PREP FOOTBALL : Two Orange County Teams to Open Season in Hawaii

Marina will kick off the Orange County high school football season at 9 p.m. PDT today when it plays Honolulu Damien in the Shawn Akina Prep Football Classic at Honolulu Aloha Stadium.

Southern California Christian also will open the season in Hawaii, playing Maui Kaahumanu Hou High at 10:30 p.m. PDT on Friday at Maui War Memorial Stadium.

“We’re all excited,” said Tom Keim, Marina linebacker. “We’re having fun here in Hawaii, but we know we have to work our butts off. And how many guys get a chance to play in a stadium like that?”

Aloha Stadium, home to Hawaii and the Pro Bowl, probably will be the only large stadium the Vikings will play in this season.

With former Empire League powers Los Alamitos and Esperanza joining the already tough Sunset League, Marina is a longshot to make the playoffs let alone advance to the Southern Section Division I finals and a possible game at Anaheim Stadium. Last season, Marina finished fourth, just missing the playoffs.

Viking Coach Dave Thompson hopes junior running back Mike Williams is ready to help the offense and Keim, an All-Sunset League selection last year, leads an experienced defense.

Damien High, a small Catholic boys’ school, won’t be at full strength for tonight’s game because 12 players were either suspended or expelled,

Brother Karl Walczak of Damien said 10 players were suspended and two others expelled for what he called “a serious breach of discipline.”

A similar incident would have decimated Southern California Christian, which has only 18 players on its roster. But SCC Coach Bert Esposito has no such problems.

Esposito will be somewhat familiar with his opponent’s game plan Friday because he played for Kaahumanu Hou’s coach, Dave Morocco, at Melodyland High School in 1979 and 1980.

“Dave has been trying to get us over there the last couple of years,” Esposito said. “I had a pretty good team last year with only a couple of seniors, so I figured this was the year to go.”

All-Arrowhead League running back Ron Wood, who finished the regular season with 590 yards rushing last year, leads SCC’s offense.

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Times staff writer Bob Rohwer and Pat Bigold contributed to this story.