Harbor Set for a Rare Bowl Date : JC football: Seahawks to play host to Orange Coast Saturday, while El Camino plays San Bernardino Valley.

Though postseason bowl invitations seemed questionable for the El Camino College and Harbor College football teams a couple of weeks ago, both received them after winning their final games of the regular season Nov. 21.

Harbor will make its first bowl appearance in 10 years when it hosts Orange Coast College in the Western State K-Swiss Classic at 7 p.m. Saturday. El Camino will make its fifth bowl appearance in six years when it plays San Bernardino Valley College at 1 p.m. in the Southern California Bowl at Chaffey College in Alta Loma.

The word among bowl-watchers had been that El Camino had to beat Long Beach City College to earn a bowl bid, which it did, 37-28.

Harbor (7-3) tied Santa Barbara for third place in the Northern Division of the Western State Conference. The Seahawks have struggled in recent years and haven’t seen postseason action since losing, 38-20, to Santa Barbara in the Lions Mission Bowl at Santa Barbara in 1982. Harbor, which was 3-7 last year, had not had a winning season since going 5-4 in 1986.

“It’s just been an unbelievably good experience,” said fourth-year Harbor Coach Don Weems. “A lot of things have happened to us this season, most of them good. We have a 12-team conference; we played nine of the 12 and beat six.”

Offensive lineman Jared Tuione says he never imagined such a turnaround in one season. Tuione, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound sophomore from Hawthorne High, says he will play at Brigham Young University next season.

“The spirit around here is great,” he said. “Everyone is so hyped up for it. We’re just real excited. But we don’t just want to say we got here. We also want to win.”

That won’t be easy. The Seahawks will face a tough opponent in Orange Coast. The Pirates (7-3) placed second in the Central Division of the competitive Mission Conference and came close to upsetting top-ranked and undefeated Saddleback College on Nov. 7.

Orange Coast is led by Eric Washington, who has rushed for 1,171 yards and 16 touchdowns in 179 carries. Quarterback Todd Mather has completed 50 of 97 passes for 661 yards and four TDs.

The Seahawks are led by running backs Ira Moreland and Damon Moore. Moreland has rushed for 997 yards and four TDs in 155 carries, and Moore has 622 yards and seven TDs in 132 carries.

“We’re looking for a top contest,” Weems said. “But we have to keep them from making big plays against us; they’ve made a lot of big plays against a lot of people. We really have to establish our ground game.”

El Camino will face an equally tough opponent in San Bernardino. The Warriors (8-2) won a share of the Mission Conference Northern Division title with Mt. San Antonio College and ended the regular season ranked 12th in the state by the JC Athletic Bureau.

San Bernardino Valley (9-0-1) is ranked fourth in the state. The Indians, winners of the Foothill Conference title, have the state’s third-ranked defense and one of California’s most productive offenses (461 yards a game).

Quarterback Mike Maxwell ranks third in the state with 134 of 235 completions for 2,227 yards and 18 TDs. John Thomas has caught 55 passes for 925 yards and eight TDs.

“They’re scary offensively,” El Camino Coach John Featherstone said. “It’s going to be a tremendous challenge for our defense. They’re as good a football team as we’ve played all year. They’re impressive in many areas.”

El Camino has a balanced and productive offense that averages 412 yards a game. Quarterback Jerry Singleton has completed 169 of 298 passes for 2,348 yards and 13 TDs.

Latario Rachal, the Mission Conference player of the year, has 55 receptions for 969 yards and nine TDs. The sophomore from Carson High also finished as the league’s best kickoff returner (29.7 yards a return) and third in all-purpose yards (178 a game).

“Latario, like I’ve said so many times, is the finest offensive player I’ve seen at this level,” Featherstone said. “He’s had an incredible season.”

Warrior tailback Ivan Wilson, a Mission Conference first-team selection, has rushed for 1,137 yards and 20 TDs in 191 carries. Offensive tackle Art Donnell, offensive guard Moi Tauilo and placekicker Tom Dallen also made the Mission Conference first team.

Singleton, punter Bryon Hammons and center Robert Sale were named to the second team.