Los Alamitos

Edison picked up a critical victory and Marina defeated a crosstown rival Tuesday in Sunset League girls' soccer action. In a showdown at Laurel School in Los Alamitos, unranked Edison rallied in the second half to record a 2-1 win over Los Alamitos, the top-ranked team in CIF Division 1. Chargers Coach Kerry Crooks said it was Edison's first win over the Griffins in four years. Los Alamitos (3-1) struck first with a goal at the 58th-minute mark. Edison (3-1) came back and tied the score eight minutes later on a goal by sophomore Karly Freeman, off an assist by Becca Ross.

Two games into the race for the Sunset League football championship, defending-champ Edison and Huntington Beach have emerged as the early leaders for the 2012 crown. In the Golden West League, Ocean View is still in the running for the top spot and possible CIF Southern Section playoff berth. For Brethren Christian, a new season gets under way with the start of Academy League play. Below is a preview of this week's games. * Thursday Sage Hill (0-7) vs. Brethren Christian (4-3)

Newport Harbor High's girls tennis team fell, 11-7, in nonleague play to one of Orange County's best tennis squads, Los Alamitos. The Sailors lost five of six sets in the opening round, and could not overcome the deficit. "I was impressed with our girls," said Sailor Coach Fletcher Olson. "After we dropped far behind in the first set, the girls really turned it around in the second and third sets." Newport won five of nine doubles sets. Melissa Chinn and Alex McIntosh had the most impressive match, rallying from 4-5 to a 7-5 victory in their opening match.

HUNTINGTON BEACH — The Marina High boys’ basketball team was in an unfamiliar position, with a chance to knock off defending league champion Los Alamitos with a basket. Shooting the three-ball, though? Plenty familiar for Vikings senior Dane Okuda. Okuda buried a three-pointer from the left wing with two seconds left Friday night, the winning basket as the Vikings stunned the Griffins, 67-66. “I thought [senior point guard Tyler James] was going to take it and he just passed it,” Okuda said.

The final week of the prep football season has one Huntington Beach school competing for a coveted league championship. Tonight at 7 p.m., Edison and Los Alamitos square off at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach, and the winner of that game will earn no worse than a share of the Sunset League championship. The Chargers-Griffins showdown is just one of two games involving Surf City teams tonight. Also at 7 p.m., Huntington Beach plays host to Foothill in Sea View League action.

HUNTINGTON BEACH - Kendra Wood took pause afterward, searching for that little something extra to say. The Edison assistant softball coach was attempting to describe a key sequence that occurred - or rather, never materialized, for the Chargers, during the middle stages of their Thursday showdown against Los Alamitos. "That fourth inning, not being able to get it done... " Wood said, before tailing off and going silent. "We just needed that extra hit, that sacrifice fly," she continued, still trying to sum up a crucial turning point in the game that came in the fourth inning. "Something.

It's jockeying time on the football field. With league races entering the halfway point this week, four local teams will be looking to get back into championship contention. Marina starts the week's local action by taking to the road tonight, while Edison, Huntington Beach and Ocean View go under the lights Friday. Tonight's game: Marina (1-6, 0-2) vs. Los Alamitos (6-1, 2-0) (at Veterans Stadium, 7 p.m.) Los Alamitos gets the favorite's nod in this one, as the Sunset League enters its third week of competition.

All along, Edison baseball coach Steve Lambright has said his young squad needed a boost in the confidence department. His team got that shot in a big way March 20. Los Alamitos, not only the top-ranked team in CIF Division I and Orange County but also the state, came to Edison sporting a 9-1 record and four-game winning streak that took them to the title of the prestigious Loara Tournament and a 2-0 start in Sunset League play. That streak came to an end, though, when the visiting Griffins were handed a 4-0 shutout loss by the Chargers.

The Huntington Beach Oilers could not turn the corner in two tight games that opened Tuesday's CIF-Southern Section Division I second-round boys' volleyball playoff match against Los Alamitos, and the visiting Oilers went on to suffer a 25-20, 25-22, 25-17 season-ending loss. Oilers Coach Rocky Ciarelli said it was a combination of things that led to his team's downfall. "I'd say one of our biggest issues was ball control," he said. "That kind of hurt us. Our passing was OK but not great.

