El Camino, Riverside to Clash for Mythical Football Crown

The state’s two best junior college football teams, El Camino and Riverside, will meet on Saturday at 7 p.m. and the winner could be the mythical national champion.

The top-ranked Warriors and the third-ranked Tigers will take perfect records (10-0) to LeBard Stadium at Costa Mesa where they’ll compete in the Orange County Bowl, formerly the Pony Bowl.

“This is going to be a great game for community college football,” said El Camino Coach John Featherstone. “Those kids really believe they can beat us, and we wouldn’t want it any other way.

“We have to play very well to win. In pressure situations this year we’ve risen to the occasion, and now we really have to rise to the occasion.”

El Camino, the Mission Conference Northern Division champion, is tied for first with Navarro, Tex., in the latest JC Grid-Wire national poll. Riverside, the Mission Conference Central Division winner, is ranked third nationally.

Statistically the Warriors, who hold a 17-game winning streak, are stronger than Riverside. Many league coaches predict an El Camino victory, which would mark its second undefeated season in three years and give Featherstone a 31-1-1 record in that span.

The Warriors’ offense has been consistent, and their defense, fifth in the state and No. 1 in the league, has been extremely tough. El Camino is especially good at stopping the run, the Tigers’ biggest weapon.

Riverside, the league’s best rushing team, has the state’s fourth leading running back in Daryl McChristian, who averages 151 yards a game and has scored 10 times. Quarterback Randy Payne has completed 72 of 143 passes for 1,358 yards and 11 touchdowns.

El Camino’s offense is fourth in the state and second to Palomar in the 16-member Mission Conference. The Warriors average 427 yards a game, thanks to a consistent pass attack led by All-American quarterback Frank Dolce, who has completed 60% of his attempts. The sophomore is second in the conference to Palomar’s Scott Barrick, with 186 of 309 attempts for 2,494 yards and 23 touchdowns.

“They’re a good football team,” said Riverside Coach Barry Meier. “I just hope that we can keep up with them.”