Orange County Prep Football : Edison Faces a Key Test Against Westminster

Edison High School faces Westminster tonight in crucial football game for the Chargers, who may feel as though someone mistakenly enrolled them in the school of hard knocks for the past two weeks.

Both teams were ranked among Orange County’s six best at the beginning of the season. The Chargers are still ranked 10th, but a second loss in the second game of league play could eliminate them from contention for the championship before they’re halfway through the schedule.

“Our kids are hungry,” said Edison Coach Dave White. “They know this is do-or-die if we want to have a chance to win the league. This is the big one.”

Last week, Edison lost, 17-7, to Marina, a team that had not beaten the Chargers in the 13 seasons they had played.

But that wasn’t Edison’s first disappointment of the season. Santa Monica surprised the then-undefeated Chargers two weeks ago with a 21-7 upset.

The Chargers are the defending Big Five Conference co-champions, but White says his team has not played “Edison football” in the last two games.

Of course, a lot of people who were Edison starters have not been playing lately due to injuries. Seven starters missed the league opener. But using those absences as an excuse for the defeats does not suit White’s taste.

“It’s a lot of little things that just added up,” he said. “The No. 1 thing is we have not had 11 players on the field giving 100% effort on each play.

“It’s partly that we have had more injuries this year than ever before, but it’s also that the guys we’ve had on the field aren’t doing what they should be doing.”

In the first four games, in which the Chargers outscored opponents, 104-24, Edison caused 16 turnovers while committing 4. In the past two games, the Chargers dominated the offensive statistics, but their opponents committed three turnovers while Edison gave up nine--seven fumbles and two interceptions.

Said Westminster Coach Jim O’Hara: “I hope that remains a problem this week.”

By contrast, the Lions have played a steady, if unflashy, offense.

“We’re just very realistic about what we have to do to attain our goals, and this week, it’s beating Edison,” O’Hara said. “I think it’s just a matter of who makes fewer mistakes.”

The Lions, despite losing several starters to the flu and injuries, have played what has come to be known in the last two seasons as “Westminster football.” The Lions beat Foothill, 7-0, in their last nonleague game and defeated Huntington Beach, 21-0, in the league opener last Friday.

An additional angle on the game is the fact that Westminster upset Edison in league last season, but Edison took revenge on the Lions, 7-3, in the conference semifinals.

In other games tonight:

Garden Grove League--Rancho Alamitos vs. La Quinta at Bolsa Grande High School.

Sea View League--University vs. Saddleback at Santa Ana Stadium.

Empire League--Cypress vs. Los Alamitos in Hanford Rants Stadium at Cerritos.

South Coast League--San Clemente at Mission Viejo.