El Camino Could Lose Out on Bowl

El Camino College, just three wins shy of its first undefeated football season, could find itself without a postseason bowl game bid even if it wins the South Coast Conference title.

The Warriors, 7-0 and alone in first place in the rugged conference, have to get by visiting Long Beach City College Saturday night at 7:30, then Pasadena and Golden West in successive weeks to finish 10-0 and win its first title since claiming a Metropolitan Conference crown in 1971.

If El Camino, ranked second in the state and fourth nationally, finishes undefeated it would seem the favorite to face the state’s top-ranked team, Taft (7-0), in the Shrine Potato Bowl Dec. 5 to decide the mythical national community college title. But it’s no secret that Shrine officials are leaning toward a Taft-Bakersfield match-up in the Potato Bowl because the game, played at Bakersfield College, would be expected to draw a larger crowd than a Taft-El Camino contest--and hence, more profit for Shrine charities.

A Bakersfield-Taft game probably will be cinched if the Renegades defeat Glendale on Saturday night, said one community college source. Bakersfield and Glendale are tied for the Western State Conference lead. The source said Bakersfield might still be invited to the Potato Bowl if it loses Saturday but wins the rest of its games because the Shriners are concerned more about gate receipts than a national showdown.

Where would that leave the Warriors? Maybe in the Pony Bowl on Dec. 5 at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. Organizers there have expressed an interest in the Warriors. But another roadblock could develop. Orange Coast and Saddleback colleges are tied for the lead in the Mission Conference. If the race ends in a tie, and since both teams are from Orange County, it is possible that they would be invited to the game. Like the situation in Bakersfield, an all-Orange County match-up is expected to create a larger turnout and more profitability.

If Pony Bowl officials select Orange County teams then “it is highly unlikely,” said Fred Baer of the JC Athletic Bureau, a statewide rating service, that El Camino would be invited to participate in another bowl because organizers fear a mismatch. The Warriors play in what many consider the toughest conference in the nation.

Community colleges went to the bowl system statewide several years ago to create more fan appeal, but because of tight budgets, they are also supposed to operate at a profit. The result has made regionalism a strong factor in bowl selection.

Two other Southern California bowl games remain. One will be held in San Diego, but only teams from San Diego County are expected to be considered. A single bid for the Southern California Athletic Conference appears open, although another community college officials said that game will probably be a rematch between Antelope Valley and Los Angeles Valley colleges, a pair of conference teams that met last week in what many considered the conference title game. Antelope Valley won, 7-6.

Bowl bids can be announced as early as this Tuesday.

Although it is 0-4 in the conference, Long Beach has always given the Warriors problems. In 1975 the Vikings also came to Murdock Stadium without a win but shocked El Camino, the nation’s top-ranked team, 24-19.

This season Long Beach (2-5 overall) has held a lead against each of its conference opponents, yet has made critical offensive turnovers in the final quarter of each game. Long Beach ranks last in the eight-team conference in offense, while El Camino is the top-ranked defensive team.

El Camino is led by the top-ranked passer in the league, Danny Spletz, who has thrown for nearly 1,500 yards. His favorite receiver is Dwight Pickens, who has 27 catches and 7 touchdowns.

Saturday the Warriors could use some help from a couple of teams they defeated earlier in the year. Cerritos (2-1-1 in the conference) is at Pasadena (3-1-0) and Fullerton, which lost to the Warriors by a point last week, is at Golden West (3-0-1).

In Southern California Athletic Conference action Saturday night at 7:30, Harbor College (2-6 overall) will try to snap a five-game losing streak when it travels to Mt. San Jacinto (3-5) and Southwest College (3-5) will play host to San Bernardino Valley College (3-5) in a 1 p.m. game.