Community College Notebook : Football Season of Change: Golden West Makes Return to the Forefront

The season. Orange County community college football, 1986, may not be remembered as one of the finer seasons, but there was at least a change or two.

For starters, Saddleback and Fullerton failed to dominate the polls and their opponents as they had in recent seasons.

Golden West returned to the forefront after last having a winning season in 1980. The Rustlers finished 8-3 and in second place in the South Coast Conference behind Cerritos.

Fullerton (6-4) lost three of its first four games and made an early exit, stage left, out of contention for anything except most improved team.

Saddleback’s fall came because of an ineligible player. The Gauchos forfeited their first three wins and finished 5-5.

Orange Coast (5-5) took too long to develop under first-year Coach Bill Workman, and Rancho Santiago (6-4) slipped in the middle of the season, losing three straight.

As the others were falling, Golden West’s stock continued to rise.

Golden West was unbeaten through its first seven games, and there was talk of a national championship as the Rustlers rose to third in the nation, according to the J.C. Grid-Wire rankings.

But the Rustlers met reality during the final month of the season.

First, there was the 21-7 loss to Fullerton and the hopes of an undefeated season were gone. Cerritos took care of South Coast Conference title hopes the next week with a 32-21 victory.

Golden West managed a last-minute, 28-24 victory over El Camino the the final regular-season game and even wheedled a berth in the first Southern California Bowl against College of the Desert. The Rustlers lost that game, 45-28, in the rain.

The coaches. Orange Coast put out the welcome mat for Bill Workman, who had had a successful career at Edison High School. But the limitations of 76 freshmen and four returning starters caught up with him in a hurry.

In the second week, OCC led Rancho Santiago, 21-7, early in the second half, only to lose, 28-27 on a touchdown in the final minute. Workman threw his clipboard about 10 yards in frustration after the game.

The next week against Saddleback, he had an even more impressive toss of about 15 yards at the end of the first half.

Adrian Montgomery had returned a kickoff across the 50-yard line and was tackled out of bounds, causing a penalty to be called against Saddleback for a late hit. But the flag had been thrown after the half had ended and the referees ruled it would be marked off at the start of the second half. The Pirates lost a possible field goal attempt and later the game.

Hal Sherbeck, Fullerton coach, won his 200th game as the Hornets defeated Bakersfield, 16-14, Oct. 4.

After 26 season at Fullerton, Sherbeck is 205-57-6.

Ken Swearingen, Saddleback coach, should surpass 200 victories next season. He has a career mark of 196-49-6 in 14 seasons at El Camino and 11 at Saddleback.

The players. A pair of 99-yard runs and a national record highlighted the individual accomplishments.

Bill Craft, a freshman safety from OCC, returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown in the Pirates’ 24-14 upset of San Diego Mesa Oct. 25.

Andrew Greer, a freshman running back, ran 99 yards for a touchdown in Fullerton’s win over Bakersfield.

Bret Mersola, a sophomore wide receiver from Saddleback, set the national single-season record for receptions with 91. He surpassed Diablo Valley’s Tom Schulting, who had caught 85 in 1985.

Mersola caught 12 passes in the last game to set the record as Saddleback defeated Rancho Santiago, 24-14.

When reporters confronted Mersola after the game, he was asked if he was aware of the records and how close he was to them throughout the game.

“Well, yeah, they kept announcing it over the loud speaker every time I made a catch,” he said.

Well, it seemed like a good question at the time.

Mersola is not sure where he’s going to play next season and now might not be able to. He played in summer drills at the University of Florida and, under NCAA rules, is obligated to attend there if he transfers in the fall.

If Mersola stays at Saddleback for another semester, he’ll be free of his obligation to Florida and could transfer anywhere for the 1988 season.

Asterisk of the season. This goes to Saddleback after the Gauchos turned themselves in for using an ineligible player the first three weeks.

Saddleback, which shared the national championship with Snow College of Utah last season, dropped from 5-2 to 2-5. For the final month of the season, Saddleback wore the asterisk next to its name in the Mission Conference standings and had to win three straight to be a .500 team.

Help wanted. Orange Coast College entered the season with two quarterbacks and it became one when Cary Conway left the team after six weeks over differences with the coaching staff.

Starter Jon Nowotny suffered cracked ribs in the next to last game and couldn’t play the final week against Citrus.

The Pirates used Ollie Perkins and Marc Penso and both did a solid job. The pair combined to be 12 of 19 passes for 214 yards and 2 interceptions, but OCC lost, 36-12.

“It was something I never had to worry about before,” Workman said. “I was looking at two wide receivers and asking which one wanted to start and which one wanted to relieve.”

Typo of the season. Golden West offensive tackle Darren Grudt was listed at 6-feet 5-inches and 3,000 pounds on the all South Coast Conference ballot. At his real weight of 300, he was still able to make the first team.

Band on the run. The Golden West band almost became involved in a kickoff incident during the homecoming ceremonies against Cerritos.

The halftime ran long and many band members remained on the field to finish the final song as the Cerritos return team took its positions.

The players were lined up between band members but trouble was averted when one quick-thinking official called timeout to tie his shoe.

The streak stops here. Saddleback was stopped one yard short of a 50-game home winning streak when the Gauchos failed to score on four plays from inside the five in the final minute and lost to Riverside, 21-16.