It may seem a bit strange, but the biggest high school football game of the season for the Garden Grove-Huntington Beach– Westminster area will probably involve a pair of squads with six losses among them.
That’s Thursday’s Sunset League clash between Los Alamitos and Edison. Although the Griffins are 4-4 overall and the Chargers are 5-2, they are also the only 2-0 teams in the Sunset, and they will collide at the Cap Sheue Field on the Huntington Beach High campus.
Don’t be misled by the teams’ records. Both have played punishing schedules against such powerhouses as Long Beach Poly, Banning, Tesoro and San Clemente. But now that league play is underway, both are aiming to replay last year’s epic clash. The Griffs want to undo the Chargers ‘ 17-9 win, and the Bolts want to repeat it.
Each team features an outstanding offensive star. Edison has Griffin O’Connor, who has passed for 1325 yards and 12 touchdowns, with seven interceptions. He’s a pretty good runner, too, rushing for 136 yards on 15 carries and three TDs.
For Los Al, QB Grant Caraway threw for 324 yards and five touchdowns last week against Marina. Earlier, he had two passing touchdowns against a very good Tesoro team
Edison is probably the favorite to win again this year, but don’t bet on anything except parking problems, good football and a long run into the CIF playoffs for either team.
Not unbeaten, but still unbowed
Alas, the last of the local football teams with perfect records got a bit of humbling over the weekend. Pacifica (now 6-1) loss an Empire League game to Cypress by 47-26, and Orange (6-1) suffered a nail-biting 35-29 loss to Westminster.
It’s not always easy to gauge how good a football team is until you see how they do against a team of roughly equal skill. It’s also true that a team might improve or decline over the course of a season, based on injuries, maturity, eligibility and other factors.
This week’s High Five has Edison on top after a 48-0 win over Newport Harbor. Pacifica remains second, but Westminster pops up to third after beating Orange. The Panthers are in fourth and Garden Grove is back in the ranking for the first time since the second week of the season.
On the bubble are La Quinta and Rancho Alamitos. Rancho’s success (5-2) sets up the Vaqueros’ game against long-time rival Garden Grove on Oct. 26 as the clash that will likely decide the Garden Grove League crown.
Go Big Blue! Sincerely!
We’re really more Angels’ fans here in Orange County, but you have to admire what the Los Angeles Dodgers have done. They’ve made post-season play for a fistful of years consecutively and are poised to make it into the World Series for the first time since 1988.
It’s an entertaining and consistent team with stars like Clayton Kershaw, Yasiel Puig, Justin Turner, Corey Seager and more. The Dodgers even threw in a little drama earlier when they had a 10-game losing streak.
All of that takes place in a stadium that is the third-oldest in major league baseball. Only Wrigley Field (Cubs) and Fenway Park (Red Sox) are more senior. That’s a reproach to the owners who claim that without a modern, glitzy Taj Mahal, a team can’t compete.
So, go Big Blue! And maybe we can say “Go Big Red” next year for those of us still hoping for a big Halo October.
Pete Zarustica writes Monday Morning Coach.
Categories: Sports