The Calhoun Six: Games to Watch

No. 1 Edison (8-0, 3-0) vs. No. 4 Fountain Valley (8-0, 3-0)
Friday, 7 p.m. at Cal State Fullerton, live video on ocvarsity.com

Outlook: Tickets went on sale last week and were sold out in a few hours. Then the game was moved from Orange Coast College to a larger location (Titan Stadium) and tickets went back on sale to fill 10,000-seat stadium.

Both teams are undefeated and the outright lead in the Sunset League race is on the line.

Is there any way that this game will live up to the hype?

Edison is coming off of a 27-10 victory over Los Alamitos in a game that saw the Edison offense fail to score any touchdowns.

Can that happen again? I wouldn’t think so.

The Chargers gained just 123 total yards (62 rushing, 61 passing). You can expect Matt Viles and company to come out with all guns firing.

Defensively, it would be smart of the Barons kept on eye on Jordan Zumwalt. Zumwalt was in on 24 tackles and forced a fumble in last week’s victory over Los Alamitos.

Fountain Valley defeated Newport Harbor, 37-32 last week. Quarterback Dominic Ragland (passed for 102 yards and rushed for 108) and Kyle Middlebrooks rushed for 139 yards.

Can this duo lead the way to the victory?

Edison leads the series 25-14-1 and has recorded four consecutive victories.

Does the streak end here?

The Calhoun 6 (Plus Two Bonus Games):

No. 2 Servite vs. No. 6 Orange Lutheran

No. 2 Mission Viejo vs. No. 12 San Clemente

No. 10 Tustin vs. No. 20 El Dorado

No. 7 Los Alamitos vs. No. 18 Esperanza

No. 16 Cypress vs. No. 24 Pacifica

BONUS GAMES

No. 17 Laguna Hills vs. No. 25 Irvine

Westminster vs. Segerstrom

RELATED SLIDE SHOW:

The Calhoun Six: Players to Watch Week 9

No. 1 Edison (7-0, 2-0) vs. No. 7 Los Alamitos (6-1, 1-1)
Friday, 7 p.m. at Huntington Beach High

Outlook: The Chargers have had their struggles with the Griffins in recent years. Los Alamitos has won five of the previous seven and the last two in this series.

Will things be different this year?

Edison's offense has been firing on all cylinders this season. The Chargers are averaging 33 points a game, and aside from the 29 points that Mater Dei scored in an overtime game (Oct. 1), they have allowed only one team (Dana Hills) to score more than 14 points.

Edison quarterback Matt Viles has increased his completion percentage in league games. He has completed 66.2 percent of his passes (47 of 71) in his first two league games, and he has passed for seven TDs and just one interception against Esperanza and Newport Harbor.

Los Alamitos has one of the county’s top secondaries, led by corner back Shaquille Richardson.

Will the Griffins be able to contain Viles and all of his offensive weapons?

Los Alamitos will play its second game under new quarterback Dylan Lagarde, the transfer from Long Beach Poly who completed 10 of 21 passes for 177 yards in his Los Alamitos debut last week.

Running back Nick Richardson has rushed for 1,222 yards and 13 touchdowns. He has topped 200 yards twice this season.

Will Edison be able to slow him? Or will the Los Alamitos offensive line dominate the line of scrimmage?

Links to the rest of the Calhoun Six (10/27/09):

No. 13 San Clemente (4-3, 1-1) vs. No. 12 Tesoro (3-4, 0-2)
No. 4 Fountain Valley (7-0, 2-0) vs. No. 11 Newport Harbor (4-3, 1-1)
Beckman (4-2-1, 1-1) vs. No. 18 Laguna Hills (5-2, 2-0)
No. 17 JSerra (6-1, 1-1) vs. No. 8 Mater Dei (3-4, 0-2)
No. 6 Orange Lutheran (4-3, 2-0) vs. St. John Bosco (4-3, 1-1)

Best games to watch on the Game 7 schedule:

No. 1 Edison (6-0, 1-0) vs. No. 10 Newport Harbor (4-2, 1-0)
Friday at Newport Harbor High, 7 p.m.

