Saddleback Puts Streak on the Line Against OCC

The season starts Saturday with Saddleback at Orange Coast at 7 p.m. in a Mission Conference Central Division game. Saddleback has won six in a row and is coming off an 8-3 season. Orange Coast struggled to a 4-6 mark last season. Quarterback Chad Collins and linebacker Jeff Carr, both transfers from Saddleback, are expected to start for OCC. In other games: Cerritos takes on Rancho Santiago at Santa Ana Stadium at 1; El Camino meets Golden West at Orange Coast at 1:30 and Fullerton is at Long Beach, the defending J.C. Grid-Wire national champion, at 7.

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The picks: Saddleback’s football team is the favorite in the Central Division by a vote of the conference’s sports information directors. Fullerton is picked second, Palomar third, Rancho Santiago fourth, Orange Coast fifth, Riverside sixth and Golden West seventh.

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Men’s soccer: Rancho Santiago, which won the state title last season, opens the 1996 season by hosting Cuyamaca at 4 p.m. Friday. The Dons lost their first game last season then went 19-0-1 the rest of the way, beating American River, 3-0, in the state championship game.

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Women’s soccer: Cypress, which lost in the first round of the state tournament last season, makes its debut on the road at 1 p.m. Friday at West Valley in Saratoga. The Chargers are at De Anza in Cupertino at the same time Sunday.

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Alumni report: Nevada’s Ernie Wilson, formally of Rancho Santiago, gained 76 yards in 28 carries and caught three passes for 21 yards Saturday in a 44-30 loss to Oregon.