No. 5 Golden West travels to No. 15 Long Beach in battle of Central League unbeatens

No. 5 state-ranked Golden West College (5-1, 3-0 NCL) returns to the field after over a week off when it travels to face No. 15 Long Beach City College (5-2, 4-0 NCL) on Saturday, Nov. 2. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at LBCC's Veterans Memorial Stadium.

Both teams enter the contest unbeaten in Central League play. Golden West, Long Beach, and Mt. SAC (4-0) are all currently tied for first place.

TICKETS | $10 general admission, children under 12 are free. Tickets are available online in advance at the LBCC Tickets Page.

LIVE STREAM/STATS | The game is scheduled to be broadcast live on YouTube by LBCC Viking Productions. Live play-by-play stats will be available online at the GWC Athletics website.

RANKINGS | After last week's bye, Golden West remained at the No. 5 position in this week's California Community College Football Coaches Association (CCCFCA) State Poll. Long Beach moved up two spots from No. 17 to 15 in this week's rankings.

LAST WEEK | Golden West was originally scheduled to host San Bernardino Valley College last Saturday but the game was cancelled when SBVC suspended its program for the season. The game will likely be ruled a forfeit by the SCFA at the conclusion of the regular season.

In their last game, the Rustlers cruised to a 49-10 victory over rival Orange Coast College in the "Battle of the Bell" game. It was GWC's eighth straight rivalry-game victory over the Pirates.

Quarterback Will Burns was named SCFA Offensive Player of the Week for the second time after leading the Rustlers to the win with an impressive stat line. He was a perfect 8 for 8 in passing with five of those completions going for touchdowns and 175 yards. Burns was also Golden West's leading rusher, running for 70 yards on 5 carries (14.0 avg.).

The Rustlers' defense allowed just 59 yards passing and held OCC to 75 yards rushing. Golden West forced 5 fumbles and intercepted a pass.

ABOUT LONG BEACH | Since opening the season 0-2, the Vikings enter the contest on a four-game winning streak. LBCC is also coming off a win over Orange Coast as the Vikings were a 42-17 winner over the Pirates last Saturday.

Quarterback Jett Peddy had a big game, completing 23 of 32 passes for 301 yards with 4 TDs and no interceptions.

Long Beach is averaging 35.0 points and 400.7 yards of offense per game this season. The Vikings' defense is giving up just 23.2 points per game but allowing 311.5 yards on average.

LAST YEAR | In Huntington Beach, the Rustlers cruised to a 24-3 win over the Vikings. Golden West allowed just a field goal in the first quarter as the defense shut LBCC out the rest of the way. The Rustlers totaled 4 sacks, forced 3 fumbles, and intercepted a pair of passes.

Golden West has won the last three meetings between the two programs:
2023: GWC 24, LBCC 3
2022: GWC 41, LBCC 17
2021: GWC 37, LBCC 20

UP NEXT | The Rustlers return home on Nov. 9 to host Cerritos College in a Central League game. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. at Rustler Stadium.