Top-Ranked El Camino to Face Tougher Competition

El Camino College begins the toughest phase of its schedule--Mission Conference Northern Division teams--Saturday at 7 p.m. against visiting Pasadena.

The top-ranked Warriors (5-0, 4-0) will have their hands full against the 13th-ranked Lancers, who prefer to control the ball on the ground. Running back Wolfe Barber is Pasadena’s leading rusher with 617 yards and three touchdowns on 90 carries. Pasadena also has Mingo Hooey, who leads the state in interceptions (six for 95 yards).

“This has the makings of a very good game,” said Coach John Featherstone. “I think Pasadena is one of the few teams that matches up with us physically. They also have good team speed.”

The Lancers (4-1, 3-1) beat Saddleback 24-20 in last week’s Mission Conference game. Pasadena’s other league victories are over Palomar and Grossmont. The Lancers’ conference loss was to Golden West (19-15), a team El Camino defeated 38-14 on Oct.7.

The Warriors, ranked No. 2 in the nation by USA Today, also have conference wins over Fullerton and Orange Coast. Quarterback Frank Dolce is the state’s fourth-leading passer with 95 of 144 attempts for 1,364 yards and 14 touchdowns. The sophomore plans to keep alive El Camino’s 12-game winning streak, the nation’s longest.

Ninth-ranked L.A. Southwest (4-0-1, 3-0-1) hosts No.17 Glendale in Saturday’s 1 p.m. Western State Conference game. Last week’s contest against L.A. Pierce was not much of a test for the Cougars, who walked away with a 28-7 win.

Glendale (3-1-1, 3-0-1) will be much tougher. The Vaqueros beat Santa Monica 44-41 last week thanks to a productive offense that gained 512 yards. Quarterback Ronnie Lopez will keep Southwest’s secondary busy. He completed 12 of 25 passes for 274 yards and two touchdowns last week.

The Cougars, ranked No. 20 in the nation by the JC Grid-Wire, also have conference wins over L.A. Valley and West L.A. They tied Bakersfield this season and so did Glendale.

Unranked Harbor (2-3, 1-3) finally got a conference victory last week against winless West L.A., but it’s highly unlikely that the Seahawks will repeat the feat in Saturday’s 1 p.m WSC game at Moorpark.

The No.18 Raiders are 3-1 in conference (4-1 overall) after last week’s 28-27 loss to Bakersfield. Quarterback Jayson Merrill completed 19 of 38 passes for 324 yards and one touchdown. Running back Fred Bradley will also present difficulties for Harbor’s defense. He’s rushed for 523 yards on 86 carries in five games. Moorpark’s offense averages 435 yards a game.