Despite Youth, El Camino Is Loaded for Another Run

How’s this for going out on a limb? El Camino College is bound for another winning football season.

Which, yes, is like saying Hugh Hefner has bathrobes and Pavarotti can carry a tune.

The Warriors, under the guidance of Coach John Featherstone the last 16 seasons, traditionally rate among the best junior college teams in the nation.

This year is no different.

With a young but talented squad, the Warriors are ranked No. 1 in the region by The Times and seem poised to challenge for another Mission Conference title and perhaps a state championship.

“We had an outstanding recruiting season,” Featherstone said. “We are two-deep everywhere [on defense].”

The 50-flex defense looks impenetrable with sophomore ends Chris Solomona and Keenan Curtis, both returning starters, sophomore linebacker Adam Blake and redshirt freshman nose tackle Brent Pollock, a transfer from Brigham Young.

El Camino must replace quarterback Robert Hodge, a two-time most valuable player in the conference who moved on to Colorado, so Featherstone is counting on 6-foot-4 sophomore Ryan Gilbert.

The Warriors, coming off a 9-2 record and their fifth conference championship since 1989, might as well wear targets on their jerseys. Every team they come across will be aiming for a bull’s-eye, but Featherstone is not concerned.

“Our philosophy has always been that, although there’s more pressure being at the top, it’s better than being at the bottom,” he said.

“We know we’ll be the marked team, but we’ll be ready to play.”

That had better be the case for Cerritos too.

The Falcons might have the toughest schedule in the state, opening nonconference play against Bakersfield at home Saturday night and traveling to College of the Canyons on Sept. 15 before starting play in the rugged Mission Conference.

Bakersfield is ranked second in the state in the coaches’ preseason poll, Canyons is 11th and Cerritos is 12th.

“I love playing Bakersfield,” said Coach Frank Mazzotta, in his 24th season with Cerritos. “They used to be one of our biggest rivals, but that ended in the ‘80s.

“I’m looking forward to the game. But that’s now. Maybe on Monday I won’t be talking like this.”

The Falcons are fast and quick, and feature an aggressive defense that should keep opponents in check even without end Demetrin Veal, the state defensive player of the year who transferred to Tennessee.

Linebackers Rajaee Barnett, John Lopez and Philip Perry lend stability to the defense. All were starters last season on a team that finished 8-3 and won the Strawberry Bowl for the third consecutive time.

Chaffey continues to rise steadily under sixth-year Coach Carl Beach, who has reason to expect another strong showing by the Panthers after watching them hold their own last week in a scrimmage against Palomar, ranked fourth in the state.

Quarterback Jeff Disney returns after passing for 1,753 yards and 12 touchdowns, and Beach believes the Panthers can generate more offense than in 2000, when they averaged 439.8 yards, eighth-best in the state.

“[Disney] has a much better grasp of the offense this year,” Beach said. “He should be a whole lot better.”

Mt. San Antonio, the mythical national champion in 1997 and a perennial power, is reloading after losing more than 40 sophomores. But Coach Bill Fisk, in his 15th season with the Mounties, is not about to throw in the towel.

The Mounties are big on both lines, with four freshmen weighing 300 pounds or more on offense and 6-foot-6, 310-pound sophomore tackle Darren DeLone plugging holes on the defensive front.

Chaffey and Mt. San Antonio, each coming off a 9-2 season and bowl victory, should learn how they stack up right away. The teams meet Saturday afternoon at Chaffey.

Not far from those schools, Coach Mike Churchill is looking at All-American running back Marcus Guzman to help improve the Riverside Tigers after a 6-4 season.

Guzman had 1,446 yards rushing, by far the best in the Mission Conference, and 19 touchdowns. He ranked fifth in the state in yards per game at 144.6.

Coach Chuck Lyon built Canyons, which resumed playing football in 1998 after a 17-year hiatus, into a state power the last two seasons. The Cougars went 9-2 and won the Western State Conference’s Northern Division title in 2000.

Now in the Pacific Division of the realigned WSC, which also includes the Mountain Division, the Cougars remain among the best but are not as well-rounded as last year.

“Defensively, we are not even close to last year,” Lyon said.

The Cougars lost several defensive starters, three of them linebackers.

Running backs Major Caldwell, returning from shoulder surgery, and Marquis Brignac, a transfer from Mt. San Antonio, are expected to balance an offense now in the hands of Jason Winn, a transfer from Texas Tech.

At Orange Coast, which rebounded last year with a 7-4 record after six consecutive losing seasons, Nick Higgs anchors the defending co-champions in the Mission Conference’s Central Division.

Higgs led the Pirates with 2,073 yards passing and 14 touchdowns.

Pasadena, behind quarterback Nathan Chandler, who can throw and scramble extremely well for someone 6-7, is expected to improve on last year’s 5-5 record.

The L.A. Valley Monarchs figure to come out of their prolonged doldrums under first-year Coach Ron Ponciano, the former Cal State Northridge coach.

Valley has a nice blend of returning players, talented newcomers and transfers from four-year programs that could help the Monarchs produce their first winning season since 1997.

Coach Jim Bittner, in his 23rd season at Moorpark, seldom puts a weak team on the field. So look for the Raiders to be in the thick of things with a promising offense led by running back Joey Casillas.

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JUNIOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL

A look at the top 10 programs in the Southland

1. El Camino (Mission) Features one of the best defensive lines in school history.

2. Cerritos (Mission) Must overcome one of the state’s most demanding schedules.

3. Chaffey (Foothill) Relatively deep and experienced on offense, but green on defense.

4. Mt. San Antonio (Mission) Despite having lost a truckload of sophomores, Mounties have reloaded.

5. Riverside (Mission) Hoping to turn Marcus Guzman’s running into lots of victories.

6. Canyons (Western State) Well-balanced offense needs to pick up slack for suspect defense.

7. Orange Coast (Mission) Has risen from the ashes and is looking like a big-time outfit.

8. Pasadena (Mission) The potential is there, all Lancers need is to execute.

9. L.A. Valley (Western State) Downtrodden but once nationally prominent program is on road to recovery.

10. Moorpark (Western State) Not flashy, but a proven winner with sparkling tradition.