Edison’s White brings intensity like no one else

If there’s a more fearless, energetic, passionate football player in the Southland than Hunter White from Huntington Beach Edison, let’s see him prove it by doing what White does:

Ram into running backs with no consideration for his own body; leap over tacklers; catch passes that others would find uncatchable.

“There’s no routine catches with him,” Santa Ana Mater Dei Coach Bruce Rollinson said.

White is a 6-foot, 180-pound senior who starts at receiver, starts at linebacker and leaves the field only if his father, Edison Coach Dave White, orders him to do so, and that usually requires the coach to raise his voice to get his son to agree.

“His motor, from the start of the game to the finish, is always going,” said his oldest brother, Matt, who coaches Edison’s receivers. “My dad and I try to give him breaks, but as soon as we tell him to come out, he has another burst of energy and doesn’t want to.”

On defense, White is so mobile and instinctive that he finds ways to get through, under or around blockers, to disrupt plays. And when collisions occur, many wonder how White is able to return to his feet.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Sometimes it hurts. Momentum is a huge part of this game, and I have to show the crowd I’m fine and make play after play.”

Edison, with an 8-2 overall record, shared the Sunset League title with Anaheim Esperanza and opens the Southern Section Pac-5 Division playoffs tonight against Encino Crespi (6-4) at Orange Coast College.

Count on the player wearing uniform No. 2 to be all over the field.

“You better account for where he is,” warned Rollinson, who said he has seen White grow up from a ball boy at Edison “to one of the purest athletic kids I’ve seen.

“He’s a great high school football player and there’s definitely a college program for him.”

White has caught 54 passes for 906 yards and seven touchdowns. He has four sacks and two interceptions.

To see White interacting with his father on the sideline is one of the most interesting elements of an Edison game.

“Hunter is outgoing, very passionate and a little stubborn,” his father said. “We’ve definitely butted heads, and it’s probably harder on him than me because I know how tough I’ve been.

“We want the same thing. It’s the old story of the coach is harder on his kid.”

But White has come away from spending his high school years under his father’s tutelage as someone dedicated to being the best.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “At times, it’s like I wish he wouldn’t yell at me, but in the long run, it’s worth it. It makes me work harder and makes me have a good attitude every day.”

Dave White’s responsibilities during a game don’t allow him to enjoy fully those moments when his son brings fans to their feet with a one-handed catch or bone-jarring tackle. But when he watches the replays on video, he is filled with pride and admiration.

“He has such passion for the game,” Dave White said. “He’s having a great year on both sides of the ball.”

There’s another admirer on the sideline: Younger brother Garrett, 9, a third-grader who wears Hunter’s jersey number and serves as an Edison ball boy, just like Matt and Hunter before him. His big brothers are already preparing him for the day he puts on a Chargers uniform.

“He’s got two older brothers who played the game, so he’s going to be a stud when he gets up here,” Hunter said.

Dave White, in his 21st season as Edison coach, will have to reach his 30th in order to coach Garrett.

“He told me I have to hang around for him,” Dave said, “so I will.”

Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.