7-0 El Camino Favored to Beat 3-4 Long Beach

If records and league standings mean anything, El Camino will be 8-0 after Saturday’s 7 p.m. Mission Conference football game against Long Beach at Veterans Stadium.

The Warriors (6-0, 7-0) remain the state’s top-ranked team and third nationally by JC Grid-Wire. A victory on Saturday would mark three in a row for El Camino in Northern Division play. Pasadena and Mt. San Antonio College are the Warriors’ other victims.

“We got to find a way to score,” said El Camino Coach John Featherstone, “because we’ve been a little inconsistent in the last few games.”

Lately, El Camino’s success has had been based largely on strong defensive performances. The Warriors have the league’s best defense (232 yards a game).

Strength in that area has made up for quarterback Frank Dolce’s sluggish performances in the last two games. The sophomore was the league’s best passer until last week’s Mt. SAC contest. Now he’s second to Palomar’s Scott Barrick with 125 of 212 attempts for 1,740 yards and 18 touchdowns.

“We were just spoiled by Frank’s performance in the first five weeks,” Featherstone said. “He’s still doing very well.”

Long Beach is the Mission Conference Northern Division’s last-place team with a 2-4 record (3-4 overall). The Warriors should contain the Vikings’ option offense, which is led by all-league quarterback Damon Fisher, also the team’s leading rusher.

The sophomore has completed 40 of 88 passes for 591 yards and seven touchdowns, and he’s rushed for 290 yards on 79 carries. Running back Keith Huff averages more than five yards per carry. He’s gained 246 yards on 45 carries.

The Vikings’ two conference wins are against Grossmont and Palomar. Last week they fell, 21-3, to Cerritos.

After a disappointing road loss to Ventura, Southwest players are anxiously awaiting Saturday’s 1 p.m. Western State Conference game against Santa Barbara.

“It’s not going to be easy,” said Southwest Coach Henry Washington. “We’ve got our work cut out for us, but it’s good to be home.”

The Vaqueros are the WSC Northern Division’s fifth-place team with a 3-3 (4-3 overall) record. They have conference victories over Compton, West L.A. and L.A. Pierce.

Last week Santa Barbara lost handily (34-10) to Moorpark, the WSC Northern Division’s third-place team. Southwest’s defense should be a force against the Vaqueros’ pass attack led by quarterback Ted Robinson (86 of 159 attempts for 1,229 yards and nine touchdowns).

Last week’s loss dropped Southwest’s state ranking from No. 8 to No. 16.

The Cougars are the WSC’s second-place team with a 4-1-1 (5-1-1 overall) record. Freshman quarterback Craig Manigo has completed 100 of 167 attempts for 1,330 yards and 16 touchdowns.

The best team in the WSC will pay Harbor a visit on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and probably hand the Seahawks (1-5, 2-5) their third straight loss. Sixth-ranked Ventura (6-0, 7-0) is bigger, faster and stronger than Harbor.

The Raiders like to control the ball on the ground, and defensively they’re tough. Ventura has the state’s seventh-best defense, which allows an average of 225 yards a game.

The Seahawks might put up an offensive fight if quarterback Glenn Baham does as well as last week. Despite losing, 62-26, to Glendale, the freshman completed 12 of 24 passes for 186 yards and one touchdown in his best performance of the season.