COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROUNDUP : El Camino Stops Saddleback; Harbor Beats L.A. Southwest

Long before the season started, El Camino football Coach John Featherstone said his team’s strength would be its defense. The young offense, Featherstone said, would have a difficult time scoring points.

And that’s the way it went in El Camino’s Mission Conference opener against Saddleback on Saturday at Murdock Stadium. The Warriors (3-0, 1-0) won, 31-24, due in great part to a solid defensive performance. The explosive offenses of the past do not apply to this year’s team.

Sophomore quarterback Rod Harvey completed 17 of 27 attempts for 139 yards and a touchdown. He had one interception. Freshman back Anthony Daigle was impressive with 100 rushing yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns.

Saddleback, coached by Ken Swearingen, fell to 0-2. Swearingen and Featherstone go back a long way. Featherstone played for the legendary community college coach as a wide receiver at El Camino in 1967-68.

The way El Camino’s offense struggled in the first half, Swearingen almost got a victory off his old buddy. The Warriors had a difficult time moving the ball and had four possessions where they gained less than 25 yards.

They got a break before their first touchdown, which came with 6:26 left in the first quarter. Saddleback’s Rick Sparks fumbled after receiving an El Camino punt and the Warriors recovered at the Gauchos’ 28-yard line. Six plays later, El Camino scored when freshman running back Anthony Daigle jumped over a pile of players from a yard out.

El Camino’s defense was able to contain Saddleback during several key drives.

After moving the ball 70 yards during a six-minute possession, the Gauchos ran into El Camino’s solid defensive line and couldn’t score from inside the Warriors’ two-yard line. Saddleback settled for a 21-yard field goal from Scott Hannah, making the score 7-3.

Saddleback found its way into the end zone during its next possession. Freshman back Matt Carvalho ended the Gauchos’ 40-yard drive with a three-yard sprint for the score. Hannah’s kick put the Gauchos up 10-7.

El Camino regained the lead before halftime with a 74-yard drive that ended with Harvey’s six-yard pass to sophomore Shannon Thompson. Louis Perez’ kick put the Warriors up, 14-10.

Perez hit a 40-yard field goal with 10:31 left in the third quarter for a 17-10 El Camino edge.

With 9:17 left in the third quarter, Bryan Reeves, a freshman from Carson High, returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown to give the Warriors a 24-10 edge.

Saddleback scored on its next possession when second-string quarterback Chris Bisgaard connected with sophomore Mike Cook for a five-yard touchdown. Saddleback trailed, 24-17, after the extra point.

El Camino scored its next touchdown after freshman linebacker Ronald Hanze (North Torrance High) intercepted Bisgaard’s pass with 7:46 left to play. The Warriors scored eight plays later for a 31-17 lead.

With 32 seconds left, Bisgaard connected with Cook for an eight-yard touchdown pass.

After missing most of the game with a shoulder injury, Harbor College back Bill Harris returned to action and scored on a 37-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter to key a 21-7 victory over visiting L.A. Southwest Saturday night in the Western State Conference opener for both teams.

Harris finished with 81 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. The Seahawks (2-0) opened the scoring on a six-yard run by Harris with 8:45 left in the first quarter, three plays after defensive back Tyrone Futch recovered a fumble at the Cougars’ 15-yard line.

Quarterback Glenn Baham hit running back Eric Sharpe on 29-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-0 with 3:41 left in the second quarter. The Cougars (1-1) made it 14-7 early in third quarter, getting their only touchdown on a 25-yard pass from quarterback Craig Manigo to wide receiver Robert Avery.

Harris’ fourth-quarter touchdown closed the scoring. After L.A. Southwest recovered a muffed punt at the Harbor 25 midway through the fourth quarter, Manigo was intercepted by Carlos Roberts, sealing the victory for Harbor.