Cunningham in Swim of Things at Edison : Prep football: Senior leaves beach and bodysurfing behind long enough to star at receiver and defensive back.

Forgive Mike Cunningham if his first thought upon learning he would be going to Hawaii to play football wasn’t of Aloha Stadium. It’s just that the chance to play there was less a draw to the Edison High School receiver/defensive back than the famed bodysurfing at Sandy Beach.

On his first full day in Honolulu, Cunningham spent a couple hours in the 75- to 80-degree water at Sandy Beach, riding surf similar to that of Cunningham’s favorite California bodysurfing break, the Wedge in Newport Beach.

“I’ve seen picture after picture in magazines of it and I had to go there,” Cunningham said. “I stuck to the 7-8-9- (foot wave faces). There was one that had to be a 12-footer and I just freaked out and swam as fast as I could towards it.”

Cunningham got under the wave, and a few days later in Aloha Stadium, he discovered something else to get excited about: artificial turf.

In Aloha Stadium, he found he was able to run his offensive patterns more precisely, was able to cover receivers more tightly, and by the time Edison completed a 12-0 victory over Honolulu Iolani, he had returned five punts for 81 yards, caught six passes for 77 yards and intercepted a pass.

Edison Coach Dave White has come to expect a versatile performance from Cunningham, who also played shortstop for the baseball team last season. As the Chargers’ only returning starter on offense, much is expected of Cunningham and, so far, he hasn’t disappointed.

After two games, Cunningham, a six-foot, 170-pound senior, leads Orange County in receptions with 12, averaging more than 17 yards a catch. His performance will likely be a key tonight when the Chargers (2-0), ranked fifth in the county, play second-ranked Capistrano Valley (2-0) in LeBard Stadium at Orange Coast College.

“We’d be crazy to not have Mike in the games as much as possible and get him the ball every chance we get,” White said. ‘He likes to have the game in his hands, and I like to have it in his hands.”

For four games last year, it was out of his hands. On the fourth play of the first game of the season, Cunningham jammed his thumb making a tackle. On the next play he broke the same thumb when it was driven into the turf while he made another tackle.

To ensure proper healing, the break required surgery. It was the fourth surgery performed on Cunningham’s right arm--the other three were on his elbow to repair damage done when he was a baseball pitcher--but it was easily the most disappointing.

“I really bummed out,” Cunningham said. “I was really down. I thought I just shot my whole junior year. They said I wasn’t going to be back until after the Fountain Valley game. That would have been after our seventh game.”

But after the initial shock of the injury, Cunningham decided to stay in shape by running every day while his thumb healed.

He returned early, missing only three games instead of six. Cunningham caught a touchdown pass in each of his first four games back. In the first two, he played with an unwieldy, club-like splint on his right hand.

But it was against Fountain Valley--his first game without the splint--that Cunningham made the catch that solidified his status as the Chargers’ big-play receiver.

Trailing Fountain Valley, 25-21, with 47 seconds left to play, Cunningham dove to catch a 26-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Donnie Smith.

“He just always makes the play when we need it,” White said. “The kids on the team know that. I think they are a little in awe of him.”

That respect is valuable because Cunningham has taken a leadership role in an effort to bring the inexperienced Edison offense up to speed. On defense, where Cunningham is one of six returning starters, the Chargers are more sound, having given up only one touchdown in two games this season.

Cunningham sees tonight’s game against Capistrano Valley as a chance for Edison to get retribution for the 37-10 beating the Chargers took last year in a game Cunningham missed because of his injury.

To help prepare for the game this season, Cunningham did something he never has done before: He went to see an upcoming opponent play. He watched Capistrano Valley defeat Mater Dei, 18-15, Saturday, but it was difficult for him to stay in his seat.

“I was kind of envisioning myself going out there,” he said. “I was really fired up.”