Sunset League

It's Bell Game week, and nothing more needs to be said to the Edison and Fountain Valley high football teams. Nothing seems to rev up the passions of both squads, their respective schools and communities, more than this game. It will be played for the 43rd time at 7 p.m. Friday at Orange Coast College before what figures to be yet another full house at LeBard Stadium. "It's the one game students from both schools go to," Edison Coach Dave White said. "People paint themselves, have a lot of spirit, and it's a game where records don't matter.

NEWPORT BEACH - On the Newport Harbor High sideline, standout players wore hooded sweatshirts, jeans, outfits not fit for a football game Thursday. The Sailors went into the evening with a shot at sharing the Sunset League title. They looked banged up before the home game even started against Edison. Newport Harbor's focus turned to getting healthy for the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division playoffs next week after the Chargers clinched the outright league title with a 35-7 win. On senior night at Newport Harbor, the Sailors missed three key seniors.

Six local players were awarded top honors on the 2011 All-Sunset League football team. The team is headed by Edison senior quarterback Chase Favreau, who was named the league's Most Valuable Player. One person protecting Favreau up front was Edison senior, Alex Kircher, who was named Offensive Lineman of the Year. Senior Michael Chislock of Huntington Beach was selected Offensive Back of the Year. The Offensive Player of the Year honor went to Los Alamitos senior running back Cody Paul.

Entering the final week of the Sunset League baseball season, it's just about anybody's guess as to which team - or teams - will emerge as champion. That race did become less crowded at the top as Edison was knocked off a share of the perch, while Marina and Los Alamitos held on to their respective grip. Marina (14-8 overall, 8-3 league) maintained its piece of the lead by taking two games from Fountain Valley in the past week. The most recent was a 1-0 road win Friday.

HUNTINGTON BEACH - When Marina High defeated Edison back on April 16, the Vikings walked away with a surprising, 10-0 mercy-rule victory at Edison. When the teams met Thursday at Marina, the game had a completely different feel to it and with plenty riding on the outcome, this showdown went down to the wire. Marina scored the final two runs of the game, including the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning, to grind out a 2-1 victory that gave the Vikings sole possession of first place in the Sunset League with two games to play.

For the next five weeks, it will be an all out war in the race for the 2004 Sunset League football championship. With the nonleague portion of the schedule now a thing of the past, five schools will battle it out for Sunset supremacy, and it all begins tonight when Marina travels to face Los Alamitos and Esperanza hosts Fountain Valley. On Friday, Edison entertains Huntington Beach and in Golden West League action, Ocean View visits Estancia. TONIGHT'S GAME Marina (0-5)

It's only the second week of the five-week Sunset League season, but already a front runner for the title could emerge Friday. A 5-1 Edison team takes on a 5-1 Los Alamitos squad Friday in a showdown between two of the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division leaders at 7 p.m. at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach. It's the No. 1-ranked Chargers versus the No. 3 Griffins, both looking to move to 2-0 in league play. Friday's prep football slate is full of other key games. Huntington Beach, the other undefeated team in the Sunset League, travels to face city rival Marina.

HUNTINGTON BEACH - Edison left little doubt Friday as to who would reign as Sunset League football champion in 2012. In a game whose outcome would have a direct bearing on the league race, the host Chargers sewed up an outright title for the second consecutive year by controlling Huntington Beach, 34-0, at Cap Sheue Field. Edison, the top-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division, has, indeed, controlled the Sunset League the past two years. Friday's win capped a second-straight 5-0 league finish and put the Chargers' league win streak at 10. The title was their seventh in the last eight years, and the program's 18th overall.

The lead in the Sunset League girls' soccer race belongs to one team this week. A week ago, Edison and Los Alamitos shared the league's top spot. After results from games played Jan. 17 and Monday, that lead now belongs only to Los Al. The Chargers (4-0-2 in league) trails the Griffins (5-0-1) by a half-game in the league standings. Edison, ranked seventh in CIF Southern Section Division 1, fell from a tie for the top spot on Jan. 17 after playing Huntington Beach to a 1-1 tie. On Monday, the Chargers picked up a 2-1 victory over Newport Harbor, getting two scores in the second half from Mackenzie Cerda.

