HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL GAME OF THE WEEK

Mike Sciacca

After a five-year drought, they have The Bell back.

Now they want a Sunset League title, something that has eluded them

for 10 years.

The race for the Sunset League football championship has come down to

tonight’s game: Esperanza battling Edison for undisputed supremacy in

2000.

Kickoff for the Independent’s Game of the Week is 7 p.m. at Huntington

Beach High.

The game should be nothing less than a barnburner. Both teams are

powered by prolific offenses and each possesses a formidable defense.

But something has to give. Will Esperanza be able to run roughshod

over yet another league opponent, or can Edison come up with another

sterling defensive performance?

“I really think that Esperanza’s the best team in Orange County right

now, the way they’ve been playing,” Edison coach Dave White said a few

days after Edison wrestled The Bell away from rival Fountain Valley.

“They are tough any way you want to look at them.”

Esperanza, it seems, has gained steam with each passing week of the

season. Although the Aztecs have started slowly in their two previous key

league encounters, they certainly know how to finish.

First, they found themselves in a 12-0 halftime hole against Fountain

Valley on Oct. 12, but stormed back with 41 second-half points and a

41-15 victory. Last week, against archrival Los Alamitos, the Aztecs were

tied at 7 after two quarter, but came up with a 28-0 finish and a 35-7

victory.

“They can get you in a hurry,” White said. “We’ll need to be at our

best on defense and eliminate turnovers on offense in order to beat

them.”

There are many challenges facing this Edison team -- perhaps the

greatest being presented to the Charger defense, which has been

spectacular in league play. The Chargers haven’t been scored upon in the

second half of four consecutive games, yielding just 30 points in those

contests.

Edison has played several big games this season, prepping for

tonight’s season finale by taking on the likes of Mater Dei, Servite, Los

Alamitos and rival Fountain Valley.

But the Chargers haven’t faced a running back like Esperanza’s

Temitope Sonuyi, whose on-field exploits -- 1,876 yards and 24 touchdowns

-- have fueled the Aztecs.

“He’s had a phenomenal season,” White said of Sonuyi, “and to stop

Esperanza, we’ll need to stop him.”