Two have CIF title hopes

Now the second season begins.

When the CIF Southern Section 11-man football playoffs get underway in 13 divisions Friday, two local teams — Edison and Ocean View — will be among those participating in the postseason party.

Edison has drawn a first-round Pac-5 Division home game while Ocean View will open Southeast Division play on the road.

There will be no postseason play for Huntington Beach or Marina, both of which played for the final time in 2007 Nov. 9.

Friday’s CIF playoff games:

Pac-5 Division

Compton (8-2) vs. Edison (7-3)

(at Huntington Beach High, 7:30 p.m.)

An intriguing first-round Pac-5 Division matchup has Sunset League co-champion Edison hosting Compton, the No. 3 team out of the Moore League.

It’s the first meeting between the two schools.

Compton started the year 8-0 but dropped its final two league games to Long Beach Poly and Lakewood, teams that are a combined 17-3.

The Tarbabes made some noise in last year’s playoffs by upending Sunset League co-champion Esperanza in a first-round matchup before being eliminated in the quarterfinals by eventual division champion Orange Lutheran.

Orange Lutheran went on to win the title by defeating Edison in the division final last December.

Edison’s defense, which gave up an average of 11 points per game in its first 10 games, will be tested by a Compton offense that comes into Friday’s game averaging 41 points per game.

The Tarbabes rushing attack is led by senior Donald Green, who averages just under 200 yards (199.6) per game, and junior Curry Williams who averages 125 yards.

Green has scored 21 times, 17 coming on the ground.

Another key player for the Tarbabes is senior offensive guard/defensive end Datone Jones (6-5, 247) who has committed to UCLA.

Compton’s defense has held five of its opponents to a touchdown or less.

“It’s definitely as tough a first-round game as there is, but there’s no easy playoff game in the Pac-5,” Edison Coach Dave White said. “They upset Esperanza last year and at 8-2, we know just how good they are. They have a lot of speed and good athletes. We’ve got our hands full.”

Edison pulled off perhaps its most satisfying win of the season Nov. 9 in its regular season and Sunset League finale against host Newport Harbor. In a battle where the winner would earn at least a share of the Sunset championship, Edison routed the Sailors, 47-0.

The shutout was the second of the season for the Chargers defense and the first of the season suffered by the Sailors.

Edison has now won outright or shared the Sunset title for the past three years and five of the last seven.

Edison’s run to this year’s title mirrors its late-season march in 2003, when the Chargers dropped three-straight games to nonleague foes Mater Dei and Servite and a league-opener against Los Alamitos.

They then went on to win their final four league games to clinch a share of the Sunset title.

Such was the case again this year, with consecutive losses to Servite, Mater Dei and Los Alamitos coming before a four-game win streak to close out the regular season that earned them a portion of the league title again.

Against Newport Harbor, Nick Crissman threw for 203 yards and had touchdown passes to Shawn Higginbotham, Areseo Lakey and Mike Bogard, and Lakey had 210 all-purpose yards, including 147 on the ground, and rushed for two other touchdowns.

Wade Houston and Nate Blizzard also ran for scores.

“It was by far our best performance of the year,” White said. “We executed our game plan to near-perfection.

“We knew what was on the line in this game, but we didn’t talk about it much all week before the game. The kids just went out and did a great job. It was a clutch performance against a quality opponent. Our seniors and assistant coaches deserve a lot of credit. They’ve shown good leadership since the Mater Dei game.”

White praised the play of his offensive line — center Marcus Dubois Jr., left guard Wes Graves, right guard David McMahon, left tackle Eric Smith and right tackle Bryce Brantley — which gave Crissman ample protection and “all day” to throw.

Edison will be without receiver/linebacker Trent Burns-Stickney for the remainder of the season.

The senior broke his arm in the Fountain Valley game and had surgery on it Nov. 8, White said.

“I feel bad for him,” White said. “He’s an all-league player, and it’s his senior year. But we’ve had other players step in and do a good job in his absence.”

Edison and Compton have one common opponent this season in Long Beach Jordan: Edison shut out the Panthers, 45-0, and Compton defeated its league rival, 25-6.

Southeast Division

Ocean View (7-3) vs. La Habra (9-0)

(at La Habra High, 7 p.m.)

For its first trip to the CIF playoffs for the first time since 2001, Ocean View’s reward is a first-round date with La Habra.

The Highlanders are the only undefeated team in the Southeast Division playoff field and had been ranked the division’s top team throughout most of the season. But, oddly, they are only the second-place team out of the Freeway League and not even a top seed in the playoff drawing.

That’s because Troy, whom La Habra beat, had to forfeit six games due to the use of an ineligible player. One of the games the Warriors had to forfeit was a Freeway League win over Fullerton. La Habra and Fullerton never met in league play, however, because their game had been canceled due to last month’s fires. La Habra had defeated Troy, but because Troy was forced to forfeit its win over Fullerton, both La Habra and Fullerton finished league play with 4-0 records and shared the Freeway title.

