Barons, Seahawks take spotlight

It’s a slow week on the gridiron with regards to games for local prep football teams.

Only two games are on tap this week, with Ocean View starting the action with a Thursday trip to Costa Mesa to face Estancia. Fountain Valley finishes the modest two-game schedule with its homecoming game Friday against San Diego Mira Mesa.

Idle from game action this week is Edison, Huntington Beach, Marina and Brethren Christian. All four return to action next week.

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Thursday

Ocean View (2-2) vs. Estancia (1-3)

(7 p.m., Estancia High)

Ocean View has won two in a row, and will be out to add to that momentum when it goes to Jim Scott Stadium to battle Estancia.

The Seahawks last week won big, a 45-0 road shutout Friday of Bolsa Grande. Senior quarterback Blake Meyer threw for 221 yards and four touchdowns. Junior receiver Dylan Durham was on the receiving end of two of those TD passes, and junior Xavier Salgado and senior Jason Bryan both caught scoring passes.

Salgado started the game’s scoring with a 13-yard TD run early in the first quarter. Bryan returned the second-half kickoff 84 yards for a touchdown, and junior running back Adel Holmes scored on a seven-yard run in the third quarter.

“Friday’s win is a tribute to the team’s relentless will to want to get better after an 0-2 start,” Ocean View Coach Luis Nunez said. “The defense played lights-out limiting Bolsa Grande to 52 yards of total offense. Offensively, Blake Meyer is starting to find his rhythm.”

Estancia has dropped three straight since defeating Loara in its opener a month ago. The Eagles were shut out last week, 28-0, by University.

Estancia is expected to be without its top rusher, junior Jordan Balcazar, who separated his shoulder two weeks ago against Irvine. Balcazar didn’t play against University last week.

“This week is great game to see how much we’ve improved this pre-season,” Nunez said. “Estancia has beat us handily the last three years and they’ve won [the Orange Coast League] title three years in a row.

“The kids are fired up to get back on the field, the momentum is building as we had a great Monday practice. The team is taking this week as an opportunity to make a statement that this team will also compete in the Golden West League.”

Ocean View starts its Golden West League season Oct. 9 at Westminster.

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Friday

Mira Mesa (4-1) vs. Fountain Valley (2-2)

(7 p.m., Huntington Beach High)

Fountain Valley will celebrate its homecoming game when the Barons take on the Marauders at Sheue Field.

The Barons, who wrap up nonleague play against Mira Mesa, are returning to action after a bye week. In their last game before the break, the Barons whipped Los Angeles West Adams Prep, 55-12.

Fountain Valley brings a two-game winning streak into Friday’s matchup.

“This is a big game for us,” Fountain Valley Coach Ray Fenton said. “We’ve come a long way since starting the season 0-2, and we want to keep the momentum going as we get ready to start league play.”

Fountain Valley’s challenger Friday, Mira Mesa, increased its win streak to three games by knocking off rival Scripps Ranch last week, 19-13.

Each of the Marauders’ four wins have come by 10 points or less.

They are ranked sixth in this week’s CIF San Diego Section Division 2 power rankings.

“Mira Mesa is really, really talented,” Fenton said. “They have some very good athletes and are a lot similar to Long Beach Wilson, who we faced earlier this year (Fountain Valley lost to Wilson, 26-11, on Sept. 4). It’s going to be a good test for us.

“It’s nice, too, to get back to playing. We are coming off a win where everyone contributed in a big way, and we are looking for a similar effort against Mira Mesa. We’ve done a real good job these past few games in terms of continuing to improve in different areas of our game, and minimizing our mistakes. That has given us the chance to play the game the way it’s supposed to be played.”

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Bye week

Edison (2-3)

The Chargers ended their nonleague schedule Friday with a 42-26 loss to Mater Dei at the Santa Ana Bowl.

Edison senior quarterback Grant Lowary was 28 of 44 for 337 yards and three touchdowns, and senior receiver Garrett White had 12 receptions for 167 yards and scored twice. A 16-yard touchdown pass from Lowary to White gave the Chargers a 10-7 lead in the second quarter. The two hooked up on a 31-yard TD pass in the third quarter.

Senior kicker Bobby Jinkins started the scoring with a 24-yard field goal in the first quarter, and junior receiver Shaun Colamonico took in a 15-yard scoring pass from Lowary.

Mater Dei, ranked No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section PAC-5 Division, scored the first 21 points of the second half to break away from a 14-10 halftime lead.

Edison ended nonleague play with consecutive losses to Servite (21-14) and Mater Dei.

One of the key games of the Sunset League season launches the 2015 league title chase when Edison plays host to defending champion Los Alamitos Oct. 8 at Huntington Beach High. The Chargers and Griffins met in a league finale last year that determined the league champion, a game won by the Griffins.

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Huntington Beach (2-3)

Huntington heads into its bye week with a victory.

The Oilers opened and ended nonleague play with easy victories over a pair of Los Angeles County schools, closing it out with a 41-0 win Sept. 4 over visiting Animo South Los Angeles that put an end to a three-game losing streak. The game was called off late in the first quarter when Panthers running back Cary Matthews suffered a neck injury.

