San Mateo (Nov. 7, 2016) – Saddleback College is the new No. 1 team in the JC Athletic Bureau’s statewide poll of California Community College football coaches entering the final week of regular season play. Four of the top six teams in last week’s ratings fell in games with title implications: No. 1 Riverside (to Long Beach), No. 2 American River (to Butte), No. 4 Laney (to Modesto), and No. 6 Santa Rosa (to San Mateo).
Saddleback (8-1 overall) is in a 3-way tie for first place at 3-1 in the National Southern League and closes hosting co-fourth Orange Coast (3-6, 1-3), while the other co-leaders clash: No. 21 Golden West (4-5, 3-1) at No. 2 Fullerton (8-1, 3-1). For a 2-way tiebreaker, Saddleback has beaten Fullerton and Golden West has topped Saddleback.
Only No, 6 Ventura, in the Northern League, has secured a National Division title in the Southern California Football Conference. The Pirates close Saturday at co-second place Cerritos, which is two games back. Central League leader No. 7 Mt. San Antonio (7-2, 4-0) closes at now No. 3 Riverside (8-1, 3-1) Saturday night. No. 8 Long Beach, tied for second at 7-2, 3-1 after knocking Riverside from the top ranking last week with a 38-3 overtime win, finishes at fourth place El Camino (4-5, 2-2).
3 NORTH CHAMPS: All three Northern California Football Association leagues determined their champions for state play with those “upsets” last week: NorCal League: Butte 21, American River 14 (2 overtimes); Valley League: Modesto 12, Laney 0;Bay 6 League: San Mateo 26, Santa Rosa 23. Now No. 4 Butte, No. 9 Modesto, and No. 10 San Mateo will enter the playoffs on Nov. 19. No. 5 American River is the top candidate for the at-large berth — currently ahead of all teams atop the north’s power rating index. Saturday’s finales include (with state ranking): #21 Sacramento at #4 Butte, #5 American River at Sierra, #9 Modesto at San Joaquin Delta, Chabot at #13 Laney (Friday), #20 Diablo Valley at #10 San Mateo, #11 San Francisco (the reigning state champion) at Contra Costa.
Each region will qualify three National league champions and one at-large team to contest the CCCAA state title, beginning Nov. 19.
American Division finales have regional American championship bowl berths up for grabs. In the north, second place Redwoods plays at No. 15 and unbeaten Shasta for the Pacific 7 title. West Hills has the advantage over Golden Coast co-leader Monterey Peninsula (both 4-1) and closes at Gavilan, No. 22 MPC (8-1), which has lost only to West Hills (6-3), finishes at Reedley.
In the south, No. 14 Los Angeles Valley plays at No. 24 Santa Barbara for the Pacific League title. No. 23 Southwestern was upset by College of the Desert, 52-34, last week. They share the Mountain League lead at 3-1 with Victor Valley. Victor Valley closes at Desert and fifth place San Diego Mesa plays at Southwestern. East Los Angeles has already beaten second place Santa Ana in the Metro League and closes by hosting fourth place Glendale. Two of the three SCFA American League champs will be selected to play for the divisional title in a bowl. Shasta and LA Valley are the state’s only unbeaten teams (9-0), both with overall 13-game win streaks. Seecccaasports.org. for scores and statistics.
2016 JC Athletic Bureau Poll of California Community College Football Coaches
The Top 25 teams in the JC Athletic Bureau’s State Poll of California Community College Football Coaches, with first-place votes in brackets, won-loss records, total points (based upon 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote), and previous ranking.
[Final poll is also used in the NATYCAA Cup all-sports rankings for football.]
Rk College Record Pts. LR
- Saddleback [10] 8-1 410 3
- Fullerton [3] 8-1 402 5
- Riverside [1] 8-1 390 1
- Butte [3] 7-2 378 7
- American River 7-2 328 2
- Ventura 7-2 321 8
- Mt. San Antonio 7-2 316 9
- Long Beach 7-2 313 11
- Modesto 7-2 292 10
- San Mateo 6-3 281 12
- San Francisco 6-3 240 13
- Santa Rosa 7-2 236 6
- Laney 7-2 226 4
- Los Angeles Valley 9-0 175 15
- Shasta 9-0 171 17
- Bakersfield 6-3 168 14
- Grossmont 5-4 139 22
- Siskiyous 5-4 123 21
- Sacramento 5-4 106 23
- Diablo Valley 5-4 99 16
- Golden West 4-5 74 19
- Monterey Peninsula 8-1 60 25
- Southwestern 8-1 58 18
- Santa Barbara 7-2 43 nr
- Moorpark 4-5 39 nr
Next 5: East LA (7-2), Chabot (4-5), Fresno (4-5), Cerritos (4-5), Canyons (4-5).
Others included: Los Medanos (7-2), El Camino (4-5),Hartnell (6-3), West Hills (6-3), Palomar (3-6), Redwoods (5-4), Victor Valley (6-3).
LR = Last Ranking. [First place votes in brackets]
Longest winning streaks: 13 games, Shasta & LA Valley.
CCCAA (STATE) PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (Nov. 7):
—POW Selections from official game reports posted on cccaasports.org and nominations (including defense / special teams) by colleges to state statistician Fred Baer on Sundays: frdbaer@aol.com
RUSHING: Allan Hancock sophomore RB Jajuan Lankford
(5-9, 184, South Pittsburg HS, Tenn.): 171 yards on 23 carries and a TD in 38-17 win over Antelope Valley
Santa Ana freshman RB Deven Boston (6-0, 215, Buena Park HS): 171 yards on 17 carries, 3 TDs (50, 45, 1) in 52-28 win over West L.A.
LA Valley frosh RB Darian Albrecht (6-0, 170, Taft Charter HS & Woodland Hills) 213 yards on 25 carries, 4 TDs in 61-27 win over Citrus.
PASSING: Redwoods freshman QB Walter Fountain (6-1. 195, Hughson HS): 409 yards passing (32 of 44), 3 TDs, 417 total offense in 24-21 OT win over Los Medanos.
RECEIVING: Long Beach sophomore WR Jacob Welch (6-2, 195, St. Anthony HS & Los Angeles): 12 PC, 132 yards, 1 TD in Vikings’ 38-31 OT upset of then unbeaten & top-ranked Riverside.