Two-time defending champion Fullerton starts atop 2018 CCCSIA Football Poll

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Back-to-back California Community College Athletic Association Championships and a 19-game winning streak were more than enough to convince voters that Fullerton College should start the 2018 CCCSIA Football Poll in the same place it ended the 2017 rankings – on top. 

The preseason poll, conducted by the California Community College Sports Information Association and released on Thursday, leads off a season-long string of rankings by the CCCSIA which will be released on Mondays throughout the year. This is the second year the organization has conducted a poll among its members.

The top four teams in the preseason rankings feature the four regional finalists from last year’s state championship race. The Hornets garnered 14 of 16 first-place votes and totaled 315 points while state runner-up College of San Mateo is second with 284. Riverside City picked up the remaining first-place tallies and finished with 276 points to place third while American River was close behind in fourth with 266.

From there, it was a sizeable drop-off to the remaining top-10 teams with College of the Canyons (209), Ventura (208), Mt. San Antonio (202), City College of San Francisco (201), Saddleback (199) and Laney (187). Long Beach City, Fresno City, College of the Siskiyous, Sacramento City, Bakersfield, Southwestern and Butte, El Camino, Modesto and Merced comprised the second 10.

Fullerton enters the year armed with a pair of state titles over the past two seasons, including a hard-fought 16-12 win over San Mateo in last year’s championship game at Hughes Stadium in Sacramento. This year’s state title matchup is scheduled for Dec. 8, also in Sacramento.

The opening weekend of football, which actually kicks off with a Friday night matchup between Diablo Valley and West Hills Coalinga in the Central Valley, will showcase 32 games, including an early-season top-10 showdown when No. 5 College of the Canyons (9-2 in 2017) travels to No. 9 Saddleback (9-2). Fullerton (11-2) opens defense of its championship at Golden West (4-6).

San Mateo (11-2) will host No. 12 College of the Siskiyous (8-3) in a rematch of last year’s NorCal semifinal won by the Bulldogs, 52-3, No. 3 Riverside City (10-2) travels to No. 18 El Camino (18), No. 4 American River (11-2) hosts No. 14 Sacramento City (7-4), No. 7 Mt. San Antonio (8-3) entertains No. 15 Bakersfield (7-4) and No. 19 Modesto (6-5) travels to No. 10 Laney (9-2) in other games involving ranked teams.

The complete poll is below.