El Camino Coach Wants to Get Another Monkey Off His Back

El Camino (3-0, 2-0) football Coach John Featherstone says his team got one monkey off its back with last week’s victory over Fullerton, the team that handed the Warriors their only loss last season.

On Saturday, in a 7 p.m. Mission Conference game at El Camino, he plans to remove the other one: Golden West, a team the Warriors tied last year.

“They’re usually tough,” Featherstone said. “They’ve given us fits in the past.”

The task will be difficult for Golden West (2-1, 2-0) this time. The top-ranked Warriors (No. 4 nationally) lead the Mission conference in offense (they average 404 yards), and their offensive line is extremely tough.

Quarterback Frank Dolce has completed 53 of 91 passes for 785 yards and six touchdowns in El Camino’s victories against Antelope Valley, Orange Coast and Fullerton.

Golden West prefers to keep the ball on the ground. Running back Sean Chiatham leads the Rustlers with 54 rushes for 232 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore quarterback Rip Slippo has completed 23 of 43 passes for 336 yards and three touchdowns. The Rustlers have conference wins over Southwestern and Pasadena City.

No. 14 L.A. Southwest (3-0, 2-0) may tarnish its perfect record in Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. Western State Conference game at Bakersfield. The Cougars will have a difficult time with Bakersfield (2-0-1, 1-0-1), a strong offensive team that thrashed Harbor 56-0 last week.

The Renegades, ranked No. 12 in the state, have two lethal quarterbacks in left-hander Mike Smith and Lance Geary.

The Cougars possess the state’s second-best defense, which limited L.A. Valley to 126 total yards in last week’s 12-9 win.

Craig Manigo will run Southwest’s offense. The freshman quarterback passed for 145 yards and one touchdown last week. He completed 36 of 64 passes for 490 yards on six touchdowns for the season.

Harbor’s (1-2, 0-2) best hope for a conference victory will come in Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. WSC contest at L.A. Valley.

A triumph would be therapeutic for the Seahawks, who have lost two in a row, including last week’s 56-0 shutout by Bakersfield.

Valley is 0-3 after losing to Southwest last week. The Monarchs have also fallen to Moorpark and Mt. San Antonio College.