Community College Football : Hornets’ Sherbeck Seeks 200th Win Tonight

Fullerton College football Coach Hal Sherbeck’s career is full of milestones.

The Hornets have won 3 national championships, 15 conference titles, a state title and 7 bowl games in his 25 seasons at Fullerton.

Now, as he enters his 26th season, Sherbeck is on the verge of another milestone--his 200th victory.

Sherbeck is 199-52-6 at Fullerton and is the winningest active community college coach in the nation.

The Hornets open the 1986 season against Rancho Santiago tonight at 7:30 in Fullerton District Stadium. The Dons upset Fullerton, 27-24, in last season’s opener.

Sherbeck’s 100th victory came against the Dons, 19-0, in 1973. Tonight’s game will mark the 63rd time the schools have played, with Fullerton leading the series, 30-28-4. Sherbeck is 17-8 against the Dons.

But Sherbeck says that beating the Dons--not reaching another milestone--is all that concerns him.

“I don’t look at this (winning 200 games) as being any different from any other win,” Sherbeck said. “Sure, it’s been nice to have coached long enough to get to this point . . . but right now I’m more concerned about the way our football team is playing.”

Rancho Santiago Coach Dave Ogas, who played for Fullerton’s 1965 national championship team, would just as soon have Sherbeck reach No. 200 at some future date.

“He’s going to eventually get the win,” Ogas said. “I would just prefer that we are able to postpone it for another week.”

In other community college games tonight:

Orange Coast (0-0) vs. Golden West (1-0), LeBard Stadium (Orange Coast), 7:30--Former Edison High School Coach Bill Workman will be making his debut with the Pirates. Golden West has the advantage of already playing a game. The Rustlers defeated Bakersfield, 24-14, last Saturday in their opener. Golden West made its share of mistakes against Bakersfield. Among them were 12 penalties, including 7 holding calls, for 113 yards. Golden West leads the series, which dates back to 1966, 10-8-2.

Saddleback (0-0) vs. El Camino (0-0, 0-1), Murdock Stadium (El Camino), 7:30--In last season’s opener, the Gauchos used their no-huddle offense for the first time and scored 41 points in the first half against the Warriors. The Gauchos went on to an 11-0 season and a share of the national championship. Saddleback again will use a no-huddle offense, with sophomore Pat Hegarty replacing Jason Schmid, who now plays for USC, at quarterback. El Camino, one of the preseason favorites in the South Coast Conference, lost its opener to Glendale, 14-7.