Outlook: The Sailors fired the first blast in the Sunset League with their 23-20 upset victory over previous No. 4 Los Alamitos. You have to credit the Sailors for rebounding after two disappointing losses before the start of the league.

Newport Harbor had lost to Dana Hills (41-7) and Mira Costa (24-10) before taking on the Griffins.

The Sailors intercepted two passes and were able to get Cedric Whitaker back on track. Whitaker had gained 122 yards in the losses to Dana Hills and Mira Costa. He gained 131 against the Griffins.

The Chargers opened league play with a 34-10 victory over Esperanza. Quarterback Matt Viles completed 20 of 31 passes for 291 yards and four touchdowns.

The Chargers have to be the toughest team in the county to defend because there are so many weapons on the field. There are five receivers with at least 12 catches, six with at least one touchdown and seven with an average per catch of at least 12 yards.

And that’s not even factoring in the work on the ground by Wade Houston (103 carries, 603 yards). If you can’t put pressure on Viles, then he will carve you up.

Can the Sailors slow down the Charger offense? Can they pull off a second consecutive upset?

It isn’t going to be easy, but then again, this is the Sunset League.

Links to the rest of The Calhoun Six: Games to Watch:

No. 14 Trabuco Hills vs. Huntington Beach 

No. 6 Orange Lutheran vs. No. 19 JSerra 

No. 13 Tesoro vs. No. 2 Mission Viejo 

No. 11 San Clemente vs. No. 5 Dana Hills 

No. 8 Mater Dei vs. No. 3 Servite 

No. 15 Esperanza (3-2) vs. No. 1 Edison (5-0)
Friday, at Valencia High, 7 p.m.

Outlook: Remember that five-way tie for the Sunset League title last season? It was all Esperanza’s fault. Or was it Edison’s?

The teams met in the final game of the regular season, and the Aztecs needed a victory to force the dreaded five-way tie. Edison needed a victory to clinch a playoff spot. The Aztecs responded with a 16-3 victory, which ended up knocking Edison from the playoffs.

The Aztecs opened the 2009 season with a 35-3 loss to Santiago of Corona. They could be on a four-game winning streak, but they lost to Ferris of Spokane, Wash., after leading 28-7 at halftime. 

Mike Manibusan leads the ground attack with 500 yards, and Drew Huusfeldt is second with 370 yards.

Edison hasn’t played since Oct. 1, when it rallied to defeat Mater Dei, 36-29, in double overtime.

Is there a more-balanced offense in the county than Edison's? Wade Houston (552 yards) is the leading rusher. Jeff Trojan (411) is one of three receivers with at least 200 receiving yards. QB Matt Viles has the keys to the offense. He has completed 90 of 146 passes (61.6 percent) for 1,321 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions.

Can the Aztecs slow down the Chargers offense?

Edison is the clear-cut No. 1 team in the county, but is it possible to remain No. 1 in this league?

Links to the rest of The Calhoun Six:  

No. 20 Corona del Mar vs. No. 22 Laguna Hills

No. 11 Tustin vs. No. 25 Canyon         

No. 4 Los Alamitos vs. No. 13 Newport Harbor

No. 9 Orange Lutheran vs. No. 6 Mater Dei

No. 7 Dana Hills vs. No. 12 Tesoro

Taking a look at the top games on this week's schedule:

No. 7 Mater Dei (3-1) vs. No. 1 Edison (4-0)
Thursday, 7 p.m., at Santa Ana Stadium

Outlook: The Chargers moved into the county's No. 1 spot after Friday’s impressive 23-9 victory over then-No. 1 Servite.

Is it tougher to get to No. 1 or to keep the top ranking?

