OCC Steps Into Bowl Spotlight

Orange Coast, which played much of this season in the shadow of Saddleback, gets a chance to shine Saturday when the Pirates play Los Angeles Harbor in the K-Swiss Classic at L.A. Harbor.

Both teams come into the 7 p.m. game with 7-3 marks.

Orange Coast, which played one of the toughest schedules in Southern California, suffered its three losses against teams also appearing in bowls.

The Pirates fell to Saddleback, 17-12; Mt. San Antonio, 13-2, and El Camino, 41-25.

Saddleback (10-0) will play San Francisco (10-0) in the Simple Green Orange County Bowl at 1 p.m. Saturday at OCC. Saddleback is the top-ranked team in the nation and San Francisco is No. 5.

El Camino (8-2) plays San Bernardino Valley (9-0-1) in the Southern California Bowl at Chaffey College.

Mt. San Antonio (8-2) plays Palomar (9-1) at 7 p.m. in the second game of the Simple Green Orange County Bowl doubleheader.

OCC was the only team to beat Palomar when the Pirates defeated the Comets, 42-7.

“I didn’t know if we would get a bid,” OCC Coach Bill Workman said. “We deserved it. I think we are a good team. I had hoped we would, considering who we played and how we played them (that) had to have something to do with it.”

The added game will give sophomore running back Eric Washington a chance to set the OCC single-season and all-time rushing records.

Washington, a sophomore from Sherborn High School in Boston, has gained 1,171 yards this season. He needs 85 to surpass Bart Recktenwald’s total of 1,255 in 1987.

Washington also needs 124 yards to become the college’s all-time leading rusher. Tony Accomando ran for 1,873 yards in the 1974-75 seasons.

Women’s volleyball: Golden West hopes to keep its impressive winning streak alive at 7 tonight when the Rustlers play host to rival Orange Coast in the Southern California playoffs.

Golden West (26-0), the two-time defending State champion, is the top-ranked team in the state. Orange Coast (13-7) finished runner-up to Golden West in the Orange Empire Conference. Golden West has won 61 consecutive matches over the last three seasons.

The teams have met twice this season, with Golden West winning, 15-11, 15-12, 15-3, and 15-3, 15-6, 15-8. Orange Coast last beat Golden West in 1985, but the Pirates did extend the Rustlers to five games last season in a conference match.

Golden West comes into tonight’s match having won 58 games in a row and has been extended to four games only once, by Fullerton.

The winner of the match advances to the eight-team state tournament, Dec. 4-6 at Sacramento American River College.

Hoop update: Men’s basketball will be big along the coast this week as Golden West and Orange Coast play host to tournaments starting Thursday.

The news at Golden West will the Orange County debut of Bill Mulligan’s Irvine Valley team. The Lasers play Cerritos, the defending State champions, at 6 p.m. Host Golden West plays Citrus at 8 p.m. and Glendale plays Southwestern at 4 p.m. in the other first-round game.

At OCC, the Pirates play Point Loma JV at 6 p.m. In other opening games: L.A. Valley vs. MiraCosta, 2 p.m.; Long Beach vs. Mt. San Jacinto, 4 p.m., and Santa Barbara vs. Imperial Valley, 8 p.m.

Rancho Santiago and Fullerton travel to the Grossmont tournament on Thursday. For the Dons, it’s a return to an event they have dominated in recent years.

Rancho Santiago had won the tournament five consecutive times before finishing third last season. The Dons play San Diego City at 3 p.m. and Fullerton plays Oxnard at 9 p.m. in the opening round.

Cypress will spend the weekend in Laughlin, Nev., playing in the Harrah’s tournament. The Chargers open with Porterville at 9 p.m. Thursday.

The Cypress women’s team plays host to a tournament starting Thursday. In the first round: American River vs. Ventura, 2 p.m.; Mt. San Antonio vs. Chaffey, 4 p.m.; Compton vs. Contra Costa, 6 p.m., and Cypress vs. Victor Valley, 8 p.m.

Three members of Golden West’s state championship water polo team were among six local players to earn All-American honors.

Brandon Douglas, Dietrich Jewell and Joaquin Felsman of the Rustlers, along with Fullerton’s Mark Allmon, OCC’s Richard Ruffini and Rancho Santiago’s Jeremy Yorba made the 26-member team.

Curt Bowman (Golden West), Erick Lynch (Cypress) and Rob Worthing (Orange Coast) were among the nine honorable-mention picks.

Community College Notes

Tickets for the Simple Green Orange County Bowl can be purchased at Saddleback in the Student Services Office for $6, or $7 the day of the game at OCC. . . . Irvine Valley finished second in the final Southern California cross-county coaches’ poll. Mt. San Antonio was the No. 1 team in the poll. Long Beach was third, El Camino fourth, Antelope Valley fifth, Ventura sixth, San Diego Mesa seventh, Rio Hondo eighth, Riverside ninth and Rancho Santiago 10th.

El Camino finished on top in the men’s poll. Mt. San Antonio was second, S.D. Mesa third, San Bernardino fourth, Ventura fifth, Long Beach sixth, Glendale seventh, College of the Desert eighth, Antelope Valley ninth and Rio Hondo 10th.