A coin flip was held last weekend to determine the league’s first- and second-place playoff spots and, you guessed it, a now 6-3 Fullerton team won the flip and goes in as the league’s No. 1 representative, leaving a 9-0 La Habra team as the No. 2 playoff entry from the league.

Fullerton also is the No. 3-seed in the division.

“They are by far the best second-place team in our division, hands down. In fact, they are arguably the best team in the entire division,” Ocean View Coach Dean Yoshiyama said. “You can’t get a tougher first-round draw.”

Yoshiyama and one of his assistants, defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Jeff Anger, headed down to the CIF-Southern Section office in Los Alamitos Sunday to learn of Ocean View’s playoff draw. It was a happy trip for the pair, and the first for Yoshiyama as a head coach.

Ocean View clinched second place and a playoff bid Nov. 8 by defeating Orange, 21-9.

“It was a neat experience, that’s for sure,” said the third-year head coach. “For us, for me, it was a great feeling to see our draw. And then I saw it was La Habra.

“It didn’t make sense to me. When I went to see the drawings, I’d figured that La Habra would draw a third-place team. One of the second-place teams in our division gets a first-round game against a second-place team and I thought La Habra would get that draw. They deserved it.

“But it is what it is and the bottom line is that we’re really excited to be in the playoffs. We’re going to enjoy this experience.”

Ocean View secured its first playoff berth in six years by pulling away from Orange Nov. 8. Kyle Walker’s four-yard touchdown run with 8:33 to play, his second rushing TD of the game, gave the Seahawks a 12-point lead (21-9) and what would be their final margin of victory.

Orange had three final possessions to get back into contention following Walker’s score, but the Ocean View defense only allowed one first down the remainder of the way. Dana Maley, who also threw for 195 yards and teamed with Richard Lam on a 61-yard TD pass play to give the Seahawks a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, had an interception to end one of those possessions.

Despite entering the playoffs as not one of the division’s top seeds, La Habra is rolling strongly into the postseason.

The Highlanders offense is averaging 40 points a game. In their last three league contests, they outscored the opposition 170-16 and haven’t scored less than 52 points in any of those games.

“They are really, really explosive and have scored over 50 points in their last three games,” Yoshiyama said. “Our goal, obviously, is to try to slow them down.”

Quarterback Chris Morales directs the Highlanders offense and has thrown for 1,795 yards and 21 touchdowns in nine games.

The ground game is led by Jason Davis (620 yards) and Ronnie Hillman (530).

Hillman averages nearly 10 yards per carry and also is one of the Highlanders’ leading receivers.

Ocean View won’t have the services of receiver Adam To. The junior broke his wrist during a Nov. 2 game against Westminster and is out for the season, Yoshiyama said.

“This is the first time in years that this school has been to the playoffs, and everybody’s excited,” Yoshiyama said. “It’s great for the kids, the program and the community.”

Oilers, Vikings fall in finales; seasons come to end

The 2007 prep football season ended Friday for both Huntington Beach and Marina.

Huntington, needing a win to stay in contention for a CIF playoff berth, dropped its Sea View League finale to host Foothill, 19-12. Justin Niutapuai took in a four-yard TD pass from Bobby Duarte and Clayton Prestridge kicked two field goals for the Oilers.

Huntington, which trailed by only 13-12 late in the fourth quarter, finished the year 2-3 in league play and 5-5 overall.

On the same night, Marina had its season come to an end in a 56-7 loss to Sunset League rival Los Alamitos. Zach Couey hit Jimmy Irvin with a 21-yard TD pass for the Vikings.

Marina ended the year 0-5 in Sunset play and 3-7 overall.

Edison (7-3; 4-1)

27…Diamond Ranch…13

26…San Clemente…17

45…L.A. Jordan…0

0…Servite…6

14…Mater Dei…42

9…*Los Alamitos…13

62…*Marina…7

9…*Esperanza…7

22…*Fountain Valley…13

47…*Newport Harbor…0

Friday: CIF vs. Compton

(at Huntington Beach High, 7:30 p.m.)

Huntington Beach (5-5, 2-3)

10…L.B. Millikan…22

35…Los Amigos…20

3…L.B. Jordan…13

21…Westminster…0

25…Gardena…12

14…*Trabuco Hills…45

22…*Northwood…15

22…*El Toro…34

27…*Woodbridge…13

12…*Foothill…19

Marina (3-7, 0-5)

20…Capo Valley…26

14…Westminster…13

37…Orange…19

14…Colton…52

24…Paramount…9

0…*Esperanza…58

7…*Edison…62

6…*Fountain Valley…32

7…*Newport Harbor…42

7…*Los Alamitos…56

Ocean View (7-3, 3-2)

22…Calvary Chapel…15

14…University…42

21…Century…14

29…Bolsa Grande…6

27…Estancia…26

28…*Santa Ana…21

14…*Segerstrom…35

35…*Saddleback…14

6…*Westminster…42

21…*Orange…9

Friday: CIF vs. La Habra

(at La Habra High, 7 p.m.)

(*denotes league game)