Chaffey Positioned to Join State’s Elite

When the top community college football programs in California are brought up in conversation, the names are usually the same year after year. Palomar, Bakersfield, Cerritos, El Camino.

Maybe it is time to add Chaffey College to the list. The Panthers, one of three teams that are undefeated, play Palomar today in the Southern California Bowl at Chaffey.

The matchup highlights a statewide slate of bowl games. It is the one that matters in determining the southern representative in next week’s Mineral King Bowl in Visalia for the state title. Two-time defending state champion San Francisco and Fresno, both undefeated, play to determine the northern representative.

Chaffey (10-0) swept through the regular season and captured the Foothill Conference title.

Coach Carl Beach said he hopes Chaffey is now considered among the state’s top programs but knows that final proof will come only with a victory over Palomar, a perennial Mission Conference power.

“I would like to think that we can make a habit of this,” Beach said. “But we’re at a disadvantage in that this is new territory for us. Palomar has always played in these type of games.”

Chaffey went 9-2 last season, capping it with a 46-37 victory over Palomar in the Southern California Bowl. Beach said the win took the Panthers to a new level. “It’s definitely ironic that we’re playing them,” he said. “We’ve faced each other three times in the span of a year and we feel like we’re right there with them.”

Quarterback Jeff Disney leads a balanced Chaffey attack. Disney has thrown for 2,104 yards and 19 touchdowns with eight interceptions. The defense, led by linebackers Ryan Tolan, Ricky Shepard and Justin Perry, has improved.

Palomar (9-1), whose loss was to El Camino in the season’s fourth week, has a high-powered offense led by quarterback Andy Goodenough, a sophomore who is attracting Division I attention. Goodenough has passed for 2,836 yards and a state-leading 33 touchdowns with nine interceptions.