ON THE PREP PATH / BARBIE LUDOVISE : The Thrill of Victory Moves All But One Edison Player

More than 8,000 fans filled Orange Coast College’s LeBard Stadium for the Edison-Fountain Valley football game Friday night, one that ended with the Edison fans--many painted in Charger green and gold--pouring onto the field to celebrate their team’s 26-8 victory.

Gathering at midfield, many fans cheered, some screamed and a few actually cried as they watched the Edison players take turns ringing the large, bronze bell that is awarded each year to the winning team of this longtime rivalry.

“This is what it’s all about,” said former Edison quarterback Frank Seurer, who went on to play pro ball for the Kansas City Chiefs. “It’s sounds dumb, but some of my best memories are of playing in this game.”

But one Edison soul remained unmoved by the postgame hysteria. Brandon Jessie, a wide receiver-in-waiting, stood on the sidelines during the game, stoic as a stop sign.

Jessie, wearing jersey No. 81--the same number his father, Ron Jessie, wore as a wide receiver for the Rams, Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills--did not play in the game. In fact, he hasn’t played all year.

Why? Jessie’s mother, a devout Jehovah’s Witness, has not allowed her son to play football, until now.

“She got over it, I guess,” shrugged Jessie, a junior who must put in three more practices before he can play in a game. “Next week, I’m playing. “

And, perhaps, contributing to the postgame hysteria, too.

Trivia Question: Two former Orange County high school coaches were once county standouts themselves. They have the same first and last name.

Who are they?

When told Fountain Valley Coach Mike Milner last week ordered the decals to be stripped from the Barons’ helmets and the stereo and sofas to be removed from the varsity team room, former Baron players standing on the sidelines Friday night were aghast.

‘That’s like stripping away all the pride they’ve got,” said Aaron Wilcox, a starting linebacker on last year’s squad. “I mean, the decals, the couches, the stereo . . . That’s all a varsity football player has. “

While it’s not unusual to find a girl on a water polo team, Los Amigos junior Rachel Rivera is in a class by herself. Rivera, the only girl on the Lobos’ varsity team, has scored 15 goals this season.

Those wondering why the halftime music at the Santa Margarita-University football game sounded as if it was being played under water last week can rest assured the mystery has been solved: A toddler poured a bottle of soap bubbles into the sound system.

In its football game Thursday night against La Quinta, Pacifica displayed the excitement level of overcooked oatmeal--bland, dull and uninspired.

Speaking of cereal, La Quinta quarterback Donald Hawkins--a former Cap’n Crunch fiend--was impressive Thursday night.

Hawkins, benefiting from good pass protection and an impressive array of plays from La Quinta Coach Roger Takahashi, was fluid and deceptive on the fake, and strong and accurate on long passes.

The Rancho Alamitos players who came to scout La Quinta--most seemed more interested in scouting the social scene at the snack bar--said their defense can hold any team.

Rancho Alamitos, ranked eighth in the county, plays La Quinta this week. I’ll pick Cap’n Crunch and Co. in an upset.

Foul mood or what? Of the 17 penalties assessed to Magnolia in its 28-19 loss Friday night to Cypress, nine were personal fouls.

Sunny Hills’ water polo team has not lost a Freeway League match in 20 years. Has it been easy? Not lately. The Lancers squeaked by Buena Park, 9-8, Thursday by virtue of Tony Durazzo’s goal with 15 seconds remaining.

Durazzo had no idea he scored.

“I got this cross-court pass,” Durazzo said. “A guy grabbed my arm and the ball just went in. I didn’t even know it went in--I thought I missed--then everyone just went wild.”

According to former Corona del Mar volleyball standout Sue Davis, who as Sue Corea played on the Sea Kings’ 1978 Southern Section championship team, current Corona del Mar Coach Dale Flickinger used to sit in the stands during practices and games, secretly signaling in plays.

Flickinger was not the high school coach, but coach of the Balboa Bay Club team on which most of the players played.

California Lutheran, the county’s smallest high school with 60 students, is 5-0 in (eight-man) football.

Santa Ana, the largest school with 2,772, is 0-5.

Former Newport Harbor track athlete Mike Dixon, now a civil engineering major at Rice University, spent the summer working for the city of Newport Beach. His job? To chart every manhole in Newport Beach. His method? Dixon ran from one manhole to the next.

At 16 1/2 ounces, Santa Margarita’s football game program is the county’s largest, beating that of perennial heavyweight Mater Dei, which was two ounces lighter.

Trivia Answer: Dave White, Edison football coach, who played quarterback for the Chargers, and Dave White, Villa Park cross-country coach, who was the first county runner to break 9 minutes in the two-mile while at El Modena High.