COMMUNITY COLLEGE NOTEBOOK / STEVE KRESAL : Rancho Santiago, Moorpark Exchange Positions of Revenge

There was little doubt Rancho Santiago College’s football team played the final three weeks of the regular season with a degree of revenge.

As the Dons defeated Fullerton, Saddleback and Orange Coast, each victory erased memories of a three-game losing streak last season that ruined a 6-0-1 start.

But in Saturday’s first game of the Orange County Bowl doubleheader at Orange Coast, the Dons (9-1) will play a new role when they take on Moorpark (9-1) at 1 p.m. Riverside (10-0) faces El Camino (10-0) at 7 p.m.

No longer will revenge be a motivational tool for Coach Dave Ogas and his staff. Instead, they will have to combat it.

Rancho Santiago upset Moorpark, 17-10, last season after Moorpark came into the bowl game with a 9-1 record and the Western State Conference title.

Moorpark is back with an identical 9-1 record, but this time, the Raiders have added incentive--a chance to avenge last season’s defeat.

“We told the kids they (Moorpark) will come into the game with something to prove,” Ogas said. “But we also have something to shoot for. We can win 10 games and that would be impressive.”

The nine games Rancho Santiago already has won is the most since 1962. The Dons were 10-0 and won the Junior Rose Bowl that season.

Men’s soccer: Orange Coast opens play Friday in the state soccer championships at El Camino College in Torrance. The Pirates (16-4-2) play American River (18-1-1) at 6 p.m., and Cuyamaca (15-4) plays Fresno City (15-3) at 8 p.m.

The winners meet Saturday at 1 p.m. for the state title.

Orange Coast, which defeated East Los Angeles, 2-1, Saturday to advance to the final four is expected to get a boost from the return of Andy Strouse.

Strouse, the Orange Empire Conference’s most valuable player, missed two playoff games because of arm surgery.

Paul Oldham leads the Pirates with 21 goals, and Strouse is second with 19.

Women’s soccer: The Orange Coast team, which won its fourth consecutive South Coast Conference title last week, plays for the state title Saturday.

Orange Coast (12-4-4) meets Cosumnes River at El Camino College at 10 a.m.

If the Pirates can win the title, it will be the 100th victory for the program and Coach Barbara Bond in eight seasons. Bond, the only coach the program has had, has a career mark of 99-30-12. Orange Coast has won the South Coast Conference title five of the past six seasons.

All-conference volleyball: Sophomore Maureen Flannigan of Golden West was voted the most valuable player of the Orange Empire Conference.

Golden West, the conference champion, put three other players on the first team--Joli Eberhart, Jeni Murrell and Heather Bova. Golden West’s Albert Gasparian was voted coach of the year.

Cyndi Rhone and Heather Mead of Saddleback, Lisa Falletta of Fullerton and Angela Ramirez of Riverside also were named to the first team.

Stacia Allen and Erin Holleman of Golden West, Laura Farrell and Jody Narey of Saddleback, Lisa Papazian and Christy Richmond of Fullerton, Melanie McDowell and Erin Wood of Riverside, Kari Calliham of Cypress and Cathy Scanlon of Orange Coast were named to the second team.

Noticeable omission: Although the Mission Conference Central Division coaches put 18 players on their offensive first team--a sure penalty--Mark Craig of Orange Coast was left off. Craig, who did make second team, had more receptions than any of the first-team receivers or any receiver in the Central Division, for that matter.

Craig had 52 catches for 802 yards. Paul Peters of Rancho Santiago had 38 catches for 612 yards, Mike Thomas of Fullerton had 41 catches for 638 yards and Cameron Lymon of Riverside had only 21 catches 610 yards. Peters, Thomas and Lymon were named to the first team.

Community College Notes

Orange Coast plays host to the 19th Miles Eaton basketball tournament, starting Thursday. The tournament, the oldest one in Orange County, features eight teams. Mira Costa plays Long Beach at 2 p.m., Mt. San Jacinto plays Santa Barbara at 4 p.m., Orange Coast plays the Tustin Marine Base team at 6 p.m., and Imperial Valley plays Mt. San Antonio at 8 p.m. in the first round. The tournament continues Friday and concludes Saturday with the championship game at 7:30 p.m. . . . Carl Sawyer, longtime sportswriter with the Orange County Register, has been selected the honorary game chairman of Saturday’s Orange County Bowl at Orange Coast College. Sawyer has covered sports in the county for 30 years. . . . Larry Sunderman, a veteran basketball coach, is working as an assistant with Saddleback Coach Bill Brummel. Sunderman has been the boys’ coach at Estancia High School, the women’s coach at Orange Coast and an assistant to Bill Mulligan at UC Irvine.