Bucs coming back home where they belong

Tony Altobelli

Boy, now I’ve REALLY done it.

After months and months of abusing the hapless Golden West College

football program, I find out that Orange Coast will be returning to the

Mission Conference’s Central Division for the 2000 season.

I better be on my best behavior next year or it may come back to haunt

me.

But since that’s not until the fall....

I wonder if the Pirates are glad that instead of playing in the toughest

conference this side of Jupiter, they get a piece of GWC and slip past

Cerritos in nonconference action.

In a meeting Friday among the coaches and conference big wigs, it was to

be determined that the Pirates would return to the Central Division and

Riverside College would get to tango with the Northern Division

powerhouses.

“I think the biggest thing about us coming back to the Central Division

is a bigger fan interest during conference time,” Coach Mike Taylor said

following the meeting. “Our coming back is a good thing and to be able to

renew our rivalrywith Golden West is exciting.”

There was some scuttlebutt that some major realigning would take place,

but that will be handled at a later date.

“Any radical changes will not be made for the upcoming season,” Taylor

said. “There’s going to be some meetings in February and March to see

what’s gonna happen.”

Options are endless as to what could happen to the Mission Conference.

The goal of this whole thing is to better figure out state and national

polls by playing some common opponents among the the conferences.

“They’re looking for an alliance similar to that of Northern California,”

Taylor said. “But there is some old-school coaches that don’t want all

these changes, so who knows what will happen?”

Options range from tinkering of the Mission Conference schedule to total

conference reconfiguration.

“There are 30 teams in Southern California,” Taylor said. “There’s a

chance for five six-team conferences with teams playing one another.

Anything’s possible.”

One thing that IS going to happen and that’s OCC and GWC will do battle

once again.

It’s been two seasons since the victory bell rang out for either the

Rustlers or Bucs, but the bell shall ring again in 2000.

GWC holds a 17-13-2 series edge and has actually won the past two

meetings, but that was two years and a BUNCH of good players ago. Get

your tickets early for that one.

Of course the one bad drawback can be summed up in one word: Palomar.

That’s right, the Comets are back in the Pirates’ conference where

Palomar has reigned supreme.

On the good side, included with Golden West and Palomar, OCC will take on

much closer teams with a higher hatred toward each other in the games

that count.

No more gripping conference battles at El Camino or Pasadena City. It’s

back to Saddleback and Fullerton and Santa Ana. The longer trips will be

in the first half and out of the way.

Former Coach Bill Workman said it best when OCC moved in the first place.

“It’s stupid, but nobody asked me,” said Workman.Amen.