PREP FLASHBACK : THIS WEEK IN COUNTY PREP SPORTS HISTORY : 10 YEARS AGO

When Edison faced Fountain Valley, the game was considered the biggest in the county because:

--It was for the Sunset League championship.

--For the seventh consecutive season, it was played at Anaheim Stadium to accommodate the 15,000 fans the game averaged.

--It got top billing over the Rams-Miami game on the message board at Anaheim Stadium.

--Edison was the CIF champion in 1979, Fountain Valley in 1978. Many involved in the game would have rather won it than a CIF title. One sportswriter called it “The Super Bowl of CIF.”

“Winning the CIF title in 1978 was great,” Fountain Valley Coach Mike Milner said. “But beating Edison is better. I think our game with Edison outdrew the CIF finals two years ago.”

The best thing was that the game lived up to its billing. Edison won, 15-14, with an exciting, almost bizarre, ending.

Fountain Valley opened a 14-0 lead behind the passing of junior quarterback Matt Stevens, who wore a towel that said “FV Air Force.”

But Edison came back and pulled within one when quarterback Ken Major scored on a three-yard run with 15 seconds left. Edison then called the same play to score a two-point conversion.

Fountain Valley did not give up. Stevens completed a 61-yard pass to Keith Richards as time ran out, moving the ball to the Edison six. A penalty flag was thrown because Edison piled on during the tackle.

A game cannot end on a defensive penalty, but official Jim Patterson said:

“The clock had run out when the ball was in the air, and the game ended when (Richards) hit the ground.”

5 YEARS AGO

The Marina special teams were known for the quality of their play, and for their size.

Marina’s special teams’ players averaged 5-feet-8, 155 pounds, fairly small by football standards.

“Westminster was laughing at us on the sidelines,” said special teams player Dean Loghry. “They were saying, ‘Who are these little guys?’ ”

Accordingly, the group decided to call itself the Smurf Patrol, after the popular cartoon series. It was also an allusion to the diminutive Washington Redskin receivers who called themselves the Smurfs.

“When you see them out there, you don’t think they can hurt anybody,” defensive back Sean Barbosa said. “But they put some good licks on people.”

Apparently. Marina opponents averaged just 13.5 yards per kickoff return, with a longest of 38, as the Vikings went 6-3-1, 4-1 in the Sunset League.

The players weren’t chosen because of their (lack of) size. It just worked out that way because Coach Dave Thompson believed in using players who didn’t start on offense or defense for his special teams.

“That’s a good place for a kid to get on the field,” Thompson said. “If he’s a junior, he’ll get a lot of hits and gain a lot of confidence. If he’s a senior, he’ll at least feel like he’s contributed to the team.”

1 YEAR AGO

Running it up: Rancho Alamitos’ Dana Riddle gained 144 yards in 34 carries to end the regular season with 2,082 yards, the fourth-highest total in county history behind Servite’s Derek Brown (2,301, 1988), Edison’s Kerwin Bell (2,226, 1979) and Valencia’s Ray Pallares (2,085, 1985).

Tough ticket: As expected, Capistrano Valley’s stadium was packed for the showdown between top-ranked El Toro and No. 2 Capistrano Valley. Fans began to fill the stadium at 5 p.m., and the 3,500 bleacher seats were taken by 6.

Just ask Mission Viejo Mayor William Craycraft how hot a ticket it was.

Earlier in the day, Craycraft had telephoned Capistrano Valley Principal Tom Anthony and asked if Anthony could reserve a couple of seats and a parking space at the school for his family.

Anthony politely declined.

The mayor missed a good game. Capistrano Valley won, 22-21.