Fullerton favored to win third straight state championship by CCCAA football coaches
SAN MATEO – Is a 3-peat in the offing? Two-time defending California Community College Athletic Association champion Fullerton College is a unanimous “choice” of California Community College football coaches to achieve that fete, according to the annual preseason poll conducted by the JC Athletic Bureau.
College of San Mateo (11-2) and American River College (10-2) were No. 2 and 3, respectively, leading the Northern California picks. Riverside came in at No. 4.
Fullerton repeated and picked up its third overall state title in 2017, edging San Mateo, 16-12, scoring a comeback TD with 47 seconds left in the title game. The Hornets had also won the first official state crown in 1967. In the 2017 regional finals, Fullerton had beaten Riverside, 75-16, while San Mateo got by American River, 24-21. Fullerton’s state-leading 3-year win streak is now at 19 games.
MOVING UP: Teams in the American Division that moved up to the National (state championship) Division for 2018 included: Southern California: East Los Angeles, San Diego Mesa, and Southwestern; Northern California: Shasta and West Hills.
OPENERS: Season openers are the weekend of Sept. 1, with 33 non-league games (involving all but Allan Hancock and San Jose).
On Friday, No. 20 Diablo Valley “welcomes” West Hills up to the National Division. Saturday’s top games: #1 Fullerton at #23 Golden West, #12 Siskiyous at #2 San Mateo, #14 Sacramento at #3 American River, #4 Riverside at #16 El Camino, #5 Ventura at Orange Coast, #6 Laney at #17 Modesto, #7 Canyons at #8 Saddleback, Sierra at #9 CCSF, #15 Bakersfield at #10 Mt. San Antonio.
NEW HEAD COACHES: Several colleges have new head coaches for 2018. They include, NorCal: Joseph D’Agostino, Sequoias; Tim Tulloch, San Mateo; and James Winkler, San Jose. John Lango retakes the helm at Gavilan. SoCal: Al Dorsey, Compton; Dean Grosfeld, Cerritos; Bubba Gonzalez, Orange Coast; Gary Watkins, San Diego Mesa; Carlos Woods, LA Pierce.
| JC ATHLETIC BUREAU FOOTBALL POLL | |||
| (Preseason) | 2017 | ||
| RK | School | Record | Pts. |
| 1. | Fullerton (16) | 13-0 | 400 |
| 2. | College of San Mateo | 11-2 | 371 |
| 3. | American River | 10-2 | 364 |
| 4. | Riverside City | 10-2 | 333 |
| 5. | Ventura | 8-3 | 319 |
| 6. | Laney | 9-2 | 306 |
| 7. | College of the Canyons | 9-2 | 288 |
| 8. | Saddleback | 8-3 | 283 |
| 9. | City College of San Francisco | 8-3 | 279 |
| 10. | Mt. San Antonio | 8-3 | 275 |
| 11. | Long Beach City | 8-3 | 249 |
| 12. | College of the Siskiyous | 8-3 | 215 |
| 13. | Fresno City | 8-3 | 204 |
| 14. | Sacramento City | 8-3 | 167 |
| 15. | Bakersfield | 7-4 | 162 |
| 16. | El Camino | 6-5 | 145 |
| 17. | Modesto | 6-5 | 141 |
| 18. | Butte | 5-6 | 128 |
| 19. | Southwestern | 9-2 | 102 |
| 20. | Diablo Valley | 5-6 | 64 |
| 21. | Merced | 9-2 | 59 |
| 22. | San Diego Mesa | 8-2 | 49 |
| 23. | Golden West | 4-6 | 44 |
| 24. | Los Medanos | 9-2 | 42 |
| 25. | Shasta | 7-3 | 40 |
| Next 5: Sierra (4-6), Allan Hancock (8-3), Grossmont (4-6), San Joaquin Delta (4-6), Palomar (5-6) | |||
| Others included: Cerritos (3-7), East L.A. (7-3), West Hills Coalinga (8-3), Foothill (7-3), Monterey Peninsula (7-4), San Bernardino Valley (5-5) | |||
(Fred Baer, JC Athletic Bureau Director)