Divisional Play Starts in Football--at Last

The Mission Conference is split into two divisions, but there is nothing very equal about the football teams in them.

The Northern Division is 15-6 against Central Division foes, which include all five Orange County teams.

But there is good news ahead for the struggling Central Division teams because divisional play starts Saturday.

Saddleback (2-1) is the only team with a winning record in the division. Fullerton is 2-2 and Palomar, Golden West and Riverside are all 1-2.

Orange Coast and Santa Ana have had the roughest time so far. Both teams are 0-3.

Meanwhile, Cerritos, Long Beach and Mt. San Antonio--all members of the Northern Division--are each 4-0.

Saddleback starts divisional play against visiting Golden West at 1 p.m. Saturday. Golden West beat San Diego Mesa, 41-24, on Sept. 27 to equal its victory total of last season. The Rustlers had a bye last week.

Orange Coast is coming off a 66-14 loss at Mt. San Antonio and has lost 11 in a row. But Orange Coast has a good chance to stop the streak Saturday when the Pirates host Riverside in a 7 p.m. homecoming game. Orange Coast has been outscored, 137-14, in three games. But Riverside is 1-2 and has been outscored, 66-20, in two losses.

Santa Ana , which is 12th in total offense in the 13-team conference, is headed to San Marcos High for a 1:30 p.m. meeting with Palomar Saturday. The expectations were high at Palomar this fall when Tom Craft returned as head coach but the Comets have lost to Mt. San Antonio, 34-21, and to Long Beach, 43-21, on the last two Saturdays.

Fullerton, which has won two in row, has a bye this Saturday.