Barons want to ring bell

There’s no shortage of intrigue when the Edison and Fountain Valley High football teams meet Friday night at Cal State Fullerton, in what promises to be a “Battle for the Bell” for the ages.

Both teams are 8-0, 3-0 in league. The winner of the rivalry game in its 41st year takes sole possession of first place in the Sunset League, with one game left in the regular season.

Fountain Valley is also looking to win the bell back for the first time since 2004, so there’s that aspect as well.

But sitting in Coach John Shipp’s office on Tuesday afternoon, with senior quarterback/free safety Dominic Ragland and senior tailback Kyle Middlebrooks on either side of him, senior lineman Anthony Vega also thinks of another.

He remembers 2006, when the Barons freshman team went 9-1. Guess who served the Barons their only loss that year? Edison.

“We didn’t expect [this year] to be like this, but we wanted to be good and we wanted to win,” Vega said. “We’ve thought back to our freshman year when we were 9-1 and lost to Edison. We want to get them back and make it perfect, make it 10-0.”

Middlebrooks has already rushed for 1,347 yards this year behind a big offensive line that includes left tackle Sese Ianu (6 feet, 224 pounds), left guard Irving Muñoz (6-0, 230), center Brandon Moss (6-2, 260), right guard Vega (6-3, 275) and right tackle Courtland Drummond (6-1, 224). He remembers that freshman year team, too.

“It’s pretty much the same team, with all their star players and all our star players,” said Middlebrooks, who is close family friends with Edison senior running back/defensive back Wade Houston. “We’ve been playing since freshman year, so it’s cool We know all the players. Wade is like my cousin. He comes to all the family events and everything. We have our little beef here and there, but it’s cool, though. It just hypes it up that much more.”

Yet, despite the two undefeated records thus far, make no mistake that Fountain Valley will be the underdog Friday night. Edison is the top-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division poll, the team going for at least a share of its fourth straight Sunset League title. But not counting last year, when five teams shared the title with a 3-2 league record, Fountain Valley has won a title just once (2003) since 1996.

Shipp is in his sixth year as head man at Fountain Valley. He knows Middlebrooks and Ragland, who passes for 159 yards per game on average and runs for 53 more, are his star players. Senior receiver Ryan Steadman has 521 yards receiving and seven scores.

“He’s a kid who does not come off the field,” Shipp said. “He’s put in four years of hard work. I use the term for a lot of these kids as being ‘self made,’ and Ryan Steadman is the embodiment of that.”

But the offensive line, most of which goes both ways, has been a strength. And the defense has been anchored by seniors like linebackers Mike Edwards and Austin Nguyen

“We lost two linebackers [from last year] and they’ve stepped it up big-time this year,” Ragland said. “They’ve been making plays for us. A lot of guys just stepped it up.”

There have been some bumps in the road for the Barons, who nearly fell at Newport Harbor last week before hanging on, 37-32. But now here it is, a “Battle for the Bell” where both teams have been ringing opponents all season long.

The excitement has built. Ragland said he’s now recognized when he goes to “Little Barons” Junior All-American Football practices.

“I can’t stress enough the excitement for the city of Fountain Valley to get to this point,” Shipp said. “That’s what it’s all about, our community.”

When the teams take the field at Cal State Fullerton, expect everyone involved to be excited.

“I love going against anybody, especially a good defense where I can see what I can do against them,” Middlebrooks said. “Put some yards up, put some numbers up.”

Ragland nodded his head.

“It’s a big game. Everyone always talks about it. Our friends always ask us, ‘You going to beat Edison?’ ”

They’ll find out soon enough.

Battle for the Bell

Who: Edison (8-0) vs. Fountain Valley (8-0)

When: Friday at 7 p.m.

Where: At Cal State Fullerton