Western State Conference Bowl Game May Deliver Second-Class Package

The Western State Conference had good intentions when it decided to sponsor a postseason bowl game pitting the winners of its 2 divisions against one another for the conference title.

Unfortunately, as members of the newly aligned 12-team WSC head into the season’s final 3 weeks, the conference coaches’ decision to allow teams to accept bids to other bowls if the offer was more attractive looks as though it might backfire.

Unbeaten Bakersfield has games remaining against West L.A., Pierce and Valley, but the Renegades are still the favorites to win the Southern Division championship. The winner of Saturday’s battle of unbeatens between Glendale and Moorpark probably will finish without a loss as champion of the Northern Division.

But if Bakersfield finishes undefeated, it almost certainly will accept a bid to the Potato Bowl in Bakersfield, which is sponsored by the Shriners.

Either Glendale or Moorpark might accept an invitation to the PONY Bowl in Orange County. Not only would the WSC be left without a championship-caliber bowl game, but the 2 best teams in the conference would have completed their seasons without playing each other.

“We all knew this was a strong possibility when we agreed to this format last year,” Bakersfield Coach Carl Bowser said.

On Wednesday, athletic directors from member schools met at Pierce College to discuss the situation.

“We just discussed the conference bowl game and we decided, as a conference, that we definitely do want a conference bowl game and that it should preferably be the champion of both divisions playing each other,” said Jim Sartoris, the athletic director and football coach at Glendale. “But the reality is that Bakersfield is almost always included in the Potato Bowl.”

Bowser said he has heard rumors that Glendale or Moorpark might be invited to the Potato Bowl if one of the teams stays unbeaten.

“Talk like that is a little bit premature right now,” Sartoris said. “Who’s going to win our conference is still up in the air.”

But would Glendale go to the Potato Bowl if it was invited?

“I think both Moorpark and ourselves would love to go up there and play,” Sartoris said. “Whoever wins our game on Saturday would be a good candidate for that game.”

And where would that leave the WSC bowl, which would be forced to pit division runners-up against each other?

“It doesn’t make the game too meaningful if the two runners-up were playing it,” Bowser said.