Mt. San Antonio unanimous No.1; Rest of football coaches poll in flux as season continues to heat up

(Courtesy Mt. San Antonio College Athletics)

October 29, 2024

SAN MATEO – While Mt. San Antonio College is now the unanimous top pick, most state poll selections by California Community College Football Coaches Association members have shuffled this week.

Mt. SAC (7-0), the lone remaining unbeaten team in the 3C2A state championship derby, took all 23 first-place ballots and tallied 575 points, following a 51-7 win over East Los Angeles College. The Mounties visit Orange Coast (1-6) Saturday.

Riverside City College (6-1) moved up one spot to No. 2, with 541 points, after a 69-3 Southern league win over Southwestern College. RCC faces a Saturday challenge at No. 13 Saddleback (5-2). College of San Mateo (6-1) is now back up to No. 3 and leads the north region with 518 points after winning a Bay 6 League first place showdown with Foothill College, 49-14. This week the Bulldogs visit another rival, City College of San Francisco, which is 2-0 in the B6 after a slow (0-5) non-league start.

The overall poll shake-up was caused by American River College’s 31-30 overtime “upset” of formerly unbeaten and second-ranked Butte College, dropping the Roadrunners to the sixth spot this week and placing the now No. 11 Beavers (4-3 overall) in position to defend their NorCal League title (at 2-0). Butte led, 24-10, entering the fourth quarter. American River then rolled off 21 straight points (including OT), tying it at 24 with 1:56 left in regulation on Elias Brown’s 6-yard run, which completed a 7-play, 72-yard drive, in just over two minutes. The Beavers scored first in OT, with Brown running in from the two for his third TD of the game. Butte, on its possession, then tallied its first TD since the first half -- on Marcus Beamon’s 10-yard run. But the conversion kick failed. Cameron Smith had an early 38-yard field goal for ARC and then made all four PATs. Butte placekicker Lane Garner had a 41-yard field goal in the third quarter and three successful PATs in regulation -- before missing at the end. ARC hosts the remaining 2-0 NorCal League team, No. 20 Sierra (4-3), on Saturday.

Ventura College (6-1) holds onto the No. 4 poll position this week and co-leads the Northern League at 4-0 -- with No. 10 El Camino (5-2). Ventura plays at No. 18 Bakersfield College (4-3) on Saturday and ElCo goes to Antelope Valley. Golden West (6-1) remains in the No. 5 spot and visits No. 15 Long Beach CC 5-2) on Saturday. Both are unbeaten in the Central League, along with Mt. SAC.

San Diego Mesa (6-1) is the remaining 1-loss team and holds onto the No. 7 poll position after getting past Mt. San Jacinto, 35-28, last week. Mesa hosts Southwestern this Saturday before going to Riverside next week.

There are still three unbeaten (7-0) American Division teams: No. 21 Pasadena, No. 23 Monterey Peninsula, and No. 24 De Anza.

(Fred Baer, JC Athletic Bureau)

JCAB FOOTBALL POLL (Oct. 28)
RK	School	Record	Pts	PR
1.	Mt. San Antonio (23)	7-0	575	1
2.	Riverside City	6-1	541	3
3.	San Mateo	6-1	518	T-5
4.	Ventura	6-1	484	4
5.	Golden West	5-1	458	T-5
T6.	Butte	6-1	433	2
T6.	San Diego Mesa	6-1	433	7
8.	Modesto	5-2	404	8
9.	Fresno City	6-2	361	9
10.	El Camino	5-2	350	10
11.	American River	4-3	342	12
12.	Canyons	5-2	312	13
13.	Saddleback	5-2	271	T-14
14.	Sequoias	5-2	269	T-14
15.	Long Beach City	5-2	263	17
16.	Fullerton	4-3	214	18
17.	Diablo Valley	4-3	198	20
18.	Bakersfield	4-3	188	11
19.	Foothill	4-2	155	16
20.	Sierra	4-3	127	25
21.	Pasadena City	7-0	100	T-22
22.	Mt. San Jacinto	4-3	95	19
23.	Monterey Peninsula	7-0	92	T-22
24.	De Anza	7-0	55	RV
25.	Allan Hancock	3-4	50	21
Others: Redwoods, 30; Cerritos, 28; Shasta, 24; Palomar, 23; Moorpark, 20; San Francisco, 18; Chaffey, 15; Siskiyous, 7; San Jose City, 7; Reedley, 6; Citrus, 4; Sacramento City, 3; L.A. Southwest, 3.