Rustlers move up to No. 3 in state poll; return home to host East Los Angeles

No. 3 state-ranked Golden West College (4-0, 1-0 NCL) returns home to host East Los Angeles College (1-3, 0-1 NCL) in a National Central League game on Saturday (Sep. 27). Kickoff is scheduled for noon at Rustler Stadium in Huntington Beach.

TICKETS | Tickets are available online in advance at the GWC Tickets page.

Ticket prices are as follows:
General Admission - $12
Seniors 60+ - $8
Children 6-12 - $8
All other students - $8
GWC Students/Faculty/Staff - Free

LIVE STREAM | The game will be broadcast live by SoCalCollegeSports on YouTube. Live play-by-play stats will also be available online at the GWC Athletics website.

RANKINGS | Golden West continues it climb towards the top of the state rankings. With last week's win, the Rustlers moved up one spot to No. 3 in the most recent state coaches poll by the JC Athletic Bureau. East Los Angeles is unranked.

LAST WEEK | On a day when the Golden West College offense wasn't its sharpest, the Rustlers' defense came up with big plays when it was needed most. A pair of first-quarter touchdowns proved to be the difference as No. 4 state-ranked Golden West outlasted No. 15 Bakersfield College 21-13 at Memorial Stadium last Saturday in both teams' National Central League opener.

Quarterback Noa Banua tossed a TD and ran in for another to give the Rustlers a 14-3 lead after the opening quarter. Bakersfield got a TD just before halftime to cut the GWC advantage to 14-10. But Kruz Wheeler's 68-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown in a third secured the win for Golden West.

Early in the fourth, BC put together a long 13-play, 81-yard drive but was stuffed at the Rustlers' five-yard and was forced to settle for a field goal. The Golden West defense shutdown BC the rest of the way to close out the victory.

ABOUT EAST LOS ANGELES | The Huskies are coming off a 55-21 loss at home against Fullerton College in their Central League opener last Saturday. Fullerton held a 12-7 lead after the first quarter before the Hornets exploded to score 36 unanswered points. East LA scored a pair of fourth-quarter TDs to break up the Fullerton scoring run.

Huskies' QB Logan Ebnet had a tough game, completing 19 of 33 passes for 228 yards with a TD but threw 4 interceptions.

LAST YEAR | Golden West dominated East Los Angeles in a 49-7 win at ELAC. Quarterback Will Burns tossed three touchdown passes while the GWC offense totaled 482 yards. The Rustlers led 28-0 at halftime and were up 49-0 midway through the fourth quarter when East Los Angeles finally scored.

While the Rustlers' offense erupted for 5 touchdowns on the day, the GWC defense did its part by scoring a pair of TDs on its own while limiting East Los Angeles to just 102 yards of offense.

The Rustlers won the last two meetings. Prior to last season, the two squads faced off in the 2022 Patriotic Bowl for a game that was won by Golden West 32-14 in Huntington Beach.
  
UP NEXT | The Rustlers have a bye next Saturday (Oct. 4) and return to action on October 9 for a Thursday night game at Pasadena City College. Kickoff at PCC's Robinson Stadium is set for 6 p.m.