Mission Impossible? Central Teams Must Battle Back

It was a tough opening week for the Mission Conference Central Division as all six football teams lost to Northern Division teams.

Fullerton, Golden West, Orange Coast, Saddleback, Santa Ana and Palomar were outscored, 195-71, by Northern Division opponents and more of the same is expected this week.

The Northern Division has traditionally been stronger than the Central and the discrepancy has some calling for games outside the Mission Conference.

“We have been fighting a battle for three years of trying to cross-schedule with the Foothill and Western State conferences,” Fullerton Coach Gene Murphy said.

Defending Central Division champion Santa Ana faces an El Camino team that blasted Golden West, 68-3, last week and is ranked No. 4 in the nation by the JC Gridwire.

Saddleback got an impressive 14-tackle, one-interception performance from linebacker Shane Harris, but the Gauchos gave up 508 total yards in a 32-27 loss to Pasadena. This week, they face a Cerritos rushing attack that gained 208 yards last week.

Fullerton hung tough with 10th-ranked Mt. San Antonio in a 23-14 loss, but to beat Pasadena, the Hornets will have to gain more than the 86 rushing yards they had.

Orange Coast is faced with stopping Long Beach’s double-threat quarterback Clinton Sanders, who had 199 yards in total offense last week against Santa Ana. The Pirates need to crank up an offense that gained only 88 yards in a 17-2 loss to Riverside.

Golden West may be in trouble again. After the thrashing it took against No. 4 El Camino, the Rustlers must face Mt. SAC.