ANOTHER BIG crowd is expected for Edison vs. Fountain Valley Friday night in a Sunset League game to be played at LeBard Stadium on the Orange Coast College campus in Costa Mesa (Tribune file photo).

Whether it’s for a championship or just bragging rights, one of the biggest high school football events of the year is always Edison vs. Fountain Valley, the Battle for the Bell.

These rivals annually pack LeBard Stadium on the campus of Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa for the game, which dates back to 1969, when the Chargers edged the Barons 21-20.

Over the years, the clash has included some struggles for the Sunset League title, and some tussle just for pride between two neighboring schools that happen to look almost exactly alike (same architect).

Lately, the contest has been dominated by Edison, which won 13 of the last 14 games, but when emotional rivalries are involved, anything is possible.

This year, Edison is 4-4 overall and 2-1 in the Sunset League. It’s also ranked number one in The Tribune’s High Five of prep football teams serving the Garden Grove-Huntington Beach-Stanton-Westminster area.

Fountain Valley is 4-4 also, and 0-3 in the Sunset.

The game is set for 7 p.m. Friday at LeBard. Get there early … the stadium and the parking lot could be packed.

Week Nine schedule for local gridders

It’s Week Nine for high school football, with some great matchups and some games that are the game BEFORE the great matchup.

There are some pretty good-looking games this week, in addition to Edison-Fountain Valley.  We like the Valencia-Pacifica game on Thursday; the Mariners can get back into the Empire League race with a win over the Tigers.

Loara-Santiago in the Garden Grove League could be close, and the Ocean View-Laguna and Los Al-Huntington games have potential as well.

Here’s the schedule (these are all league games) for teams in our area. Always, times, dates, location and are subject to change without notice, so call ahead.

THURSDAY

• Loara (6-2, 3-0 in Garden Grove League) at Santiago (5-3, 2-1) at Monsoor Stadium.
• Garden Grove (7-1, 1-0 in the Big 4) at Marina (2-6, 0-1) at Boswell Field.
• Valencia (7-1, 3-0 in the Empire League) at Pacifica (4-4, 2-1) at Bolsa Grande Stadium.

FRIDAY

• Bolsa Grande (1-7, 0-3 in the GGL) at Los Amigos (3-5, 0-3) at Monsoor.
• Rancho Alamitos (5-3, 3-0 in the GGL) at La Quinta (3-5, 1-2) at Bolsa Grande Stadium.
• Segerstrom (7-1, 1-0 in the Big 4) at Westminster (0-8, 0-1).
• Ocean View (8-0, 1-0 in the Pac 4) at Laguna Beach (6-2, 0-1),
• Edison (4-4, 2-1 in the Sunset) vs. Fountain Valley (4-4, 0-3) at Le Bard Stadium.
• Los Alamitos (6-1-1, 2-0-1) in the Sunset) at Huntington Beach (6-2, 2-1).
• Western (7-1, 1-0 in the Pac 4) at Godinez (2-6, 0-1) at Segerstrom High.
• Calvary Chapel/Santa Ana (1-7, 1-2 in the Orange Coast League) at Orange (7-1, 3-0) at Fred Kelly Stadium.

Not a 10-foot pole, a 10-team (or more) poll

Here are this week’s fall sports polls from the CIF-SS, as well as our High 5 poll for local football teams.

Football

• Division 6: Huntington Beach is 10th.
• Division 9: Orange is third; Garden Grove is seventh.
• Division 11: Western is first; Ocean View is second.

Boys’ water polo

• Divisions 1 and 2: Huntington Beach is 19th.
• Division 6: Los Amigos is ninth.
• Division 7: Rancho Alamitos is fourth.

Girls’ volleyball

• Division 7: Ocean View is fourth.

Cross country

• Boys’ Division 4: Ocean View is 11th.
• Girls’ Division 3: Ocean View is 10th.
• Girls’ Division 3: Pacifica is 13th

Girls’ tennis

• Division 3: Garden Grove is sixth.
• Division 5: Westminster is ninth.

High 5

Once again, Edison is on top of our rankings of area prep football teams, followed by Huntington Beach, Western, Garden Grove and Orange. On the bubble are Ocean View and Pacifica.

Prep Sport Spotlight appears on Tuesdays during the high school athletic year.