El Camino Tries to Rebound From Loss

Coach John Featherstone predicted that a three-game trip in the middle of the season would be troublesome for the El Camino football team, which has one of the state’s toughest schedules.

He was right. After dropping last week’s game to Riverside, the Warriors travel to Fullerton on Saturday for a 7 p.m. Mission Conference game. Fullerton, ranked No. 2 in the nation by the JC Grid-Wire, is one of two undefeated teams in the 16-member league (Golden West is the other with a 4-0 record). The Hornets are 4-0 after last week’s 45-20 victory over Mt. San Antonio College and they hold a 3-2 edge over El Camino since Featherstone became the Warrior coach in 1985. Fullerton has also defeated Cerritos, San Diego Mesa and Pasadena.

“They have a very well-coached team with a strong tradition,” Featherstone said. “It’s going to be another tough week for us, but that’s the way it is in the Mission Conference. You never get a break.”

El Camino (4-1, 2-1 in the conference) could use a break after last week’s 24-14 loss, which snapped a four-game winning streak and dropped the Warriors from No. 1 in the national rankings to No. 8 this week.

“We got to get back to what we did before if we want to beat Fullerton,” Featherstone said. “Our defense definitely played well enough to win last week, our offense just didn’t get the job done.”

The coach said a victory this week is essential for his players to regain the confidence that has always been an El Camino trademark.

“We’re not accustomed to losing because we’re not losers,” Featherstone said. “We’ve worked all week on regrouping as a team. It’s always tough when you lose your first game. You always have a little doubt after that.”

There is however, no doubt about Anthony Daigle’s play. El Camino’s freshman tailback leads the conference in rushing (132.4 yards a game) and scoring (13 touchdowns). He ran for the Warriors’ two touchdowns last week.

Quarterback Rod Harvey also connected with Daigle five times for 56 yards against Riverside. The sophomore from Morningside High is second in the conference to Palomar’s Brett Salisbury with 87 completions for 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns. His favorite receiver is Bryan Reeves, who has caught 15 passes for 441 yards and four touchdowns.

Fullerton, a passing team in recent years, has developed a strong running game. Quarterback Eric Robinson is a converted wide receiver who is second on the team in rushing. The sophomore has gained 299 yards on 57 carries and he’s completed 33 passes for 517 yards and nine touchdowns.

A pair of freshmen running backs have also strengthened the Hornets’ ground game. Brian Williams is the team’s top rusher with 360 yards on 55 carries and Cory Collins has 257 yards on 50 carries.

Harbor College will try to snap a two-game losing streak in Saturday’s Western State Conference game at West L.A. It might be tough for the Seahawks since West L.A., winless the previous two seasons, is much improved under first-year Coach Rod Hager.

The Oilers (3-1 and 2-1 in the conference) have victories over Compton, Ventura and Chaffey. They fell, 17-14, to Santa Barbara last week.

Harbor (2-2, 1-2) lost last week to Santa Monica and on Sept. 29 at Pierce. The Seahawks’ victories have been at home. They defeated Victor Valley, 14-7, and L.A. Southwest, 21-7.

The Seahawks whipped West L.A., 49-15, last year at Harbor’s Casey Stadium. Kickoff is 1 p.m.

So far it has been a tough year for the L.A. Southwest football team, which enjoyed its best season ever in 1989. The Cougars are looking for their first WSC victory when they play winless Ventura Saturday.

Southwest has lost three consecutive games and hasn’t won since it defeated Rio Hondo in the season opener. They are 0-3 in the WSC and 1-3 overall after falling to Harbor, Glendale and Moorpark.

Ventura is 0-4 after getting trounced, 62-20, by top-ranked Bakersfield last week. They’ve also lost to El Camino, West L.A. and L.A. Valley.

Game time is 1 p.m. at Southwest.