly ranked teams in Newport Harbor, Santa Fe and Santa Margarita.

Fountain Valley rode the arm of Shane Webber -- who threw for 290 yards -- to a 28-14 victory last week over Pacifica.

Last year’s score: Barons 39, Aztecs 0

Ocean View (1-3-1; 0-1) vs. Saddleback (1-4; 0-2)

(at Santa Ana Stadium, 7 p.m.)

Ocean View returns to Golden West League play after stepping out of it last week.

The Seahawks gave first-year head coach Dean Yoshiyama his first victory at the school with a 31-24 homecoming win over Magnolia.

Brandon Price, in his first start at quarterback, ran for two touchdowns and passed for another.

Ocean View lost its league opener on Sept. 30 to Santa Ana, 28-0.

Saddleback fell to 0-2 in league play last week when it lost to Santa Ana, 34-7.

Edison-Esperanza

Series

1994 - Aztecs 26, Chargers 16

1995 - Aztecs 17, Chargers 10

1996 - Aztecs 17, Chargers 6

1997 - Aztecs 27, Chargers 26

1998 - Aztecs 52, Chargers 35

1999 - Chargers 41, Aztecs 34

2000 - Aztecs 49, Chargers 43

2001 - Chargers 35, Aztecs 14

2002 - Aztecs 31, Chargers 14

2003 - Chargers 31, Aztecs 7

2004 - Aztecs 14, Chargers 10

(Esperanza leads, 8-3)20051013io82zzknKENT TREPTOW / INDEPENDENT(LA)Huntington Beach’s Mitch Roemer nearly causes a fumble as he tackles a Trabuco Hills player during last Thursday’s loss at home. Tonight Huntington faces third-ranked Los Alamitos, whose strong defense has led the way to two shutout victories this season.