Let’s go bowling

Bryce Alderton

Talk at the Mission Conference’s football media day was about the

“big,” and that could go for many areas. Coaches attending the

meeting inside the Captain’s Table Restaurant at Orange Coast College

harped on the sheer number of players trudging out to the practice

field each day to run wind sprints or ram against tackling dummies in

addition to commenting on the combatants’ increased size.

Their eyes gleaned with the hope another season brings, that this

will be “the one,” which led to the biggest news of the day -- two

conference teams will be competing in a bowl game at the end of the

season.

Cerritos head coach Frank Mazzota gave the news when he stood

behind the podium, that 11 of the conference’s 12 athletic directors

had voted to financially back two bowl games at a meeting Thursday

morning in Fullerton.

Before the vote, the Mission Conference wasn’t guaranteed to have

winners of its newly realigned American -- which OCC is part of --

and National divisions eligible for a bowl without funding in place.

With Thursday’s vote, each conference school must provide $500,

which covers the cost of staging a bowl game, about $3,000, according

to Mazzota.

The winner of the conference is also eligible to host a bowl game.

“It basically dealt with how to get our representatives into the

playoffs,” said Mazzota, who has been working tirelessly, along with

Santa Ana College head coach Geoff Jones, to implement a bowl and

playoff system since last winter.

California’s Commission on Athletics approved a playoff system

this spring that will include eight bowl games statewide. Four teams

each from the north and south will then advance with a chance to play

for the state championship.

Two teams each from the Mission and Western States and one

representative from the Foothill conference will automatically

qualify for postseason from the south. Seedings will be determined by

the conference’s combined winning percentage in the two “crossover,”

or nonconference games, at the beginning of the season. The remanning

three teams will be selected based on their rankings as listed on the

COA Web site at www.coasports.org.

The regular season ends Nov. 15, but teams will not get a week off

to prepare for their bowl game with the new playoff format. Games

will be played during Thanksgiving weekend and continue until the

state championship game in Bakersfield in mid-December.

But coaches weren’t looking that far ahead. They are more

concerned about keeping players healthy and deciding who will run on

the field as a starter on opening day on Sept. 6.

OCC will have two intrasquad scrimmages on campus the next two

weeks leading up to its opener at Glendale Sept. 6. The first one

will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday and the second will be held Aug.

30 at 1 p.m.

OCC Coach Mike Taylor plans to run 50 plays during the first

scrimmage while increasing the count to 75 the following week.

Taylor and his staff will use the time to evaluate each position.

Both the quarterback and running back positions could fall to one of

several players.

“It depends on what day it is,” Taylor said when asked if he had a

clear-cut starter in mind at quarterback.

He offered similar sentiments about the tailback position.

Taylor is confident about the defense, which has six returning

starters compared to three on offense.

The media gathered at Thursday’s luncheon chose defending division

champion Palomar and perennial contender Pasadena as preseason

favorites to win the American and National divisions, respectively.

Seven pollsters chose Palomar, which gained 49 points to runner-up

Long Beach (39) and third-place Cerritos (32). OCC was picked to

finish fifth in the American Division with 24 points, 10 ahead of

last-place Golden West.

Pasadena, which finished second in the Northern Division last

season behind Long Beach, garnered six first-place votes and edged

out Saddleback by a single point in the voting, 53-52.

The Mission Conference realigned its divisions to maintain a sense

of balance among its members. A formula based on past records, along

with a sensitivity to long-standing rivalries was developed. The

divisions will be reexamined in two years with a possible realignment

occurring again.