Orange Empire Preview Is Friday

Orange Empire Conference men’s and women’s cross-county teams meet Friday in the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve for the conference’s preview run.

The men’s race is scheduled for 5 p.m. and the women run at 6. The starting line is near the corner of University Drive and Irvine Avenue near the YMCA. Rancho Santiago won the men’s conference title and Riverside took the women’s last season. “We look pretty good in practice running against ourselves,” Rancho Santiago Coach Al Siddons said. “But you can’t tell anything from that.”

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Southland poll: Long Beach (1-0) is the top-ranked football team in the weekly rankings. Bakersfield (1-0) is second, Saddleback (1-0) third, Moorpark (1-0) fourth, Mt. San Antonio (1-0) fifth, Los Angeles Valley (1-0) sixth, Palomar (1-0) seventh, El Camino (1-0) eighth, San Bernardino Valley (1-0) ninth and Hancock (1-0) 10th.

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No running please: It’s a sure bet that the ground game will be emphasized at practice at Fullerton, Golden West, Rancho Santiago and Orange Coast today. As a team Rancho Santiago gained 72 yards, Orange Coast 61, Golden West 42 and Fullerton 38.

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They said it: “We were testing the scoreboard lights and guess what? ‘They all work,’ ” OCC football Coach Bill Workman said after losing at home to Saddleback, 59-20, Saturday.