Chargers stay resilient

PLACENTIA — One of the centers of attention coming into last Friday’s Sunset League opener was the center himself.

Edison High senior center Roman Sapolu was out with a foot injury, so the Chargers turned to senior Kris Bonham, who hadn’t played the position in three years and is usually on the defensive line.

Esperanza probably couldn’t tell the difference, the way Bonham stepped in and performed. But what the Aztecs probably could tell after Edison’s 34-10 win at Valencia High is why the Chargers, the top-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division poll, are considered favorites to win their fifth straight league title.

That grittiness is one of the reasons.

“[Bonham] had one day of practice at center,” Edison Coach Dave White said.

“That’s kind of what we’ve been all year. We’re beat up, banged up, but they keep chugging along. I’m proud of them; they’re great kids and they’ve worked real hard to get to this point.”

Edison (6-0), ranked No. 5 in the state by Calhisports.com, plays at Newport Harbor (4-2, 1-0) Friday night. That game, already important, became a bit magnified as the Sailors upset Los Alamitos, 23-20, in their league opener on a late touchdown pass from Aaron Rios to Parker Norton.

It was the 200th win at Newport Harbor for Coach Jeff Brinkley.

Edison jumped ahead early against Esperanza (3-3). The Chargers led 20-10 at halftime as senior quarterback Matt Viles connected on touchdown passes to Michael Rivera and Luke Eddy and senior kicker Markus Trujillo had two field goals.

But defense led to offense in the second half, when senior Shaun McLaughlin blocked an Esperanza punt midway through the third quarter.

The ball popped up into the air and was grabbed by junior Roland Blackiston, who advanced it to the Esperanza 12.

On the next play, Viles had his second touchdown pass to Rivera, finding him open near the back-right corner of the end zone.

Viles capped the scoring with 7:37 left in the game, when he found junior Davion Orphey on a screen pass. Orphey did the rest, breezing past several defenders near midfield for a 63-yard touchdown.

Viles had 292 yards and four touchdowns. Orphey had 168 total yards, 96 of those on the ground in the first half.

“He’s an electrifying kid,” White said. “I probably should have given him the ball more against Mater Dei. [Senior running back] Wade Houston is kind of beat up too, so we’re just going to keep having the team attitude. Everybody’s been great about that. The receivers, the running backs, they all have a great attitude; they just want to win. There’s only one ball, and I feel like we have five guys that are capable of making a big play every play, but there’s only one ball.”

Defensively, Edison’s only touchdown allowed came when a snap sailed over the punter’s head, and Esperanza recovered the ball at the Chargers’ one-yard line. Esperanza’s Mike Manibusan then rumbled in, but that was one of the few offensive highlights for the Aztecs, another being senior quarterback Drew Huusfeldt’s long run in the first half.

The Chargers intercepted Huusfeldt twice in the second half, one each by Steven Malone and Eddy.

Malone returned his interception for a touchdown, but it was called back due to holding.

“We pretty much lit it up,” Eddy said.

“We played assignment football, and we stayed disciplined. That’s how we stopped them. We stayed in our gaps, we played assignments, and we tackled well.”

White said Sapolu is week-to-week. Senior linebacker Jordan Zumwalt (broken hand) did play against Esperanza with a cast.

Looking around the local high school football scene for Week 7:

TONIGHT

Trabuco Hills (5-1, 1-0) at Huntington Beach (4-2, 1-0), 7 p.m.: This is a big game in the Sea View League schedule and another big test for the Oilers, who came away with a 30-29, double-overtime victory over Foothill last week at Tustin High.

Trabuco Hills is ranked No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division poll, while Huntington Beach comes in at No. 10.

Trabuco Hills rallied for a 24-21 victory over El Toro in its Sea View League opener, and senior running back Shane DeCillo had 208 yards and two touchdowns

Senior Jack Dilbeck scored the game-tying touchdown against Foothill for the Oilers, who have won four straight.

Eric Chan kicked the extra-point to win the game after the Oilers’ Sean Tavakoli blocked a Knights extra point in the second overtime. Chan also kicked a 42-yard field goal at the end of regulation that sent the game against the defending league champions into overtime.

Marina (1-5, 0-1) vs. Los Alamitos (5-1, 0-1), 7 p.m. at Westminster High: The Griffins, ranked No. 8 in the Pac-5 Division, will probably be fired up after their upset loss to Newport Harbor last week, so it looks like the Vikings have their hands full in their second league game.

Marina lost to Fountain Valley, 56-7, last week as Barons senior Kyle Middlebrooks scored six touchdowns, four rushing and two receiving.

Marina senior Delano Douglas returned a kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, accounting for the Vikings’ only points.

Los Amigos (0-6, 0-1) vs. La Quinta (1-5, 1-0), 7 p.m. at Garden Grove High: The Lobos are still looking for their first win of the season, but they nearly got it in their Garden Grove League opener last Friday night, coming away a narrow 25-21 loser to Santiago despite two touchdown runs from Jose Perez and one from Leonard Zambrano.

Los Amigos couldn’t hold a 21-13 halftime lead and Santiago got the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter on Salvador Ceja’s two-yard run.

Now, Los Amigos faces a La Quinta team that was also winless before stopping Bolsa Grande, 22-16, in its league opener.

Look for La Quinta to keep utilizing its run-first attack after Nicky Luu and Chris Nguyen combined for 224 yards against Bolsa Grande.

FRIDAY

Esperanza (3-3, 0-1) vs. Fountain Valley (6-0, 1-0), 7 p.m. at Huntington Beach High: The Barons are coming off a 56-7 win over Marina in their Sunset League opener. Senior Kyle Middlebrooks scored six touchdowns for Fountain Valley, four rushing and two receiving. He finished with 210 yards and now has 1,061 yards for the season.

Senior quarterback Dominic Ragland also had a 68-yard touchdown pass to Justin Browley for Fountain Valley, ranked No. 6 in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division poll.

Esperanza fell to top-ranked Edison, 34-10, in its Sunset League opener last week. The Aztecs also like to run the ball with, both with running back Mike Manibusan and with quarterback Drew Huusfeldt.

Segerstrom (2-4, 1-0) at Ocean View (3-3, 0-1), 7 p.m.: The Seahawks were narrowly on the short end of a 28-21 decision in losing to Westminster last week in their Golden West League opener.

Running back Jose Ortiz provided all the Lions would need, running for 143 yards and all four Westminster touchdowns. Ocean View’s Nolan Tippy had a pair of touchdown passes, one each to Blake Waler and Timmy Robinson, and Robinson also scored on a one-yard run.

Westminster was last year’s league champion.

Ocean View now faces a hot Segerstrom team that has scored 101 combined points in its last two games, including a 61-26 win over Saddleback in its league opener.

Arrowhead Christian (5-1) at Brethren Christian (3-3), 6:30 p.m.: Arrowhead Christian, ranked No. 4 in the CIF Southern Section East Valley Division poll, represents a tough challenge for the Warriors in their final game before Academy League play begins.

Of course, Brethren Christian will also face challenges once league play does begin. St. Margaret’s (6-1) is top-ranked in the East Valley Division, and Sage Hill (5-1) is No. 3.

Brethren Christian is coming off a 21-14 win over Hamilton. Running back Ryan Randall had a monster game, finishing with 203 yards and all three touchdowns.

Week 6 Top Performers

Passing

 Matt Viles, Edison – 292 yards, 4 TDs

Rushing

 Kyle Middlebrooks, Fountain Valley – 210 yards, 4 TDs (6 total TDs)

Receiving

 Kaller Roemer, Huntington Beach – 157 yards, 1 TD