WSC BOWL PREVIEW : Stopping Robison Key for Valley

In theory, today’s Western State Bowl would have pitted Moorpark, the Western State Conference’s Northern Division winner, against Bakersfield, the Southern Division champion.

But reality finds Southern Division runner-up Valley College (5-5) playing host to Santa Barbara (6-4), which tied for third in the Northern Division.

With Bakersfield opting to play in the Potato Bowl, Valley was the obvious choice for the Southern Division representative, but Santa Barbara’s road to this game wasn’t as direct.

The Vaqueros were not selected until Moorpark (Orange County), L. A. Southwest (Southern California) and Ventura (Hall of Fame) all had accepted invitations to other bowl games.

“We weren’t exactly the first choice,” Santa Barbara Coach Rick Cook conceded. “But we’ll take it. This is our first bowl game since 1983 and the kids are really looking forward to playing in it.”

Although it may lack marquee teams, the Western State Bowl, which starts at 1 p.m., appears to have the ingredients for an exciting match-up.

Valley, which is making its first postseason appearance since the 1975 Potato Bowl, has won five of its past seven games after starting the season with three losses.

And Santa Barbara has won two in a row, including a 49-34 shoot-out over Glendale three weeks ago.

The Vaqueros, led by quarterback Ted Robison, are ranked fifth in the conference in total offense and first in passing offense; Valley fields the WSC’s No. 1 defense against the pass.

Robison bombed Glendale for 402 yards and has completed 141 of 253 passes for 1,994 yards and 14 touchdowns.

His top receivers are Greg Borgquist, Walter Brooks and Victor Prince.

Borgquist has a conference-leading 54 receptions for 745 yards and eight touchdowns. Brooks has 35 catches for 537 yards and four scores, and Prince has 33 for 484 and two touchdowns.

“Robison makes them go. He’s the key to their offense,” Valley Coach Chuck Ferrero said. “But there’s a lot more to this game than their offense versus our defense. They’ve got to stop us too.”

Indeed, Valley’s offense has been in high gear after sputtering early.

After averaging only 189 yards a game in losses to Mt. San Antonio (20-16), Moorpark (23-0) and L. A. Southwest (12-9), Valley has averaged more than 371 yards in its past seven games.

An effective ground attack has powered Valley (185.1 yards a game), which rushed for only 147 yards in its first three outings.

Donald Dozier is the Monarchs’ leading rusher with 592 yards and 11 touchdowns. Quarterback Trendell Williams has completed 66 of 140 for 1,107 yards and four touchdowns.

Sam Edwards (eight interceptions) leads a Valley defensive backfield that will be put to a stern test by Robison and Co.

“We’re tough back there,” Ferrero said. “The (defensive backs) take a lot of pride in their work. . . . They are looking forward to taking on Santa Barbara.”