The final week of the Sunset League baseball race sure made things interesting. Prior to the closing day of league play on May 9, Fountain Valley High already had won the Sunset League baseball championship. The Barons finished league play with a 12-3 record, one game ahead of fast-charging Marina which took second place with an 11-4 record. In a battle for CIF playoff consideration, Huntington Beach defeated Edison to finish fourth in league. The Barons had a three-game lead in the Sunset standings going into the final week.

Marina, Edison, Huntington Beach and Ocean View softball teams learned of their respective opponents in the CIF Southern Section playoffs, as pairings were released Monday. In Division 1, Marina (24-3), the Sunset League champion, plays host to Tuesday's wild-card winner in Thursday's first round. The Vikings await the winner between Corona (17-14, Big VIII League at-large) at Moreno Valley Rancho Verde (14-9, Inland Valley League No. 3) Edison (20-10), the Sunset League second-place team, plays at Moreno Valley Valley View (13-14, Inland Valley League No. 2)

The Marina High baseball team's two wins against Fountain Valley last week proved to be big for momentum in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. The Vikings took the series against the Sunset League champion Barons, 2-1, and earned a home game when pairings were released Monday. Marina (18-8), the Sunset League's second-place team, will play host to Norco (20-4, Big VIII League second-place team) Thursday at 3:15 p.m. Fountain Valley (23-4) will open the playoffs at home in Thursday's first round.

HUNTINGTON BEACH - For Fountain Valley High's sake, the Barons had to be happy to have already sewn up the Sunset League baseball title before this week's two-game series with Marina. The Vikings, on the other hand, had to wish that the league race had one more week to it. For the second time in a 24-hour period, Marina defeated Fountain Valley. Thursday's league and regular season finale for both teams belonged to the Vikings who bolted to a big lead early and never looked back, in claiming an 8-3 victory on senior day. A day earlier at Fountain Valley, the Vikings knocked off the second-ranked Barons, 8-5. Thursday's win allowed Marina, which increased its win streak to five games, to take the league series, 2-1. Fountain Valley won the first meeting between the teams, 3-2, on March 28 at Marina.

Marina clinched a tie for the 2013 Sunset League softball championship Tuesday when the Vikings rolled to a 12-0 victory at Newport Harbor. Emili Olague went three for three with a home run and junior pitcher Tera Blanco earned the win to improve to 23-3. "I am very pleased with the team's performance," Marina Coach Shelly Luth said. "They came out on fire and really took charge and played all six innings with intensity. Marina, ranked No. 2 in CIF Southern Section Division 1, can earn the Sunset title outright with a victory Thursday over Fountain Valley.

Rainy conditions may have postponed Tuesday's game between Fountain Valley and Marina, but the delay had no bearing on the Sunset League championship. It already had belonged to the Barons. Fountain Valley sewed up the 2013 league title Friday when the Barons scored a 7-3 victory over rival Edison. It was the 10th Sunset title in the program's history, and first since 2002. When the final out was recorded Friday, it was only fitting that the Barons, both on the playing field and in the dugout, made a mad dash for the pitcher's mound to take part in a celebratory dog pile.

FOUNTAIN VALLEY — When a line drive was snagged on the right side of the Fountain Valley infield late Friday afternoon, it set off a wild celebration. Not only did the out put the final touch on Fountain Valley's 7-3 victory over rival Edison, it made certain that the Barons were undisputed champions in Sunset League baseball. It was the program's 10th Sunset title in school history, and first since 2002. It was only fitting that the Barons, both on the playing field for the final out, and in the dugout, made a mad dash for the pitcher's mound to take part in a celebratory dog pile.

HUNTINGTON BEACH - When Marina High defeated Edison back on April 16, the Vikings walked away with a surprising, 10-0 mercy-rule victory at Edison. When the teams met Thursday at Marina, the game had a completely different feel to it and with plenty riding on the outcome, this showdown went down to the wire. Marina scored the final two runs of the game, including the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning, to grind out a 2-1 victory that gave the Vikings sole possession of first place in the Sunset League with two games to play.

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.

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.