Edison continues its back-to-back battles with Trinity League teams with this visit to Mater Dei. Last season, Edison moved into No. 1 and then lost to Los Alamitos.  Will the Chargers still have the No. 1 ranking once Sunset League play starts this season?

This is not the same Edison team from last season. For one, they don’t turn the ball over. Quarterback Matt Viles has thrown only one interception through four games. Defensively, Edison is allowing eight points a game.

Wade Houston is 11th in the county is rushing yards with 453, giving the Chargers a balanced attack.

Mater Dei has been inconsistent, but enters the week 3-1. The Monarchs scored just two points against Carson, defeated Cypress by just five, knocked off the state’s No. 7 team (Corona of Centennial) by 18 points and then needed a late field goal to hold off L.A. Jordan.

Quarterback Max Wittek engineered two late-game drives for the Monarchs in the victory over Jordan.

Which Mater Dei team shows up for this game?

The Monarchs’ defense has been solid, allowing 15.7 points a game. That’s far more impressive than the first four games last season, when opponents averaged 32.2 points through the first four games.

Can the defense continue with this level of play and give the offense a chance to win?

Links to all of the Calhoun Six for Week 4:

No. 4 Los Alamitos vs. No. 8 La Habra

No. 10 Newport Harbor vs. No. 15 Dana Hills

No. 19 El Toro vs. No. 9 San Clemente

No. 17 El Dorado vs. No. 12 Tesoro

No. 6 Orange Lutheran vs. Narbonne of Harbor City

BONUS GAME: No. 3 Servite vs. Chaparral of Temecula

No. 3 Edison (3-0) vs. No. 1 Servite (3-0)
Friday, 7 p.m., at Huntington Beach High

Outlook: Welcome the first “must-see” game of the year.

So far, Servite is 3-0 in the world’s toughest nonleague schedule. Crespi was the victim last week. Servite jumped out to a 31-0 halftime lead and a 38-7 lead before taking the foot off the pedal. Crespi rallied in the second half, but the Friars held for a 38-28 victory.

Edison went aerial against Dana Hills with quarterback Matt Viles passing for a school-record 457 yards in a 34-17 victory. He leads the county with 798 passing yards.

Can he do that against Servite? Will he have to?

The Friars are a physical bunch on defense. I’ve never seen a better defensive performance than the one they turned in during the first half against Crespi.

Both teams have numerous offensive weapons. Defense and turnovers will be the key.

Servite sacked Viles six times last season and intercepted him three times. Will he get payback?

Can Servite make it to 4-0?

No. 21 Corona del Mar vs. No. 11 Newport Harbor

No. 17 El Dorado vs. Valencia

No. 4 Orange Lutheran vs. Redlands East Valley

El Toro vs. No. 19 Laguna Hills

No. 25 Canyon vs. No. 23 Foothill

Friday, 7 p.m. at Orange Coast College

Outlook: There is a possibility of the Sunset League finishing in five-way tie with Los Alamitos, Newport Harbor, Edison, Esperanza and Fountain Valley all ending up 3-2. That would be amazing and crazy all at the same time.

The Chargers escaped last week’s Bell Game with Fountain Valley with a 14-7 victory thanks to a pair of late touchdown passes from Matt Viles. This game is certain to be just as physical and low scoring.

Edison had trouble getting its running game on track against Fountain Valley and it could be difficult against the Aztecs.

Edison won last year’s meeting, 9-7.

The Aztecs have to be kicking themselves for losing a 21-7 third quarter lead to Los Alamitos last week. Now they’re in a must-win and in-need-of-help situation.

The Aztecs will rely on their running game led by Jared Moore.

Can the Aztecs rebound? That 3-2 five-way tie is out there on the horizon. Will it happen?

MORE OF THE CALHOUN SIX, WEEK 10:

• El Dorado vs. Tustin
• Los Alamitos vs. Newport Harbor
• Mater Dei vs. Orange Lutheran
• Cypress vs. Pacifica
• Servite vs. St. John Bosco
• Five more games to keep an eye on