Slow start dooms Edison

The end of a tough three-week stretch comes to an end Friday for the Edison High football team.

Having taken on the likes of Servite and Mater Dei in their previous two outings, splitting those two nonleague games, the Chargers — ranked second in the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division — now venture to San Clemente to take on the Tritons.

“It’s a real tough stretch for us,” said Edison Coach Dave White. “We schedule these types of games to get us ready for Sunset League play.”

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Friday games

Edison (3-1) vs. San Clemente (4-1), 7 p.m., San Clemente High: Edison climbed out of a three-touchdown hole at LeBard Stadium and had opportunities to go into the lead in the fourth quarter last week. Mater Dei, however, was able to hang on for a 20-14 nonleague victory.

The Chargers, then the top-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section Southwest Division, trailed the Monarchs, the No. 5 team in the Pac-5 Division, 20-0, early in the second quarter. Turnovers doomed the Chargers at the outset and the Monarchs worked a short field on their first three possessions of the game to reach the end zone.

“You can’t make that many mistakes and expect to beat a team of Mater Dei’s caliber,” White said. “But our kids nearly overcame those mistakes and we had our chances there at the end.

“Those early turnovers really hurt us. We could have folded, but our guys didn’t. Our defense played great once again. I’m proud of our kids.”

Donald Rice accounted for both Edison touchdowns. The senior running back scored on a 14-yard run late in the first half, and later on a two-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Chargers defense shut out the Monarchs, who came in averaging 44 points, from the 9:45 mark of the second quarter to the end of the game.

San Clemente also is looking to spring back from its first loss of the season. The Tritons, then ranked eighth in the CIF Southern Section Pac-5 Division, were shocked, 28-7, by Newport Harbor last week. The Tritons, who averaged 39 points in their first four games, scored in the game’s final minute to avoid being shut out.

The San Clemente defense had given up just 30 points in four previous games.

“It’ll be another big challenge for our team,” White said. “I think we have a good football team. Our defense is playing great but we’ve got to get more consistent on offense.”

The Chargers and Tritons are meeting for the eighth time, but haven’t faced each other since the 2007 season. Edison has won all seven previous games.

Heritage Christian (3-2) vs. Brethren Christian (3-1), 7 p.m., Ocean View High: Brethren Christian hopes to reload Friday when the Warriors entertain Heritage Christian of North Hills.

The Warriors suffered their first loss last week. They fell behind, 28-0, at St. Anthony, fought back but ended up with a 42-25 setback. Despite losing key receiver Guy Demazeliere to an ankle injury early in the game, BC closed to within 35-25 early in the fourth quarter.

Quarterback Jack McInally threw for 289 yards and three touchdown passes in the second quarter, two to Brandon Bryson and one to Anthony Moore. Bryson also rushed for a touchdown in the fourth quarter that closed the score to 35-25.

“We were able to close to within a score but just couldn’t stop their running game,” BC Coach Pat McInally said. “Terrible start, heroic comeback effort, but we didn’t get it done.”

Heritage Christian started the season with three wins but has lost in consecutive weeks.

“We’re treating this week like a playoff game, as a measuring stick to see how far we’ve come as a program,” Pat McInally said.

McInally said that Demazeliere, the team’s leading receiver who was doubtful earlier in the week, could be ready for Friday.

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Saturday

Ocean View (2-2) vs. Los Amigos (2-2), 7 p.m., Garden Grove High: Ocean View, on a two-game roll, looks for victory No. 3 when it travels to Los Amigos.

The Seahawks rushed for more than 300 yards, led by the return of Daniel Valencia (109 yards), Nate Kwon and Garrett Hoffman, and routed Bolsa Grande, 43-20. Quarterback Dallas Broge scored twice, Kwon and Hoffman rushed for touchdowns and Speiser Alani and Reo Washington took in scoring passes from Broge.

“It was a great overall team win again,” Ocean View Coach Luis Nunez said. “We’ve now had five (running) backs who have run for over 100 yards in a game this season. The offensive line is getting better each week, which is a key to competing with the top teams in our league.

“Defensively, I feel we are much faster by adding former linebackers (sophomore) David Alani and (senior) Alex Solis to the defensive line. Getting Daniel Valencia back in the backfield and at linebacker brought great energy to the team.”

Los Amigos enters the game coming off a 53-6 victory against winless Santa Ana.

“Los Amigos is a measuring stick of how far we’ve come since our loss to Estancia,” Nunez said. “They are very similar to us offensively, as they love to run power. We will need a great week of practice from our kids as we have our hands full.”

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Bye week: Fountain Valley, Huntington Beach, Marina

Fountain Valley (3-2): The Barons ended nonleague play Friday with a 21-14 loss at Trabuco Hills (4-1). Fountain Valley, which fell behind, 14-0, in the first quarter, pulled to within, 14-7, on a 43-yard touchdown pass play from quarterback Chris d’Entremont to receiver Ryan Finley in the second quarter. The Barons got their final touchdown midway through the fourth quarter when Jason Baker fell on a fumble by teammate Wyatt Christensen in the end zone at the end of a pass play.

“Trabuco is like playing a Sunset League team. They are big, fast and physical,” Fountain Valley Coach John Shipp said. “We struggled offensively in the first half of that game, and our defense kept us in the game. In the second half, we played much better and we ran out of time, in my opinion.

“We had a good preseason. We played some good, quality teams, and hopefully that will get us ready for league.”

Fountain Valley starts Sunset League play Oct. 5 at Huntington Beach.

Huntington Beach (2-3): The Oilers concluded nonleague play by handling visiting Westminster, 35-7, in their homecoming game Friday. Junior Maurice Barber had just two catches but amassed 82 yards and two touchdowns in a performance Huntington Coach Eric Lo said was a “tremendous effort.” Lo said that junior quarterback Kai Ross — who rushed for 92 yards and two touchdowns and threw for 180 yards and three scores, including one to senior Marco Valenzuela — gave “another great performance.”

Barber and sophomore Brayden McRae had interceptions.

“We played really well on offense in the first half, and I think we scored on every possession,” Lo said. “Our defense and special teams also played well and pretty much controlled field position for us, giving us a short field to work with.”

The Oilers return to action Oct. 5 hosting Fountain Valley in a Sunset League opener at Sheue Field.

“We have two weeks to prepare to get healthy and prepare for Fountain Valley,” Los said. “It will be a good break. I think we’ve learned a lot from the losses we’ve had, and the kids know that they have to play hard consistently in order to be successful in the Sunset League.”

Marina (3-2): The Vikings concluded a successful nonleague schedule Friday by rolling past visiting Sherman Oaks CES, 51-6, at Westminster High. Eight Vikings got into the scoring act and the Vikings, paced by 133 yards on seven attempts from senior Adam Anunciation, ran up 276 yards on the ground. Anunciation, junior quarterback Austin Sojka, senior Eli Cabaccang, sophomores Steve Hernandez and Jacob Lopez, and junior James Myers all rushed for touchdowns. Senior Corey Robb had a TD reception and sophomore Matt Lippold hit a 25-yard field goal.

Marina returns to action Oct. 4 against Los Alamitos at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach.

“We hope to get healthy and get ready for Los Al coming off the bye,” Marina Coach George Pascoe said. “We need to stay focused and keep our eye on the prize. It’s only September, and big games are played in October.”

michael.sciacca@latimes.com

Twitter: @MikeSciacca