Mission Conference Is New, Big and Confusing

The new Mission Conference is the largest in the state. It also might the most confusing.

The 16-team conference has 7 new teams and 3 new divisions.

Its formation started last November when Citrus left the Mission to enter the Foothill Conference. At the same time, Fullerton and Golden West left the South Coast for the Mission.

That left only five teams in the South Coast Conference. So they too jumped to the Mission Conference.

So here’s how the new Mission Conference stands:

Fullerton, Golden West, Orange Coast, Rancho Santiago, Saddleback and Riverside are in the Central Division. Saddleback and Fullerton are favored.

Cerritos, El Camino, Mt. San Antonio, Long Beach and Pasadena make up the Northern Division. Cerritos and El Camino, the 1987 national champions according to the J.C. Grid-Wire, are favored.

Grossmont, Palomar, San Diego City, San Diego Mesa and Southwestern form the Southern Division. Mesa and Southwestern are favored.

The teams will play one nonconference game to start the season, then nine conference games and finally divisional games in the final four or five weeks.

The team with the best conference record will win the conference title. That might be the only simple part of the entire arrangement.

But even winning a title of some kind doesn’t mean much. There is no assured bowl berth.

Here’s a closer look at the Central Division:

Fullerton--The Hornets have 85 players this season, the lowest in Hal Sherbeck’s 28 years as coach. “We have some experience but we have more freshmen,” he said.

Fullerton’s experience is one defense, especially the secondary. James Rollins and Dorian Estes return at cornerback and John Christensen and Craig Glatzhofer--who led Fullerton last season with four interceptions--return at safety. Defensive end Wes Flowers and nose guard Brian Healy also return.

Center Brian Woods returns to lead the offensive line. Victor Williams, whose brother, Richard, set six Fullerton passing records, and Paul Rodriguez are vying for to start at quarterback.

Ray Pallares, who set the Southern Section career rushing record with 5,398 yards at Valencia, has moved to fullback. Jeff Andrews, a freshman from Diamond Bar high, is at tailback.

Nick-John Haiduc, a freshman from Servite, and Tim Imperiali, who averaged 24.5 yards on kickoff returns last season, head a group of talented wire receivers.

Golden West--Blaise Bryant, perhaps the best running back in the county, returns. He gained 801 yards despite missing four games because of an ankle injury last season.

Golden West is strong on the offensive line again with returning starters Kevin Fairman, David Lannon and Todd Little. Tight end Dan Westmoreland and wide receiver Mike Crowley, who had 28 catches despite missing 4 games with an ankle injury, also return. Sophomore Joe Napoli will start at quarterback.

Larry Stuppy and Keith Roady return as defensive tackles, Davin Wright has moved from tackle to outside linebacker, and will be joined by returning starter Mike Cover. Pat Knowles returns at inside linebacker. Gabe Jimenez returns at cornerback and Adam Price and Kurt Szuba are the safeties.

Orange Coast--The Pirates have more to replace than any team in the division. All-everything Bart Recktenwald, who led the conference in rushing 1,255 yards and set a national record for all-purpose yards with 2,495, is at Arizona. Wide receiver Junior Tagaloa, who had 62 catches for 1,190 yards and 17 touchdowns, is at California, and quarterback Keith Jarrett, who threw for 2,524 yards and 25 touchdowns, is at San Luis Obispo.

Robert Lee, a three-year all-county player from Santa Ana, is at tailback but has been bothered by a sore back and missed the scrimmage. Tyler Riddell, a returning sophomore and Brian George, a transfer from Bakersfield, will push to start. George also is a talented punter.

Wide receivers Mark Craig (Newport Harbor High School) and Ken Griggs (Edison) and tight end Bill Dorman (Edison) will be key targets for quarterback Mike Angelovic.

Bruce Dubois returns at nose guard and should be one of the best players in the conference. Reza Mehdizadeh and Ty Youngblood also are expected to play up front. Gari Calhoun might be the team’s best linebacker.

Rancho Santiago--The Dons are normally an experienced team on offense and young on defense but the roles have been reversed this season. Willey Thomas, who led the team with 10 sacks last season, returns at nose guard. Danny Rovira also returns to the defensive line and Don Peterson returns at linebacker. Richard Lane and Robbie Glover return to the secondary, as does kicker Tim Snikto. He led the team with 50 points, making 8 of 13 field goal attempts last season.

“If you’re not strong in the secondary in this conference it could be a track meet in a hurry,” Dave Ogas, Rancho Santiago coach, said.

Eric Turner, a transfer from Cal State Long Beach and Scott Wood, a freshman from Loara, are competing for the starting quarterback position.

Mike Miscione, who had 331 yards last season, returns at running back. Chris Rose is the lone returning starter on the offensive line, which has been the strength of the team the past two seasons.

Riverside--William Smith, Danny Boyd and Kenyatta Greene return at running back. Smith gained 251 yards in 53 carries. The offensive line figures to be solid with center Vince Rolins and tackle Roger Haegg returning. Randy Payne, a freshman transfer from Oregon State, will start at quarterback.

Wesley Jones, a transfer from Long Beach State, is expected to help replace Randy Hord, the state defensive player of the year who is now at USC. Riverside looks to be strongest at linebacker with Bryon Lewis, a returning all-conference player, and sophomore Steve Vaipulu, who has outstanding potential, according to Meier. Mondo Boyd, who had five interceptions including two against OCC last season, is back in the secondary.

Saddleback--Once Saddleback decides on a quarterback, the Gauchos will be ready to defend the conference title.

Lance Stewart, who started at Saddleback in 1981, has moved a little ahead in the quarterback battle. Phil Marks, who was a reserve last season, and Scott Stark, who transferred from Stanford, still have a week to win the job.

The rest of the team seems solid. Scott Miller, who had 60 catches for 898 yards, is back at wide receiver. Aly Diaz, Darrin Sweazy and Dan Morgan return in the backfield and are being pushed by Jason Burden (Dana Hills) and John Barnes (Mission Viejo).

The kicking game is solid. J.B. Hollis, who led the state with 67 points last season, is back.

Saddleback’s defense allowed a college-record 205 points last seasons but should be much improved. Gary Renteria, an all-conference player last season, is back at linebacker, joined by Jonathan Todd, Chris Dickerson and David Bancroft. Mike West and Kelly Marks return at defensive end.

The only question is in the secondary, a problem area last season. Derick Hale returns but freshmen Rich Fanti (Santa Ana), Sean Therien (Saddleback) and Robby Smith (Mater Dei) also expect to play.