COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOOTBALL : OCC Opens Against Long Beach Tonight

There will be a certain familiarity between players and coaches when Orange Coast and Long Beach open the community college football season at 7 tonight at OCC.

This will be the third consecutive time the teams have met to start the season, and it also marks the debut of Long Beach Coach Larry Reisbig, who was a defensive coach at OCC the last two seasons.

Orange Coast opened last season with an impressive 26-0 victory over Long Beach, then coached by Wil Shaw. OCC finished 6-4.

Long Beach wound up 1-9 last season. OCC beat the Vikings, 30-0,in the 1990 opener.

Bill Workman moves into his seventh season at OCC with a 6-1 mark in season-openers, which have long been a positive experience for the Pirates. Orange Coast is 29-12-3 on opening night.

Golden West, Rancho Santiago and Saddleback play Saturday, and Fullerton opens Sept. 19.

In Saturday’s games (all at 7 p.m.):

Cerritos vs. Golden West at Orange Coast--Golden West figures to have one of its strongest offensive lines in the last few years, which is good news for returning running back Derek Ragsdale. He rushed for 561 yards a year ago when Golden West went 6-4. The Rustlers’ defense also figures to be solid as usual.

Rancho Santiago at San Diego Mesa--Rancho Santiago Coach Dave Ogas (53-48-1) starts his 11th season needing one victory to move into second place on the college’s all-time football victory list. He is tied with Dick Gorrie, who had a mark of 53-57-1 from 1964-75. Last season, the Dons beat San Diego Mesa, 33-0, but finished 2-8.

Saddleback at Santa Monica--Saddleback starts the season with high expectations and the No. 1 ranking in the nation in J.C. Grid-Wire. Santa Monica is No. 15 in the same publication. Saddleback was 10-1 last season and returns quarterback Tim Snowden and running back Marcellus Chrishon. Santa Monica returns quarterback Dion Bergeron, who helped the Corsairs to an 8-3 mark last season.