Title hopes on line tonight

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.

On Friday, Marina and Ocean View wrap up their regular seasons with home games, the Vikings hosting Esperanza in another Sunset League matchup, and the Seahawks will entertain Santa Ana in Golden West League play.

TONIGHTA month ago, a Sunset League title looked like a distant dream for Edison after a 38-0 loss to Esperanza. But in the past two weeks, the Chargers have responded with impressive back-to-back victories at the expense of Newport Harbor (37-6) and rival Fountain Valley (31-9).

Edison (7-2, 3-1) vs. Los Alamitos (7-2, 3-1)

(at Veterans Stadium 7 p.m.)

Those wins give Edison some needed momentum heading into tonight’s clash with Los Alamitos, which is coming off a 17-14 loss to its rival, Esperanza.

Edison, Los Alamitos and Esperanza each have one league loss entering play this week, and the winner of tonight’s game will take a half-game lead over Esperanza, which plays at Marina Friday.

Both Edison and Los Alamitos have dropped games to Esperanza.

Edison is ranked eighth in this week’s CIF Pac-5 Division poll and Los Alamitos is No. 10.

“We’re pretty focused this week,” Edison Coach Dave White said. “It’s a really big one against Los Alamitos. Like every big game, it will come down to whichever team makes fewer turnovers.

“You know, we reached a fork in the road with that big loss to Esperanza but the kids bounced back with big wins over Newport Harbor and Fountain Valley. I’m proud of the way they’ve responded the past two games,” White said.

A victory tonight will give Edison its fourth league title in the past six years. The Chargers won or shared the league crown in 2001, 2003 and last year. The last time the school won back-to-back league titles, however, was during the 1989 and 1990 seasons.

“We’ve been reminding the kids about that all week,” White said. “Every year, the goal here at Edison is to be a league champion. The kids have that goal within their reach.”

In last week’s 31-9 bell-clinching win over Fountain Valley, Nick Crissman threw touchdown passes to Hunter White, and Dominique Vinson, Devon Bahrami and Areseo Lakey each rushed for touchdowns and Steven Vandeman booted a 31-yard field goal.

Last year’s score: Chargers 27, Griffins 19.

Foothill (7-2, 4-0) vs. Huntington Beach (6-3, 2-2)

(at Huntington Beach High, 7 p.m.)

Huntington Beach can end its first year in the Sea View League on a high note with a victory over visiting Foothill.

The third-ranked Knights (Southwest Division) have won four straight since losing 7-6 to Santa Margarita (No. 4 in Pac-5 Division) and their offense has averaged 37 points during that win streak. Their only other loss came in their season-opener to a Tustin team that is ranked sixth in the Southwest Division.

Huntington’s three losses have come by a combined 13 points. Last week, the Oilers took care of Woodbridge, 35-21. Stephen Gabbard rushed for 313 yards, three touchdowns and a two-point conversion, and Junior Rodriguez went for 144 yards and a pair of scores.

Gabbard’s effort gave the senior the school’s single-season rushing record with 2,150 yards, Oilers Coach Mike Groscost said. He replaced previous record-holder Patrick Harrigan, who had held the record with 1,958 yards.

Because of league losses to Trabuco Hills and El Toro, the best the Oilers — who are ranked eighth in the Southwest Conference poll — can finish no higher in the league standings than tied for second place. Both Trabuco Hills and El Toro, along with Foothill, will be the league’s representatives in next week’s playoffs.

“We’re treating this game like a playoff game. That’s what we’ve been telling the kids all week,” Groscost said. “Our main goal at the start of the season was to finish with a minimum record of 7-3. We can still do that. To finish the year with a win over the No. 1 team in our league would be a great way to make up for not making the CIF playoffs.”

The teams did not meet last year.

FRIDAY

Esperanza (8-1, 3-1) vs. Marina (1-8, 0-4)

(at Westminster High, 7 p.m.)

Esperanza can earn a share of the Sunset League championship and the league’s No. 1 seed in the upcoming CIF playoffs with a victory over Marina.

The Aztecs opened up league play with a surprising, 21-13 loss to league newcomer Newport Harbor but have since been impressive in consecutive wins over Edison, Fountain Valley and Los Alamitos.

Charles Neal rushed for 178 yards and a touchdown, and the Aztecs used a strong rushing game to defeat Los Alamitos, 17-14. The Aztecs offense has scored 30 or more points in seven of its previous nine games.

Marina will be looking to avoid finishing league play without a victory for the second-straight year. The Vikings last week played Newport Harbor tough in a 25-16 loss. Charles Orrison scored twice, one coming on a pass from Josh Jordan and Dustin Lockwood kicked a 37-yard field goal for the Vikings.

Last year’s score: Aztecs 63, Vikings 0.

Santa Ana (2-7, 0-4) vs. Ocean View (2-7, 1-3)

(at Ocean View High, 7 p.m.)

Ocean View closes out its season with a home game against Santa Ana.

The Seahawks gave a solid effort on the road last week against Orange, but a fourth-quarter touchdown by the Panthers was the difference in a 24-20 ballgame. Dana Maley and Chris Katsuki teamed up on two long touchdown passes and Danny Guillen had two field goals for the Seahawks.

Santa Ana is on a four-game losing streak and has scored but 20 points in its previous four Golden West League games. The Saints are coming off a 27-0 loss to Westminster.

Last year’s score: Saints 28, Seahawks 0.