Saddleback Football Pays for Idle Week

The tumble in the rankings Saddleback took without playing, let alone losing, is proof of the worthlessness of early season football polls.

Saddleback started the season ranked eighth in the nation by the J.C. Grid-Wire but fell out of the top 25.

The Gauchos fell from second to third in the state rankings and from first to second in the Southland poll. All this after having an open date the first week of the season.

Saddleback, which has a 17-game winning streak, opens at 7 tonight at El Camino in Torrance.

In other games tonight:

Golden West (0-1) at Cerritos (1-0), 7 p.m.--Golden West is coming off a 40-10 loss to Long Beach. Cerritos, ranked seventh in the nation, beat Orange Coast, 40-0.

Long Beach (1-0) vs. Fullerton (0-1), CS Fullerton, 7 p.m.--Fullerton must improve on offense after getting 107 yards and five first downs in a 17-10 loss to Mt. San Antonio. Long Beach is ranked 17th in the nation.

Mt. San Antonio (1-0) vs. Santa Ana (0-0), Santa Ana Stadium, 1 p.m.--This is the first game for the football team since the name of the school was changed back to Santa Ana after 12 years as Rancho Santiago.

Pasadena (1-0) at Orange Coast (0-1), 7 p.m.--Orange Coast beat Pasadena, 20-17, last season but has lost nine in a row since.