Santa Ana Holds Early Lead in Race

The first of four rounds is over and the race for the Orange Empire Conference has broken down pretty much as expected, with defending champion Santa Ana holding the early advantage.

Santa Ana (18-2, 5-1) is a game up on preseason favorite Riverside (14-4, 4-2) and defending state champion Cypress (11-7, 4-2).

Riverside and Santa Ana have one thing in common so far: a loss to Golden West. The Rustlers (10-6, 3-3) are in fourth place but are also the only team to lose to last-place Orange Coast (8-9, 1-5).

Saddleback (12-5, 2-4) and Fullerton (10-8-1, 2-4) are tied for fifth. The middle two rounds feature teams playing each other twice in a row. Play starts at 2 p.m. today with Cypress at Saddleback, Orange Coast at Santa Ana and Riverside at Golden West. The teams switch home locations Thursday.

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Moving on: Linebacker David Josker and defensive back Keith Hocking of Saddleback have received scholarships to play at four-year colleges.

Josker, who had 50 tackles, is going to Western Washington in Bellingham. Hocking will play at UC Davis.

Lori Harris, a sophomore forward on the Cypress women’s soccer team, has made an oral commitment to attend Pepperdine.