Saddleback Football Gets No Rest, No Sympathy

Saddleback College football Coach Bill Cunerty likes to complain about the difficulty of his team’s schedule. But he’s only joking.

Cunerty knows he won’t get the slightest bit of sympathy from other Orange County coaches because their teams play nearly the same set of opponents.

When Saddleback travels to Long Beach for a Mission Conference game at 7 tonight, it will be the Gauchos’ third consecutive game against a team ranked in the top 10 in Southern California.

But this game also has importance on the national level. Saddleback (3-0) is ranked second in the J.C. Grid-Wire national poll and Long Beach (3-0) is seventh.

“We’ve had a great week of practice, the kids are pumped,” Cunerty said. “The thing about Long Beach is they have a coaching staff that knows how to win.”

To say the least.

Long Beach has a 14-game winning streak, which includes an 11-0 season and the J.C. Grid-Wire national championship last year behind All-American quarterback Neo Aoga. The Vikings are 20-2 in the last two seasons and 29-4 over the last three.

Long Beach hasn’t lost a regular-season game since the second week of the 1994 season and also has an 18-game home winning streak that dates back to 1992.

Saddleback can only offer a nine-game winning streak, but the Gauchos don’t figure to be overmatched.

Justin Vedder has been outstanding at quarterback. He has completed 46 of 71 (65%) for 743 yards and six touchdowns. Peter Campbell (14 catches, 240 yards) has proved to be his favorite possession receiver and Gabe Payne (eight catches for 217 yards and three touchdowns) is the top deep threat.

Saddleback has used several running backs, but Mark Reynosa (194 yards and five touchdowns) has been the most successful. Saddleback’s defense, second in the conference giving up 245 yards per game, faces its toughest test of the season.

Long Beach quarterback Tyler Tomish has passed for 806 yards and eight touchdowns and running back Jack Williams has 249 yards.

“He has a gun,” Cunerty said of Tomish. “I know it will be awhile before we see another Aoga, but Tomish has helped their offense not miss a beat.”

In other conference games:

Fullerton (0-2) is at Pasadena (1-2) at 6 p.m.; Orange Coast (1-2) is at El Camino (2-1) at 7 p.m. and Rancho Santiago (0-2) is at San Diego Mesa (0-2) at 6 p.m.