COLLEGE NOTEBOOK / KIM Q. BERKSHIRE : Palomar Won’t Dwell on End of the Streak

If Palomar College had it to do over, it would choose another option.

At least, the Comet football team would defend it differently.

Saturday, in a Mission Conference game against Orange Coast at Costa Mesa, Coach Tom Craft’s Palomar team suffered a 42-7 loss, a setback that snapped a 12-game winning streak for the school, which one publication chose as the 1991 national community college co-champion.

Craft focused on Palomar’s inability to stop the option, where running back Eric Washington picked up most of his yardage and where the Comets let Orange Coast quarterback Todd Mather go wild. Mather rushed for 198 yards and four touchdowns.

“We did a poor job of stopping the option,” Craft said. “We have defended against it before, but we made some mistakes. We didn’t put enough emphasis on it.”

But if future opponents figure the option is the surest way to defeat Palomar, think again.

“People may try to run the option on us now, but we’re not going to make those same mistakes,” Craft said.

As it was, Palomar dominated several aspects of the game, the final score notwithstanding.

The Comets outgained Orange Coast from scrimmage, 466 yards to 429. Palomar got inside the Orange Coast 18-yard line five times, fumbled once on the two, and was stopped the next four times. The Comets had 29 first downs to 18 for their opponent, and quarterback Tom Luginbill was 28 for 47 for 343 yards, but four of his passes were intercepted, two of which set up Orange Coast touchdowns.

“We didn’t plan to have three tipped balls intercepted, and that fumble hurt,” Craft said. “But give their offensive line credit. They really turned it up a notch.”

Palomar still has the most prolific offense in the state (502 yards per game), and Luginbill ranks No. 1 in total offense at 318 yards per game.

This weekend against Fullerton College, Palomar will again have its hands full, so the Comets are looking ahead, not dwelling on what’s done.

“We were a little disappointed in how things unfolded, but overall, we have a pretty good frame of mind,” Craft said. “(Fullerton) will be the best we’ve faced yet.”

The weekend wasn’t entirely without its bright moments for Palomar athletics. The Comets upset two-time defending California Community College wrestling champion Moorpark College, 24-16, Friday in San Marcos.

Last year, Palomar lost to Moorpark, 20-19.

Winning for the Comets (1-0) Friday were Mike Wilkey (at 126 pounds), Robert North (134), Byron Campbell (150), Matt Wallace (158), Eddie Luna (167) and Phil Martinez (190).

Hearing the name NAIA District 3 Golden State Athletic Conference might not weaken the knees of some NCAA opponents, but the Division II schools are taking notice. For the past eight years, the GSAC has been considered one of the strongest NAIA women’s volleyball conferences in the nation.

This year is no exception.

Four GSAC teams--No. 6 Westmont, No. 8 Point Loma Nazarene, No. 12 Fresno Pacific and No. 15 Cal Baptist--are in the NAIA top 20, and the conference has an 18-4 record against Division II schools. PLNC (10-4), which will host NAIA nationals in early December and receives an automatic bid as host, is 1-1 against Division II and 3-0 against Division III schools.

Several weeks ago, the University of San Diego’s men’s soccer team broke into the top 25 national rankings. The Toreros (7-3-0) climb on.

In a poll released Monday, USD had climbed to No. 14, its highest national ranking ever. In the Western region, the Toreros are third, behind No. 2 UCLA and No. 5 Washington.

USD freshman forward Guillermo Jara continues to lead the region in scoring with 22 points (eight goals, six assists).

Homecoming II: What kind of activities does an administration organize to entertain its alumni when the school doesn’t offer football as homecoming fare?

Last year, in its first homecoming weekend, UC San Diego lured alumni back to the La Jolla campus for a formal gathering dubbed “Decade of Excellence,” which honored past athletes.

UCSD officials got a lot of positive response and decided to stage the school’s second homecoming weekend, which begins Friday with men’s and women’s soccer games against Cal Lutheran, followed by a water polo match against Loyola Marymount.

On Saturday, Triton alums will match wits in a soccer game, water polo match and a swimming meet in the morning, retreat to a picnic in the afternoon, then follow up the day by watching a collegiate women’s volleyball match against Cal State Bakersfield that night.

UCSD is expecting more than 200 athletes to return for homecoming.

UCSD’s men’s volleyball Coach Rod Wilde shares illustrious company as a member of Team Toyota, which plays in Team Cup Volleyball at the Forum in Inglewood.

Wilde teams with other seven players, including current pro beach players Karch Kiraly, Pat Powers and Tim Hovland, and national team member Gary Sato.