Two locals begin playoff run

And then there were two.

The 2010 prep football season came to an end last weekend for four local schools, but for Edison and Ocean View, the season continues on for at least another week.

Both the Chargers and Seahawks earned berths to the CIF Southern Section playoffs Sunday and both drew first-round road assignments.

Last year, Edison reached the Pac-5 Division championship game. To get there again this December, the Chargers first must get by first-round opponent Santa Margarita on Friday.

For Ocean View, a Friday date at Newport Harbor High against Corona del Mar marks the first time the program has made the postseason since 2007.

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Pac-5 Division

Edison (7-3) vs. Santa Margarita (8-2), 7 p.m. Friday, at Tesoro High: Edison’s playoff journey begins Friday in Rancho Santa Margarita against a strong Santa Margarita team.

The Chargers are in the postseason for the 10th time in the last 11 years.

Santa Margarita finished in last place last year in the Trinity League. But this fall, Coach Harry Welch’s Eagles turned things around and finished in second.

They secured second last Friday by knocking off Mater Dei, 17-7.

“They’re a tough team and we knew we’d get a tough draw,” Edison Coach Dave White said. “They do nothing fancy but they’re just a good, solid team. Their 4-1 record in the Trinity League speaks for itself. Coach Welch and his staff have done a great job.”

The Eagles’ offense is spearheaded by quarterback Adam Young. His top receivers are River Cracraft, Logan Sweet and Reiley Higgins and Cory Thomson (473 yards) is the team’s second-leading rusher behind Young (485 yards).

In addition to beating Mater Dei, Santa Margarita played Trinity League champ, top-ranked and defending Pac-5 champion Servite tough in a 17-10 loss two weeks ago.

Edison also played Servite and Mater Dei, falling to both in the final two weeks of nonleague play.

“They probably have the best offensive line we have faced this year,” White said of the Mustangs. “In fact, they’re very good up front on both sides of the ball. It will be a real challenge for us.

The Chargers and Eagles also have a common opponent in Los Alamitos. In week No. 5, the Eagles downed the Griffins, 31-7, in nonleague play. Last Thursday, the Chargers fell to Los Al, 26-21, in a game that determined the Sunset League champion.

Junior quarterback Chase Favreau threw for 220 yards and rushed for 49 more, including scoring on a 10-yard run. Junior running back Nick Masaniai scored on a pair of one-yard runs, junior receiver Troy Baljeu had five receptions total 80 yards and junior Gavin Perdomo had three catches for 90 yards, including a 59-yard catch-and-run that set up Favreau’s touchdown run on Edison’s first possession of the game.

Trailing, 24-16, Edison appeared to be moving in for another score when it reached the Los Alamitos 30, but Favreau hung up a pass that the Griffins’ Matt Kupchin stepped in front of Baljeu to intercept at the 9-yard line with 1:32 still on the third-quarter clock.

“Chase had a great game and we really moved the ball on offense all night, but he lobbed that ball up there. Unfortunately, it cost us,” White said. “I think Chase has had a good league season and a really good past two weeks against Fountain Valley and Los Al.

“We did a lot of good things in the Los Al game, but turnovers and big plays killed us.”

The Chargers gave up big touchdown runs, two on third-and-long plays, that allowed Los Al to stay in control.

“We were a few plays away from being a league champion,” White said. “I thought we played really well on offense against Los Al, but we didn’t execute on defense the way I hoped we would. We gave up some big plays and they were the difference in the game.”

Senior receiver/defensive back/kick returner Alan Atkins suffered a knee injury in the Los Al game and won’t play Friday, White said.

The Chargers are already without the services of multi-faceted senior starter Roland Blackiston, who is out with a fractured humerus.

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Southern Division

Ocean View (7-3) vs. Corona del Mar (8-1-1), 7 p.m. Friday, at Newport Harbor High: Two teams that have exceeded expectations meet in the first round Friday.

Ocean View wrapped up a playoff invite Nov. 11 by routing host Santa Ana, 42-0. That outcome, along with Loara’s victory Friday against Segerstrom, left the Seahawks as the third-place team from the Golden West League.

In the win against Santa Ana, Ocean View’s first shutout of the season, the Seahawks ran all over the Saints. Senior Michael Congelliere, a standout on the offensive and defensive line, rushed for a touchdown, senior quarterback Nolan Tippy rushed for two scores, junior running back Timmy Robinson turned in a game-high 122 rushing yards with a touchdown and Travis Sparks scored on a 47-yard run to cap the scoring.

The Ocean View defense, which forced four turnovers, also got into the scoring act when senior back Blake Walker had a 21-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter.