Huntington did all of its scoring in the game’s first 10 minutes. Senior running back Hunter Simmons scored four touchdowns, the first coming on an 85-yard return of the opening kickoff. He also scored on runs of 30, 52 and 64 yards, and finished with 148 yards on only four carries.

Junior quarterback Kobee Lagarde and senior receiver John Davis teamed on a 30-yard scoring pass, and senior Mondo Duarte scored on a 35-yard punt return.

Huntington, which opened the season Aug. 28 with a 57-14 win over West Adams Prep, begins its Sunset League season Oct. 9 against Marina at home.

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Marina (1-4)

The Vikings closed out their nonleague campaign last week. They trailed Long Beach St. Anthony throughout their homecoming game at Huntington Beach High but made a spirited rally in the third quarter, only to see the Saints finish strong and run away with a 55-28 victory.

St. Anthony (2-2) struck fast and countered Marina (1-4) every step of the way yet the Vikings, who twice trailed by 16 points in the first half, had a chance to take the lead midway through the third quarter.

Marina trailed the Saints, 30-14, at halftime. On the third play after intermission, Marina sophomore free safety Caden Snyder came up with an interception — Snyder also had an interception on the final play of the first half — and set the Vikings up at the St. Anthony 16-yard line. Two plays later from the 16, running back Cooper Malerstein scored on a tackle-breaking run.

The Marina defense held St. Anthony to its only three-and-out of the game on the Saints’ next series, and the Vikings got the ball back at their own 36. On second down from the 29, Malerstein caught a screen pass from senior quarterback Dominic Gonzalez at the 33, raced upfield and past the pursuit of several defenders, shook off one final defender inside the St. Anthony 35, and went on to score on a 71-yard pass play.

With Rand Keidel’s point-after kick, the Vikings were back in the game trailing 30-28 with 6:36 left to play in the third quarter.

Marina got the ball back on a fumble recovery and had a chance at the lead, but missed on a 25-yard field-goal attempt.

St. Anthony, led by quarterback Jack Graham (354 yards, five touchdowns) and running back BJ Busbee (212 yards), closed the game with a 25-0 run.

Malerstein started what turned out to be a three-touchdown night for the junior by taking a screen pass from starting quarterback, senior Anthony De La Torre, for a 24-yard score that drew the Vikings within 7-6 in the second quarter.

Marina’s second score came on an 11-yard touchdown pass from De La Torre to senior receiver Javier Sanchez.

The Vikings will be back at Sheue Field for their Sunset League opener Oct. 9 when they visit Huntington Beach.

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Brethren Christian (5-0)

Brethren Christian put up more than 40 points in a game for the fifth time this season when the Warriors went to Granada Hills and defeated North Hills Heritage Christian, 52-32.

The Warriors trailed, 21-14, in the third quarter, but rolled off 31 consecutive points to pull away.

Running back Jordan Leonard carried 18 times for 282 yards and scored four touchdowns, and both of receiver Josh Gorrell’s two receptions went for touchdowns and totaled 105 yards. Senior quarterback Bobbie Conklin was seven of nine passing for 168 yards and three scores, his other TD pass going to junior receiver Nathan Sagastume.

Sagastume scored for the third-straight game, and has four TD receptions.

“This was a great game for us,” BC Coach Pat McInally said. “Awesome job on offense with two, long TD passes, and two picks on defense, turned the game around. That was a good team we beat.”

BC, which has averaged 52 points a game, has one nonleague game left on its schedule, an Oct. 9 home game against Rio Hondo Prep at Ocean View High.

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CIF Weekly Rankings

East Valley Division: Brethren Christian, No. 3.

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TEAMS ON WATCH

Edison (2-3)

16...Tesoro...35

38...Buena Park...0

35...Canyon/Anaheim...0

14...Servite...21

26...Mater Dei...42

Next game: Los Alamitos, Oct. 8

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Fountain Valley (2-2)

7...Servite...45

11..Long Beach Wilson...26

31...Trabuco Hills...24

55...West Adams Prep...12

Friday: Mira Mesa, 7 p.m.

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Huntington Beach (2-3)

57...West Adams Prep...14

21...San Clemente...51

8...JSerra...39

38...Moorpark...41

41...Animo South...0

Next game: Marina, Oct. 9

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Marina (1-4)

21...Aliso Niguel...40

31...Ocean View...6

20...Westminster...42

6...San Juan Hills...51

28...St. Anthony...55

Next game: at Huntington Beach, Oct. 9

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Ocean View (2-2)

6...Marina...31

0...Valley Christian...47

35...Westminster La Quinta...23

45...Bolsa Grande...0

Thursday: at Estancia, 7 p.m.

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Brethren Christian (5-0)

62...Riverside Prep...0

56...Boron...19

49...Workman...7

42...Capo Valley Christian...33

52...Heritage Christian...32

Next game: Rio Hondo Prep, Oct. 9