Bye week doesn't slow teams atop CCCSIA football poll

Oct. 16 Polls (PDF): CCCSIA l JC Athletic Bureau l CCCAA/CCCFCA Coaches

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A week off didn’t seem to bother the teams at the top of the California Community College Sports Information Association poll. Not only did the top five schools win their matchups last Saturday, they did so in convincing fashion and, as a result, status quo reigns in this week’s rankings, released on Tuesday.

Fullerton (6-0), Riverside City (6-0), American River (5-1), the College of San Mateo (5-1) and Bakersfield (5-1) – the first five teams in the poll – maintain their spots in this week’s voting after easy wins. The top-ranked Hornets rolled past Grossmont, 78-9, while none of the remaining teams won by fewer than 24 points. A pair of top-10 teams - No. 6 Mt. San Antonio and No. 15 College of the Siskiyous - were on the losing end of their games, resulting in drops to No. 11 and No. 15, respectively in this week’s poll.

Saddleback (5-1) was edged out in voting by Bakersfield for the No. 5 spot and follows the Renegades with Laney (5-1), continually rising Sacramento City (6-0), resurgent City College of San Francisco (4-2) and El Camino (4-2), completing the top 10. The Junior College Athletic Bureau (JCAB) statewide coaches poll matches the CCCSIA through the top four teams but has Sacramento City, Bakersfield, Laney, Saddleback, CCSF and Long Beach in the next five.

Mt. SAC is followed by Long Beach City (4-2) at No. 12 in the CCSIA poll, and then it’s Butte (4-2), Ventura (4-2) – a 45-30 home winner against previous No. 11 College of the Canyons (4-2) last Thursday - and Siskiyous.

A pair of crucial conference games involving ranked opponents in the top 10 help highlight this week’s slate. Fullerton, riding a 12-game winning streak dating back to its state championship last year, faces a tough test with No. 6 Saddleback that will keep one of them atop the National Southern while No. 3 American River will head across town to take on undefeated No. 8 Sacramento City in a National NorCal showdown that has similar implications as well as local bragging rights.

El Camino and Mt. SAC are neighbors in the poll at No. 10 and No. 11, respectively, so their National Central matchup will decide who at least stays or moves up while Siskiyous, ranked 15^th, tries to stem a two-game losing streak against No. 13 Butte in another National NorCal game.

(The poll is conducted by representatives of the CCCSIA and is evenly divided among both Northern California and Southern California region members. The rankings will be conducted on a weekly basis and will be released each Monday for the remainder of the 2017 season).