Big Games : Santa Monica at Edison

How tough a test will this be for Santa Monica?

Well, for starters Edison is the second-ranked CIF team in the Big 5 Conference.

The Chargers are 4-0 and if they have weaknesses, no one has found them yet. The defense has allowed just 24 points in four games, while the offense averaged 25 points a game.

Santa Monica (2-1) is coming off a 14-13 win over Rowland.

“We’re not at a point where we are playing as well as we’d like,” said Viking coach Tebb Kusserow. “It’s a little early for us to be playing a team of Edison’s caliber.”

Kusserow said his team’s primary goal is to stop Edison tailback Kaleaph Carter, a junior who has rushed for more than 500 yards and scored seven touchdowns.

“I would expect that they’d give the ball to him quite a bit,” Kusserow said. “He’s the finest we’ve observed.”

At 7:30 p.m. Friday at Huntington Beach High.

University at Grant

If you like defensive struggles, this contest should make you ecstatic.

University is 3-0 after last week’s 13-6 win over Sylmar in the Pac-8 League opener. Grant, of Van Nuys, is 1-1-1 with a shutout, and allowed just six points in last week’s tie with league foe North Hollywood.

The Grant Lancers of Coach Bill Foster are led by inside linebackers Rick Rios and Mark Taylor.

“Our defense has done a good job all year,” Foster said. “Offensively, I’m not satisfied. But we’re a young team, and we have had a lot of breakdowns.”

University, after averaging 30 points in its first two games, struggled offensively against Sylmar. The Warriors scored on two Daryl Hobbs touchdown passes.

At 3 p.m. Friday at Grant.

Agoura at Beverly Hills

At least on paper, this game might be over before half time.

Beverly Hills (4-0) has a perfect blend of offense and defense, while Agoura, up to this point, has displayed only one dimension--offense.

The Agoura Chargers (1-3) scored 34 points and gained over 400 yards last week against Harvard. But their defense gave up 50 points and 500 yards.

“If I was Beverly Hills, I’d try to establish a running game against us, since that is our weak spot,” said Agoura Coach Frank Greminger.

With tailback Willie Crawford (104 yards, 1 touchdown last week in a 26-0 Norman win), Beverly Hills should run all day in its first-ever meeting with the Chargers.

Defensively, the Normans have given up just 23 points this season.

At 3 p.m. Saturday at Beverly Hills.

Culver City at Torrance

Stop Thurman Black.

That’s what Culver City (4-0) must do against the Torrance Tartars (3-1).

Centaur Coach Fred Fuller said Torrance is a one-dimensional team that can be handled if Black, a senior tailback, is contained.

“I saw a video of their game with Beverly Hills, and Black ran the ball on 43 of their 57 plays,” Fuller said. “Minimizing Black is all our defense has to concentrate on. If we can force them into a passing game, we should be OK.”

Black has rushed for 526 yards this year (an average of 6.04 a carry) and has scored four touchdowns.

If the game is close, Fuller can be happy knowing he has Hoon Hahn as his kicker.

In a 17-14 win over Leuzinger last week, Hahn’s 43-yard field goal with two minutes to play was the difference.

At 7:30 p.m. Friday at Torrance.

Westchester at Reseda

Westchester got some bad news this week when it learned that tailback Keith Bowen, who gained over 100 yards in each of his first two games, might be out for several weeks with a twisted knee.

In last week’s 6-6 tie with Venice, Bowen had 98 yards and a touchdown after the first quarter, but twisted his knee as he was being tackled.

Assistant Coach Sean Hennigan said Bowen is on a day-to-day basis, but is not going to play against Reseda.

Bowen will be missed because Reseda is good.

The Regents are 3-0. They beat Polytechnic last week, 24-7, and are expected by some to challenge for the league title.

Hennigan said his team’s challenge is to find a way to run against Reseda without Bowen in the backfield.

After Bowen went down last week, the Comets were held to minus eight yards in 12 rushing attempts.

At 8 p.m. Friday at Reseda.