Saddleback Again Opening the Season Ranked No. 1 in the Southland Poll

Saddleback, which started last season as the top-ranked football team in Southern California, starts in the same place in the first Southland Poll.

But the Gauchos, who also were ranked No. 1 in the state and the nation last season, still have almost two weeks until they open the season, Sept. 20 at El Camino.

No other Orange County teams are in the top 10 of the poll, which has Palomar second, Bakersfield third, Los Angeles Valley fourth, El Camino fifth, Long Beach sixth, San Bernardino Valley seventh, Mt. San Antonio eighth, Moorpark ninth and Cerritos 10th.

In opening games Saturday for local teams: Golden West plays host to Long Beach at Orange Coast at 1 p.m.; Mt. San Antonio plays Fullerton at 7 p.m. at Cal State Fullerton; and Orange Coast is at Cerritos at 7.

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Reassignment: Fullerton’s athletic director, Sue Beers, has taken on new, but temporary, duties.

She will be interim director of personnel operations for the North Orange County Community College District office until Nov. 30. At that time the job is supposed to be filled permanently.

Colleen Riley, former women’s basketball coach at Fullerton, will take over as the athletic director until Beers returns.

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Moving on: Two Cypress softball players have made official four-year plans.

Aimee Weathers, a shortstop on the state championship team, signed with Texas Tech, but is finishing up one class at Cypress this fall. She expected to transfer to Texas Tech in the spring.

Pitcher Shana Rizzo signed with Illinois Chicago and already has started classes. Rizzo was 10-1 last season.