Santa Ana Hopes to Bowl Over Tigers

Santa Ana College, already assured of having the best record among Orange County’s teams this season, goes for an even bigger prize today.

The Dons (6-3) take on Riverside (4-5) at 1 at Santa Ana Stadium in a Mission Conference game that will help decide the Central Division title.

Santa Ana, Riverside and Palomar are each 3-1 in the division, but Santa Ana beat Palomar. Riverside’s loss was to Palomar.

A victory by Santa Ana, ranked eighth in Southern California, would put the Dons in prime position for a berth in a bowl game when invitations are issued Sunday.

“We’ve been pretty focused in practice this week,” Santa Ana Coach Dave Ogas said. “We don’t want to be in a situation Saturday at 4 p.m. where we are talking about what could have been or should have been.”

Sophomore running back Camron King has led the Dons on offense. He has rushed for 1,297 yards, which is the fourth-best total in the state.

King needs 190 yards to become Santa Ana’s all-time rushing leader. Estrus Crayton (1989-90) holds the mark at 2,452 yards.

Riverside has been getting strong performances from its defense, which is ranked fifth in the 12-team conference, and the Tigers have won four of five.

In other season-ending games: Fullerton (3-6, 2-2) plays Palomar (7-2, 3-1) at 1 at San Marcos High, and in 7 p.m. games, Golden West (0-9, 0-4) is at Saddleback (3-6, 1-3) and Orange Coast (4-5, 2-2) is at El Camino (6-3, 3-1).

SOCCER PLAYOFFS

The Santa Ana men’s soccer team and the women’s team from Cypress, both top-seeded in Southern California, play for berths in the state tournament today.

Santa Ana (22-0) takes on visiting Pasadena (15-4-3) in a 1 p.m. game. The defending state champion Dons, who have an unbeaten streak of 40 games, are led by sophomore forward Tomas Serna, who has established the school’s single-season scoring record with 37 goals this year.

San Diego Mesa (17-1-3) and Glendale (13-6-5) meet in the other Southern California playoff game.

The Cypress women’s team brings an unbeaten streak of 50 games into its 7 p.m. contest against Canyons (19-2-1) on the soccer practice field at Cal State Fullerton.

Defending state champion Cypress is led by freshman forward Alie Nunez, who has set the Charger single-season scoring record with 36 goals.

MOVING ON

Three Saddleback baseball players, all left-handed pitchers who will be sophomores for the Gauchos this spring, have made commitments to four-year colleges.

Ryan Cheo, who was 1-2 last season, has signed to attend UCLA. Kevin Beavers, who was also 1-2 last season, signed with Pepperdine.

Adam Green, who was 3-0, committed to Purdue.

Four Cypress players also made four-year plans.

Sophomore right-hander Brandon Luna has signed with Auburn, outfielder Josh Snook signed with Houston and utility player Matt Colin signed with Oral Roberts.

Shortstop Michael Dursma, who was a sophomore starter last season for the Chargers, will play for Purdue this spring.