It Doesn’t Get Bigger Than This

The magnitude of the “Battle for the Bell” football game between Edison and Fountain Valley became instantly apparent for anyone near Orange Coast College Friday night.

Festivities, which began with a 6 a.m. breakfast, continued all day on each campus, and an hour before the 7 p.m. kickoff, the 7,600-seat stadium was nearly full.

A half hour later, concession lines were 50 deep. A helicopter circled overhead, beaming a spotlight on the circus-like atmosphere and balloons decorated the stadium.

The 500 programs brought by Edison boosters sold out, and the 50-50 raffle reached $770.

But a true testament to how big this Sunset League rivalry has become after 31 years, came from Fountain Valley’s first-year coach, Eric Johnson.

“Nothing is as big as this,” Johnson said, gazing into the crowd before the game. “This is big time.”

He ought to know. For most of the past decade, Johnson had served as defensive coordinator at Mater Dei, which has participated in more than its share of big games.

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College scouts might have concerns about the size of Pacifica wide receiver Jeff Weber. After all, he’s only 5 feet 9, 150 pounds. But they shouldn’t question his toughness--at least not after his last two games.

Two weeks ago against Los Amigos, Weber played with a cut on his chin that later required 16 stitches.

Thursday night against Rancho Alamitos, Weber was speared by a Rancho Alamitos player while he attempted to field a punt in the second quarter.

He spent a few minutes on the sidelines clearing his head, but he returned to catch a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joey Fuske on the last play of the half. Weber began bleeding from the chin later in the game but stayed in and finished with three catches for 49 yards, seven rushes for 49 yards and he also kicked six extra points.

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There are some great football rivalries among Orange County high schools. And it’s quite possible another could be brewing tonight when Mater Dei plays Santa Margarita at Edison Field.

But at least one person says it’s unlikely this will ever be the game for Mater Dei fans.

“Never,” Monarch Coach Bruce Rollinson said. “Tradition, years, great games, great players. . . . It’s going to take a lot of years for this to come close. It’s going to be one more good battle, but it will never take the place of Mater Dei-Servite.”

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Foothill Coach Casey Mazzotta watched every minute from the sideline, but he couldn’t believe it.

Senior running back Skyler Champion shattered the Orange County single-game rushing yardage record, gaining 527 yards during Thursday’s 46-12 victory over Orange--the Knights’ first victory of the season.

“It was unbelievable,” Mazzotta said. “It’s been a tough season, but it’s nice for Skyler to come out the way he did. Skyler did it in only 21 carries, so he didn’t get the ball a whole lot.”

Champion, who scored five touchdowns in the first three quarters, broke the county mark of 422 set by Heritage Christian’s Paul Caffrey in 1997.

“To see something like that reminded me of Derek Brown and Russell White,” said Mazzotta, whose father is Cerritos College Coach Frank Mazzotta. Brown, a Servite and Nebraska alum, played in the NFL, and White attended Encino Crespi and California.