JC PREVIEW : Unbeaten El Camino Appears to Have a Breather at Mesa

Top-ranked El Camino (8-0, 7-0) should have no problem defeating the struggling San Diego Mesa football team in Saturday’s 1:30 p.m. Mission Conference game.

The host Olympians defeated winless San Diego City last week, but they’ve lost key league games to Orange Coast, Fullerton and Riverside. Mesa’s other conference victory was a close one (22-19) over Cerritos.

“I still have concern in respect to every opponent,” said El Camino Coach John Featherstone, who coached at Mesa in 1978 and 1979. “We have to guard ourselves in terms of upsets.”

The Olympians (3-4-1, 2-4-1) are in the bottom portion of the 16-member conference defensively and offensively.

Mesa has racked up a dismal 1,764 yards of total offense. Olympian quarterback Scott Allen has completed 97 of 202 attempts for 1,180 yards and 10 touchdowns.

El Camino, ranked second nationally by JC Grid-Wire, leads the nation with a 15-game winning streak. The Warriors have the league’s best defense (232 yards a game) and second-best offense (418 a game).

El Camino quarterback Frank Dolce is second to Palomar’s Scott Barrick in Mission Conference passing. The sophomore has completed 53% (146 of 242) for 20 touchdowns and 2,056 yards.

“It’s pretty obvious that we’re a good football team,” Featherstone said. “We can’t surprise anybody anymore.”

L.A. Southwest makes a short trip for Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. Western State Conference game against Harbor, and the Cougars (5-1-1, 6-1-1) should be ready for a fight.

Harbor (2-5, 3-5) is coming off its best game of the season, a win over Ventura, which was the league’s top-ranked team at the time.

“They have us scared to death,” said Southwest Coach Henry Washington, who watched the Seahawks’ 28-20 victory. “They just executed and they put things together.”

Washington is referring to the Seahawks’ running game and tough defense. Harbor running back Bill Harris had a season-best performance of 128 yards on 20 carries and scored one touchdown.

Harbor Coach Don Weems can only hope his club repeats against the Cougars.

“They’re an excellent football team,” the first-year coach said. “They might be the best team the conference has. It’s going to take a great effort on our part to beat them, and we’re going to have to make big plays.”

Defense continues to be Southwest’s strength, although lately quarterback Craig Manigo has played a big role in the team’s success. In eight games the freshman has completed 114 passes for 1,476 yards and 17 touchdowns.

“Craig has been the difference in the past games,” Washington said. “He did a few things to win.”