It was Walker’s fifth interception of the year.

Tippy (114 of 189) has thrown for 1,685 yards and 12 touchdowns and is averaging 169 yards per game. Robinson (193 carries) has rushed for 1,194 yards and 15 touchdowns and is averaging 120 yards per game and 6.2 yards per carry. At linebacker, he has 97 tackles and averages just under 10 per game.

Congelliere leads the team in tackles with 132 tackles (13.2 per game).

Five Ocean View receivers — Walker, Robinson, Josh Clay, Colton Johnson and Brian Hernandez — each have more than 250 yards in receptions, with Walker leading the way with 522 yards.

Ocean View last won seven games three years ago, the last time the Seahawks reached the postseason.

“It feels great, it’s what we wanted to do,” Offensive coordinator Eli Atol said of the Seahawks’ inclusion in the playoffs. “Last spring we didn’t set out to only play 10 games. A playoff appearance has been a rarity at Ocean View in the past, we are committed to changing that. Our kids believe in the system and themselves. Our whole outlook in the program has changed.”

Ocean View, which is looking for its first playoff victory, is taking on Pacific Coast League champion Corona del Mar, a team that is rolling into the playoffs on a six-game unbeaten streak. Since losing to rival Newport Harbor on Sept. 24, the only blemish on the Sea Kings’ record is a 29-29 tie against Northwood on Oct. 16 in the league opener for both teams.

Last Friday, CdM earned its first outright league title in 22 years (the Sea Kings last shared a league title in 1999) by holding off host Beckman, 17-15.

“Corona Del Mar is a very good football team, but I think that we match up pretty well against them,” Atol said. “They have similar size kids that we do, and they run a similar offense. It should make for an exciting game.”

The Sea Kings finished league play 4-0-1, one year after going 0-5.

“That’s the phenomenal part of it, for these kids to go 0-5 last year to undefeated league champion this year,” CdM Coach Jason Hitchens said.

CdM struggled offensively last week. A team that averaged 31 points in four previous league games turned the ball over four times, three on interceptions thrown by senior quarterback Mitch Gardner. The senior did hook up with Matt English on an 11-yard touchdown pass, Andrew Boehm kicked a 29-yard field goal and running back Erik Fisher scored on a five-yard run late in the fourth quarter to give the Sea Kings a 17-9 lead.

The defense rescued CdM by coming up with a pair of interceptions, one in the end zone, and turned away a two-point conversion pass attempt with 51 seconds left that would have tied the score.

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Oilers beat Vikings, keep Victory Trophy

Huntington Beach and Marina, rivals who first played in 1965, met last Friday at Westminster High’s Boswell Field, where the Oilers came on strong in the second half to claim a 52-31 victory.

With the triumph, the Oilers claimed the perpetual victory trophy.

The Marina defense grabbed a pair of first-half turnovers and behind a five-yard touchdown run by Alex Waked, a 25-yard field goal by Nick Marshall and touchdown passes covering 85 and 38 yards from Deshon Champion to Brayde Hill, the Vikings staked their way to a 24-7 lead late in the first half.

But from there, it was all Huntington Beach.

With quarterback Michael Chislock and receiver Ramon Vargas teaming on scoring pass plays covering 58 and 31 yards, the Oilers began their comeback. The duo struck one more time on an 80-yard scoring pass. Chislock ran 62 yards for another score, Wyatt Marlow scored on a 14-yard pass from Jake Umphreyville and Huntington went on a 45-0 run to take a 52-24 lead.

Marina scored its final touchdown on an 81-yard pass play from Marshall to Hill.

Vargas and Hill both finished with more than 200 receiving yards.

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Barons have playoff hopes dashed

A few scenarios needed to play out last Friday for Fountain Valley to stay alive in the chase for a playoff berth, but those hopes were dashed when Newport Harbor running back Buzzy Yokoyama rushed for 221 yards and three touchdowns and the Sailors scored 28 points in the second half to pull away to a 35-0 victory against the Barons.

Courtland Drummond rushed for a team-high 106 yards for Fountain Valley, which ends its year at 3-6-1 and 1-4 in Sunset League play.

With the win, Newport Harbor finished 3-2 in league and took the third automatic playoff berth from the league. The Sailors improved to 6-4 overall.

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Warriors fall to Tartans in finale

Brethren Christian needed a victory last Friday against host St. Margaret’s to qualify for the playoffs, but the defending Academy League Tartans repeated as champion and denied the Warriors a postseason bid by recording a 48-14 victory.

Brandon White rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns for Brethren Christian, which ended its league campaign at 1-2 and finished 4-6 overall.