`LITTLE KID' PLAYING BIG FOR HOMETOWN CHARGERS.

Byline: KEVIN MODESTI

SAN DIEGO - A chiseled 6-foot-2 and 227 pounds, a polished veteran of nearly a decade in the NFL jet set, Donnie Edwards casually refers to himself as the ``little kid from National City.''

Apparently, such is the power of this season's Chargers revival - which continued Sunday with a 31-24 victory over Tampa Bay - that it has transported one large adult all the way back to his childhood in the rough neighborhood south of downtown San Diego.

``I didn't have enough money to buy a ticket,'' said Edwards, remembering the Chargers of the almost-great days of Air Coryell in the 1970s and '80s. ``I'd hang out in the parking lot and listen to the roar of the crowd and follow the game on the radio.''

Until now, he had feared he would never hear days like those again, when the region's youngsters had a pro football team to get excited about.

``Looking up in the stands (this year) and seeing 68,000 Chargers fans,'' Edwards said, ``is a dream come true for a San Diego boy.''

Imagine how his inner child feels to have grown into a hero for the hometown franchise.

``The other night I went to dinner with my wife, and I got my first free desert,'' Edwards said. ``It always used to be (in a so-what voice), 'Oh, you're a Chargers player.' Now I get free apple pie. We must be doing something right.''

Lately, if the Chargers are doing something right - and their seven-game winning streak would make it appear they're doing everything right - they are following the lead of the little kid from the wrong side of the tracks who at age 31 plays outside linebacker as if he still has something to prove.

With less than five minutes left Sunday afternoon at Qualcomm Stadium, the Chargers (10-3) were having trouble putting away the Buccaneers (5-8) when Edwards jumped into the arc of a pass from Brian Griese to receiver Michael Clayton and grabbed his second interception of the game.

Thirty yards later, with the help of linebacker Steve Foley's block on Griese near the goal line, Edwards fairly skipped into the east end zone for the touchdown that broke a 21-21 tie. In a happy coincidence, Edwards scored near the seat occupied by Yvonne Dykes, the aunt he credits with helping him through his college years at UCLA and ``helping me to be what I am today.'' Edwards handed her the ball.

It was the play 65,858 fans will remember from a game that brought a team that was 4-12 last season to within a victory - or a Denver or Baltimore loss - of clinching a playoff spot this season.

``Being born here in San Diego, the San Diego Chargers were life, and it's exciting to bring back the days when I was growing up,'' said Edwards, who gives something back to his community through charity and youth programs.

Whatever the younger members of the surprising Chargers might want to know about where the club has been, where it's going and how a man gets from one place to the other, they can learn from the ninth-year NFL linebacker wearing No. 59.

Edwards played for Kansas City for his first six years in the league. Then the Chiefs refused to pay him what he was worth. So he signed with the Chargers, reuniting with former Chiefs head coach Marty Schottenheimer, who understands what drives him.

``We picked him in the fourth round (of the 1996 NFL draft), and he wanted to go in the first,'' Schottenheimer said. ``He's been trying to prove the league wrong ever since. I think he's winning.''

Two weeks ago, when the Chargers beat Kansas City 34-31, it was Edwards' fourth-quarter interception that set up the game-winning field goal. Last week, when the Chargers beat Denver 20-17, Edwards was credited with a career-high 20 tackles. He had a game-high 16 tackles Sunday, plus a game-high four pass breakups and the two interceptions that began with his catch of Griese's overthrown screen pass in the first quarter.

Since Edwards came to the Chargers, he has more tackles than any other NFL player, an in-your-face stat for those who think he's too small for a pro linebacker. Yet he has played in only one Pro Bowl (in 2002).

``(In 2003) I thought I had one of my best years,'' Edwards said, ``but if you're not winning, you're not going to get recognized.''

That inequity might be fixed soon. With LaDanian Tomlinson getting help from Drew Brees and Antonio Gates, and with a fresh defensive lineup switching from a 4-3 scheme to a 3-4, the Chargers have clinched their first over-.500 season since 1995. Beating Cleveland, Indianapolis or Kansas City would make it their first AFC playoff season since then.

Edwards is a military buff. He was aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in May 2003 when President Bush delivered his speech from the aircraft carrier proclaiming the end of hostilities in Iraq. He can warn the young Chargers not to declare their mission accomplished prematurely.

``(The Chargers') veteran leadership is going to help to keep it going,'' Edwards said.

Out in the parking lot, a new generation of kids is counting on it.