After Perfect Start, Rancho Santiago Football Faces Tough Schedule

Some coaches call the final five weeks of Mission Conference football play “the gantlet.”

Others have termed it a “death march.”

Cliches aside, the coaches are making the same point.

There are no easy games left for Rancho Santiago, Riverside, Orange Coast, Fullerton, Golden West and Saddleback--the teams that form the Central Division of the 16-team conference--as they must play one another.

El Camino, Long Beach, Cerritos, Mt. San Antonio and Pasadena make up the Northern Division. San Diego Mesa, San Diego City, Grossmont, Southwestern and Palomar form the Southern Division.

There are no playoffs, but the winners of each division are most likely to get bowl berths.

In Saturday’s Central Division play: Rancho Santiago is at Riverside, Golden West is at Fullerton and Orange Coast is at Saddleback. Games start at 7 p.m.

Here’s a look at the Central Division teams at the halfway point of the season.

* Rancho Santiago (5-0): Quarterback Scott Wood missed a game with the flu and Paul Peters, a wide receiver/kick and punt returner, has missed the last two games with an ankle injury. He should be ready this week.

Rancho Santiago has played very well, but things get much harder. The Dons’ first five opponents were 10-17-1. The final five are 16-9.

* Riverside (5-0): The Tigers are second in the conference in rushing with 244 yards a game and ninth in passing at 157 yards a game. Riverside also has taken advantage of some lesser opponents with a combined record of 11-17-1. Riverside’s final five opponents are 16-9.

* Orange Coast (4-1): OCC had won three in a row and appeared to have solved most of its offensive problems, until tailback Mike Vaez injured his knee Saturday. He will be out the rest of the season. Fullback Jason McGehee should carry much more of the load. The Pirates’ only loss was to El Camino, the top-ranked team in Southern California.

* Fullerton (3-2): The Hornets, defending conference champions, lost to El Camino, 31-24, and Cerritos, 28-23. Fullerton was the preseason pick to win the division title and should not be counted out.

* Golden West (3-2): The Rustlers played poorly in a 13-6 season-opening loss to Long Beach and also have lost to El Camino, 38-14. Golden West played well in a 19-15 upset of Pasadena and also in victories over Southwestern and Palomar.

* Saddleback (1-4): The Gauchos’ problems have been the surprise of the season. John Barnes and Jeff Bailey have alternated at quarterback, with Bailey the more impressive.

Football poll: El Camino (5-0) continues as the top-ranked team in the Southland Poll. Rancho Santiago (5-0) is second and Riverside (5-0) third.

Ventura (5-0) is fourth, Bakersfield (3-0-2) fifth, Orange Coast (4-1) sixth, Los Angeles Southwestern (4-0-1) seventh, Moorpark (4-1) eighth, Pasadena (4-1) ninth and Fullerton (3-2) 10th.

Saddleback’s volleyball team, under first-year Coach Fran Cummings, has opened the season with six consecutive victories. The Gauchos also have started 3-0 in Orange Empire Conference play.

But the schedule takes a turn this week. Saddleback plays host to defending state champion Golden West tonight at 7. Golden West, defending Orange Empire champion, is 6-2 overall and 4-0 in conference matches.

Things don’t get much easier Friday, when Saddleback travels to Fullerton for a 7 p.m. match. The Hornets are 6-1, 3-0.

Community College Notes

Sam Lopez, a 118-pound wrestler from Cypress, is 11-0 so far this season. He won the Cuesta tournament two weeks ago and was 5-0 in the Palomar duel team tournament last Saturday, when Cypress finished fifth. There are no individual titles in the tournament. Lopez is a freshman from Valencia High School. . . . Former Orange Coast quarterback Keith Jarrett set a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo single-game passing record with 390 yards Saturday as the Mustangs defeated Kearney State of Nebraska, 19-13. Jarrett, who is from Edison High, completed 23 of 34 passes.