HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TONIGHT

LB Wilson vs. Edison @ Huntington Beach High, 7pm

Every year football teams have “season defining” games.  This week, the Wilson Bruins hit the road for what could end up being one of those games against the Edison Chargers.

Last season, head coach Mario Morales repeated the mantra, “we need to compete.”  This year, he’s saying, “we need to contend.”  To do that, they need a good showing against Edison who is a consensus league favorite.  A good showing that could permanently put Wilson on the map in the 2009 Pac-5 Division.

Both squads are brimming with confidence after blowout wins.  Wilson is coming off a huge opening night victory over Huntington Park, and Edison easily handled Artesia last Friday.  But the key to this game isn’t going to be points scored, it will be the defense trying to limit them.

Co-Defensive Coordinator Mark Ziegenhagen knows this, and is ready to, “throw everything at these guys, including the kitchen sink.”  The Wilson coaches are using the game film from Edison’s loss last year to Esperanza.  The Chargers had problems with the stack defense Esperanza runs, which is what the Bruins run as well.

Edison will use their three skill stars QB Matt Viles, RB Wade Houston and WR Jeff Trojan to stifle the Bruins’ upset bid.  Viles passed for over 2,000 yards last year with 19 TD while Houston only ran the ball 77 times, but averaged over six yards-per-carry and scored seven TDs.  Trojan, a 6’3” 190lb split end, had five TDs on 27 catches, but the key stat is that he only had one catch for 13 yards in the Esperanza loss.

On offense for the Bruins, it will come down to running back Brandon Robertson and Wilson’s ability to maintain possession while keeping the Edison offense on the sideline.  Then again, if Ezell Ruffin has a night like he did against Huntington Park, we could be talking about an entirely different game.