Community College Football : Rancho Santiago Sends Out Call to Wilderness

It was supposed to be a vacation. But when Bruce Rollinson, then a newly hired assistant coach at Rancho Santiago College, visited his sister in Seattle three years ago, his vacation became a recruiting bonanza that is still paying off for the Dons today.

Rollinson jokingly told his sister, Barbara, that she should point out any large men they came across during the trip whom she thought would make good linemen.

She apparently didn’t know he was kidding. When they went to a restaurant after watching a baseball game in the Kingdome, Barbara approached 6-foot 4-inch, 250-pound Bill Henry, who was visiting from Vancouver, and began selling him on the merits of Rancho Santiago football.

Henry was interested, asked Rollinson for his card and called Rollinson the day he got back to his office to made arrangements to come to Southern California.

Henry went on to become an All-Mission Conference second team selection for Rancho Santiago in 1982, but more important, spread the word about the school to his football-playing friends back home, where there is no community college football.

Rich Crompton, 6-3, 255 pounds, arrived in 1983 and was an All-Mission selection. Steve Blyth, 6-3, 265, arrived this year and has become one of the team’s best lineman. Already, some of their friends are planning to come to Rancho Santiago next year.

“And it’s all legal,” Rollinson said. “All they have to do is pay out-of-state tuition.”

To Rancho Santiago’s coaches, these guys are the best Canadian import since Moosehead beer.

The only thing more unusual than the circumstances behind the formation of Rancho Santiago’s “Canadian Connection” are the players themselves. Henry, who had a reputation for having a good time, left last year to attend the University of British Columbia. Crompton, 25, has continued Henry’s tradition of flaky behavior.

At a recent practice, he commandeered an electric cart used by coaches to get around the practice field and began trying to run over some of his teammates. Everyone got out of his way except quarterback Silvio Delligatta, who pushed out his arms when making contact with the cart and pushed in the windshield, shattering it. The result: a gash on Crompton’s lip that required 12 stitches to close.

But that hasn’t gotten Crompton down, and neither has the fact that he recently lost a job.

“I was working as a bouncer at a topless bar, but business was bad and they fired me” Crompton said while rubbing the tattoo on his left forearm. “It’s not bad, though, because I’ve already got a new job working the cash register at a liquor store.”

Blyth, 21, and Crompton live together in the garage of teammate Jason Allen’s house. Instead of paying rent, the players do odd jobs for the Allens, including feeding the dogs and washing the dishes.

“It’s great,” Blyth said. “We’re here to concentrate on football, so all we need is a roof over our head and a bed to sleep in.”

Pac-9 Conference

Golden West (3-1, 3-2-1) vs. Cerritos (2-2-1, 3-2-1), Cerritos Stadium, 7:30--If Fullerton beats Pasadena and the Rustlers can beat Cerritos for their fourth straight win, the Orange County rivals will play with first place at stake next week. The Rustlers, who started the season by tying lowly Orange Coast and losing to Rancho Santiago, have slowly improved each week. Last Saturday, Golden West rallied from deficits of 13-0 and 20-7 to defeat Long Beach City, 24-23. Freshman running back Carl Satterfield led the Rustlers by gaining 173 yards on 27 carries. Cerritos has been the most unpredictable team in the conference. After beating Fullerton, 24-0, in their conference opener, the Falcons lost to El Camino, 34-27. Then, after rebounding with a 24-2 win over Bakersfield and a 24-24 tie with Taft, Cerritos was upset by Pasadena last week, 41-38.

Pasadena City (2-2, 2-4) vs. Fullerton (3-1, 4-2), Fullerton District Stadium, 7:30--The Hornets, ranked 17th in the nation and third in the Soutland, moved into a first-place tie in the Pac-9 with Golden West by stunning powerful Taft, 20-6, last week. Fullerton, which has won three straight, will try to avoid a letdown against a Lancer team that is better than its record indicates. Pasadena, which pulled an upset of its own last week by beating Cerritos, 41-38, on a late field goal, lost its two nonconference games to perennial Texas powers Tyler (45-33) and Henderson (20-16). This game matches two of the best running backs in the conference. Fullerton’s John Green has rushed 102 times for 636 yards, 124 coming last week against Taft. The Lancers’ Brento Vann has carried 75 times for 559 yards. Quarterback Richard Williams missed the entire second half last week after he was knocked groggy by a Taft defender, but he should be able to play against Pasadena. If he can’t, Mike Zorn, who led the Hornets to three second-half scores in relief of Williams, will make his first start in a month.

Mission Conference

Saddleback (5-0, 7-0) vs. Palomar (1-3, 3-3), San Marco High School, 1 o’clock--The Gauchos, ranked second in the nation and first in the Southland, will be heavy favorites to defeat the Comets. Statistically, Palomar is ranked first in the conference in both offense and defense. But the Comets are tied for sixth place with Orange Coast in the conference after losses to Citrus and Rancho Santiago. Saddleback quarterback Jason Schmid has his worst game of the season in last week’s 43-8 rout of winless San Diego City, when the Gauchos took advantage of three fumbles deep in Knight territory for a quick 22-0 lead. Schmid threw for only 110 yards, and Ken Swearingen, Saddleback coach, will be counting on a more characteristic performance from the conference’s leading passer in hope of maintaining Saddleback’s mastery of Palomar. The Gauchos lead the series, 14-1.

Rancho Santiago (2-3, 4-3) vs. Citrus (2-2, 2-4), Citrus Stadium, 7:30--Despite being outgained in total yards, 386-257, the Dons beat Palomar last week, 28-16, for their second straight conference victory. They’ll be playing a well-rested Citrus team, which is coming off a bye following its incredible win over Palomar two weeks ago. The Owls trailed, 33-7, before rallying for a 36-33 win. Laroy Montgomery continued his exceptional play for Rancho Santiago against Palomar as the sophomore from Santa Ana Valley High School made two interceptions and returned one 93 yards for a touchdown.

Orange Coast (1-3, 1-4-1) vs. San Diego City (0-4, 0-6), Glenn Broderick Field, 1:30--It isn’t often that the Pirates are favored to win, but then, everyone is favored against the last-place Knights, who have one of the weakest teams in the state. At last count, San Diego’s roster was down to 35 players, which means that Orange Coast stands a good chance of scoring more than 20 points for the first time this season.