FOOTBALL: NATIONAL BOWL PREVIEW

Fullerton College has earned the No. 1 seed for the SCFA in the state playoffs and will host No. 4 Ventura College in the National Bowl at Yorba Linda High School's Nathan Shapell Stadium.

In the other playoff matchup to be played on Saturday, #2 Riverside City College will host #3 Saddleback College in the Southern California Bowl. Kickoff is 6:00 pm at RCC's Wheelock Stadium. The two winners will face off in the SCFA Championship game on November 26th at the site of the highest remaining seed. The 2016 Southern California Football Association champ will move on to the CCCAA State Championship on December 10th and will host the champ from the Northern California Football Association.

The Ventura College Football Pirates (8-2 overall, 5-0 conference) are riding a five-game winning streak into the post-season after sweeping its way through the Northern Conference en rout to its third conference title in a row and its fourth in the past five seasons. This is the Pirates third appearance in the CCCCAA State Playoffs in the past five years. Ventura comes into today's game with only two non-conference losses against the top teams in SoCal. Their first defeat came at the hands of Riverside (52-27), and their second was against Saddleback (49-20).

The Pirates and Hornets first met way back in 1925 with Fullerton losing that one 26-0. The overall series is tied 3-3. The last time these two teams played was in the 2015 season opener, and the Pirates mopped the floor with Fullerton 31-0.

The 2016 Pirate offense has a well-balanced attack that can really put points up on the board averaging 43.3 points a game. Their passing game is averaging 327.6 yards a game, and their rushing attack is averaging 203.4 yards per game.

Leading the way for the VC offense, is sophomore quarterback Jake Luton who has thrown for 3,143 yards, with 34 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions (231 completions, 403 attempts, 57.3%). Ventura has a fleet of talented receivers that can hurt any defense. WR Cam Taylor has 40 catches for 684 yards and 6 touchdowns. TE Jonte Broski has 34 receptions for 437 yards and 1 TD. WR Kendric Mallory has 33 catches for 514 yards and 9 TDs, and Elijah Alexander has 28 catches for 340 yards and 3 TDs. Brandon Jordan comes in with 23 receptions for 296 yards and 6 TDs. The running tandem of Isaiah Brown (118 carries for 840 yards and 7 TDs) and Brian Burt (83 carries for 532 yards and 4 TDs) will be a tough challenge for the Hornet Defense.

The road to glory will have to come through FC's home field as they are the number one team in Southern California. The Southern Conference Co-champs wrapped up their regular season with an overall record of 9-1 and a conference record of 4-1. The offense broke many records along way averaging 52.7 points a game. In the air, FC averaged 309.7 yards a game and on the ground 210.6 yards a game. The Hornet Defense has held opposing teams' ground attacks to 86.1 yards a game. In the air, they have held teams to an average of 219.5 a game.

Quarterback Jordan Hoy has been sensational this season posting 32 touchdowns (school single season record) with only 5 interceptions. He has thrown for 2,717 yards and also leads the team in rushing with 656 yards on 109 carries with 8 touchdowns. The running game for FC is loaded with some gifted backs. Kentavious Thomas (76 carries, 414 yards, 2 TDs), Phillip Butler (62 carries, 408 yards, 6 TDs), Anthony Wood (41 carries, 267 yards, 4 TDs) Gerald Hulett (49 carries, 196 yards, 4 TDs), and Aundre Carter (29 carries, 136, 5 TDs) are all homerun threats. FC also has a nice group of talented receivers. Markus Grossman (32 catches, 481 yards, 5 TDs), DeAndre McNeal (23 catches, 461 yards, 5 TDs), Asante Wilder (23 catches, 413 yards, 4 TDs), Jerome Gross (18 catches, 197 yards, 1 TD), and Justin Walker (15 catches, 330 yards, 7 TDs) all have the potential to break a game open in the Hornets favor.

The FC defensive unit will have their hands full with a Pirate quarterback that is a pure gunslinger. Linebacker Justin Parcells leads the team in tackles (51, 7.5 sacks), DB D'Angelo Ross is the interception leader (3, 10 breakups), DE Tyler Stepney leads the team in tackles for loss (12, 6.5 sacks), and DB Tim Gordon is second in tackles (39, 2 interceptions, 8 breakups). DL Quentin Yontz (30 tackles, 4 sacks) and the rest of the Hornet D will need to disrupt the Ventura offense in order to pull this one off.

The Fullerton Football Hornets are no strangers to a challenge and must bring their best if they plan on winning their first state championship since 1983.

The big game featuring two of the state's high-powered offenses will take place at Yorba Linda High's Nathan Shapell Stadium this Saturday, November 19th. Kickoff will be at 1:00 pm.

WATCH THE GAME LIVE- CLICK HERE!

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