Barons, Vikings to clash

Three local teams open Sunset League play Friday in the league that’s recognized by many as the toughest in Southern California.

Two teams will do so against each other.

The Marina High Vikings (1-4) and Fountain Valley Barons (5-0) play at 7 p.m. at Huntington Beach High, and this one looks to be a mismatch on paper. Fountain Valley, coming off a bye, is ranked No. 7 in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division poll heading into Friday night, which is the Barons’ homecoming game.

The Barons don’t want to look ahead, but they should be refreshed after their bye week last week. They’ll need to be, as their next four games following this one are against the four other co-league champions from a year ago: Esperanza, Newport Harbor, Edison and Los Alamitos.

“[Marina has] been struggling but they ended up taking care of their opponent last week [Western],” Barons Coach John Shipp said. “The Sunset League’s so tough and it’s important that we focus on what we need to do. If we do what we need to do, then good things will happen.”

But Marina also has to feel like it comes into this game with a bit of momentum after posting its first victory of the season, 40-28, over Western last Friday. Senior Cash Duarte had 112 rushing yards and three touchdowns, and junior quarterback Nick Marshall threw a pair of touchdowns, to Delano Douglas and Andrew Harris.

The 40 points was more than Marina scored in its first four games combined. Coach Dan Petrone said he feels like the Vikings should be about 3-2 heading into league, not 1-4, but they’ll take the win.

“Obviously, it’s a great victory for the whole team and the program,” Petrone said. “We finally got to demonstrate what we feel like we’re capable of. We were finally out there and able to perform together. We have to do it together, as a united team.”

“Fountain Valley is playing very well on both sides of the football, as well as special teams,” he said. “It’s going to be a huge test for us.”

In other games this week:

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Edison (5-0) vs. Esperanza (3-2), 7 p.m. at Valencia High of Placentia: A year ago, the game against Esperanza was a bitter Sunset League finale for the Chargers, a 16-3 loss that kept them from winning the Sunset League title outright and eventually kept them out of the playoffs following a random drawing.

“They were the team that kind of spoiled our season,” Coach Dave White said. “We’ve got a little revenge [factor] there.”

This year, it’s a league opener for Edison, the top-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division poll and Orange County, as well as the No. 5-state ranked team by Calhisports.com.

The Chargers are coming off a bye and White said Tuesday that senior linebacker Jordan Zumwalt (broken hand) expects to play Friday in a cast. Zumwalt played against Servite three weeks ago but then sat out the Chargers’ next victory over Mater Dei.

Esperanza is just 3-2 but coming off an impressive 24-0 shutout of Centennial of Compton. Fullback Mike Manibusan had 33 carries for 173 yards, part of a 332-yard Aztec rushing attack.

“They’re a very good running football team,” White said. “They’ve got a good, fast quarterback. Defensively, they attack and blitz a lot. They’re not an easy team to practice for.”

Edison’s last three nonleague wins — Dana Hills, Servite and Mater Dei — were against teams still ranked No. 7, 3 and 6, respectively, in the county.

“It definitely helps us [going into league],” White said. “It shows we’re a good football team. But it doesn’t win us a league championship.”

Edison has won at least a share of the league title for four straight years.

Huntington Beach (3-2) vs. Foothill (0-5), 7 p.m. at Tustin High: The Oilers open Sea View League play against a Knights team that has a misleading record.

“Foothill’s a very good team,” Huntington Beach Coach Eric Lo said. “They’re 0-5, but they’re a good team They’ve been a victim of their schedule.”

The Oilers have some momentum of their own after they topped San Juan Hills, 49-35, Friday night. Senior tailback Jack Dilbeck ran for 249 yards and four touchdowns and senior quarterback Sean Guite had three touchdown passes, two to Cameron Pizzica and one to Kaller Roemer.

Huntington Beach has now won three straight after an 0-2 start.

“We just played great,” Guite said. “It was an overall great effort. The running game opens up the passing game.”

Foothill, like Huntington Beach, has a talented aerial attack led by senior quarterback Aaron Dupin.

Westminster (2-3) at Ocean View (3-2), 7 p.m.: The Seahawks completed a two-game sweep of Costa Mesa high schools when they won at Estancia, 20-10, last Friday night. Now they open Golden West League play against a Westminster team that’s lost two straight, including a 33-20 setback against Pacifica last week.

Westminster is the defending league champion and beat Ocean View, 48-19, a year ago.

The play of junior quarterback Nolan Tippy may gauge the Seahawks’ success. Tippy was impressive against Estancia, completing 19 of 24 passes, including all 11 second-half attempts. He had a touchdown pass to Blake Walker, while the Seahawks also had two Brian Hernandez field goals and Timmy Robinson scored on a two-yard run.

Los Amigos (0-5) vs. Santiago (4-1), 7 p.m. at Garden Grove High: The Lobos, coming off a 42-27 loss to Northwood, may have a tough time getting their first win as they open Garden Grove League play.

Daniel Hernandez had three touchdown runs and also a touchdown pass to Jose Perez against Northwood.

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Brethren Christian (2-3) at Hamilton (4-2), 7 p.m.: The Warriors will travel to Anza, an unincorporated area in southern Riverside County, for this contest. They’ll be looking to bounce back from a 37-7 loss to Chadwick last week, despite the continued solid rushing of Ryan Randall (154 yards).

Brethren Christian won against Hamilton last year, 30-13.