Marina was looking for its first Sunset League win of the 2008 boys? basketball race Monday when it took on Los Alamitos, and the Vikings nearly pulled off the upset at the expense of the league-leading Griffins. Playing what Assistant Coach Andy Meyer called one of the ?most complete all-around games we have played in a while,? Marina came close to knocking off Los Al but eventually dropped a 76-73 decision on the road. The Vikings hung tough with the Griffins throughout the contest, trailed by seven with barely more than a minute to play yet rallied to have a shot at winning in the final seconds.

One match was all that stood in the way of the Huntington Beach High boys' volleyball team from making a clean sweep through its 2013 Sunset League schedule. The league champion Oilers upped their league record to 9-0 and overall mark to 25-2 by downing host Los Alamitos, 25-14, 25-10 25-20, Friday. The victory was the ninth by sweep in Sunset play and left the Oilers one win shy of completing a 10-0 league run for the second straight year. Sophomore outside hitter TJ DeFalco had 14 kills, junior outside hitter Brenden Sander four kills and three blocks, and senior middle blocker Andrew TenBrink had seven kills.

The streak that helped put the Fountain Valley baseball team comfortably at the top of the Sunset League race came to an end Friday. Despite the loss, the Barons were still the league leaders heading into the final four games of the regular season. Fountain Valley saw its 15-game win streak halted by a Los Alamitos team the Barons twice had previously defeated. The Griffins rode a five-hitter by Jake Nix, who allowed five hits, and received five runs batted in from Gianni Castillo, in defeating the Barons, 10-3.

Marina capped a perfect run through the opening round of Sunset League softball play Tuesday by shutting out host Fountain Valley, 7-0. Junior Tera Blanco pitched a two-hitter and had two hits including a home run on offense. Blanco is now 20-2 on the mound, and the Vikings also are 20-2 overall. Sydney McCollum went three for four and Emili Olague had two hits for Marina, which ended the first half of Sunset action with a 5-0 record. The Vikings are ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section Division 1. Fountain Valley ended the first half of league play 1-4. "The team is playing well and we need to continue to work harder as our targets on our backs get bigger," Marina Coach Shelly Luth said.

Huntington Beach High went to 6-0 in Sunset League boys' volleyball action and won for the 22nd time in 24 matches Tuesday by turning back host Fountain Valley, 25-11, 25-22, 27-25. Sophomore outside hitter TJ DeFalco had 14 kills and three aces and junior middle blocker Drake Evans finished with seven kills and three blocks for the Oilers, ranked No. 4 in CIF Southern Section Division 1. "I thought we came out focused," Huntington Beach Coach Craig Pazanti said. "We played very efficient in the first set, but Fountain Valley did a good job of staying in the match, and pushed us to the finish in both the second and third sets.

Thursday Track and Field (2 p.m.) Edison vs. Los Alamitos/Fountain Valley Marina/Newport Harbor at Huntington Beach (3 p.m.) Westminster at Ocean View Boys' Golf (2:30 p.m.) Marina vs. Edison (at SeaCliff CC) Boys' Tennis (3 p.m.) Marina at Edison Huntington at Newport Harbor Ocean View at Orange Swimming (3 p.m.) Huntington at Marina Baseball (3:15 p.m.) Huntington Beach at Edison Fountain Valley at Marina (7 p.m.)

The road proved friendly to Marina, Fountain Valley and Ocean View during opening day of league play Friday. Both Marina and Fountain Valley started Sunset League play with big victories, while Ocean View held on at Santa Ana to take its Golden West League opener. Edison was the lone local team to play at home Friday, and the Chargers were defeated by Newport Harbor. Marina rode the pitching of Austin Olivas (2-0) and a late scoring push to come away with a 4-1 victory at Los Alamitos.

Heading into the final week of the regular season, the Sunset League girls' basketball championship was still up for grabs. After Monday, it was down to a two-team race between Edison and Los Alamitos, teams that shared the league's top spot with one game to play. The Sunset schedule was completed Wednesday, but scores from all three games weren't available at press time. Edison maintained its hold on a piece of the lead Monday by defeating rival Fountain Valley, 62-55. Four-year varsity player Riley Lowe came up "huge" on senior night, Chargers Coach Dan Wiley said.