THE COLLEGES / FERNANDO DOMINGUEZ : Food for Thought on Fenwick’s Future After a Filling Season

This and that while wondering why someone on the Northridge men’s basketball team should be nicknamed Lucky (Grundy). . . .

Don’t count on Jim Fenwick getting too many more chances to win the mythical junior college national football championship.

It’s only a matter of time before some visionary athletic director at a four-year school snatches Fenwick away from Valley.

Never mind that 59-49 loss to Long Beach at the Strawberry Bowl last Saturday. Long Beach wasn’t exactly chocolate pudding.

The Monarchs are 29-4 under Fenwick the past three seasons. How many Division I programs can beat that? . . .

At least the bowl victory went to someone with ties to football in this region.

Long Beach Coach Larry Reisbig, in his third season with the Vikings, was 70-35 in 10 seasons at College of the Canyons in the 1970s and ‘80s. He also coached at Canyon and Hart highs, and was an All-City Section offensive lineman at Van Nuys High before playing at Pierce and Washington State. . . .

That was a nice spread put out for the media and fellow freeloaders in the Cerritos College press box at the Strawberry Bowl.

Everything from hamburgers to sandwiches to pizza. But no strawberries.

Maybe they should serve whatever those bowls are named after. Then again, maybe not, in case someone chooses to bring back the Alfalfa Bowl. . . .

There was no food shortage either last week when Moorpark cracked open the piggy bank and sponsored a Western State Bowl dinner at an area restaurant.

It was attended by players and coaches from the Moorpark and El Camino teams that met at Griffin Stadium in Saturday afternoon’s game, won by Moorpark, 30-19.

The Raiders bought them dinner and then had them for lunch. . . .

We hear that El Camino Coach John Featherstone was in a hurry to leave Griffin Stadium after watching the Warriors crash and burn.

El Camino started 5-0 and was top-ranked in the nation before tanking it with three consecutive losses and dropping to 15th in the final regular-season state poll. Moorpark entered the game ranked 20th in the state.

Funny how Featherstone turned from muy simpatico at the dinner to hostile when asked to explain how El Camino’s potent offense (452.6 yards a game) couldn’t do more against the Raiders.

OK, John, we’ll do it for you. It’s called defense. . . .

Northridge track Coach Don Strametz should keep an eye on Gerald Rhoden, a junior guard on the Matador basketball team.

Rhoden’s father, V. George, won track gold medals for Jamaica at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. He was the 400-meter champion and anchored Jamaica’s 1,600-meter relay team that set a world record while beating the favored United States.

Olympic legend has it that the foursome celebrated that night by drinking whiskey with the Duke of Edinburgh out of a toothbrush tumbler. . . .

It’s not as far as Tipperary but it’s still a long haul to March Madness, junior college style. However, things are looking good for the often-mentioned-yet-never-achieved double state championships for the Ventura College men’s and women’s basketball teams.

Both are off and flying.

The women’s team, under sixth-year Coach Ned Mircetic, is 8-0 as it heads into a 2 p.m. matchup today against Mt. San Antonio in the first round of the Valley tournament that runs through Saturday.

The men’s team, under first-year Coach Virgil Watson, is 10-0 and looking for more victims at the four-team Oxnard tournament on Friday and Saturday.

Ventura is the defending men’s state champion, but the women fizzled in the semifinals of last season’s State tournament. No school has won men’s and women’s championships in the same season. . . .

From riches to rags, that’s the Tammie Mills saga.

Mills, a 5-foot-3 point guard, went from helping Harbor win its second consecutive junior college state title last March to playing at Northridge (1-4) this season.

Ouch!

Take some aspirin, Tammie, and keep away from sharp objects. . . .

Before this season, Oxnard men’s basketball Coach Ron McClurkin said, albeit tongue in cheek, that the Condors hadn’t frightened anyone last season with their big men so he wasn’t concerned about having no one taller than 6-4 on the roster.

McClurkin rationalized that the Condors, who finished 16-16, couldn’t be much worse off.

Think again.

After six games and going into Friday’s first round of its own tournament, Oxnard is 0-for-the-season.

Hey, Tammie, save some of that aspirin. We know someone else who can use it.