The Saddleback football team opens the 2015 campaign on Saturday night when it hosts Cerritos College at 6:00 PM.  The Gauchos are 9-9 against the Falcons all-time after a narrow defeat last season.

Cerritos comes into the game ranked No. 6 in the country in the latest JCGridiron.com Dirty 30 Rankings while the Gauchos are listed as one of the teams on the bubble.  The Falcons were 8-3 a year ago and finished in second place in the National Northern Division.  Conversely, Saddleback was 5-5 overall, finishing in second place in the National Southern. 

Cerritos returns two all-conference players from last season in offensive tackle Junior Millan (6'4, 285) and defensive tackle David Fangupo (6'3, 325).  Saddleback returns three of their own from last season in center Markus Boyer (6'2, 300), running back Myron Buchanan (5'10, 210) and linebacker Blake Whitlock (6'2, 220). 

Cerritos defeated Saddleback last season in Norwalk, 27-24.  The Falcons led 27-10 in the middle of the fourth quarter before the Gauchos mounted a comeback, scoring two late touchdowns and nearly missing an odd-sides kick attempt in the final minutes.  Despite the win for Cerritos, it was Saddleback that led in total yardage, 408-345.  Unfortunately for Saddleback fans, the Gauchos committed 16 penalties in the game and couldn't stop a Falcon running game that finished with 199 yards on the ground.

BETWEEN THE NUMBERS             

• Saddleback Head Coach Mark McElroy is 5-4 lifetime against Cerritos, winning four straight from 2002 to 2010
• The two programs have split the last four meetings
• Saddleback holds a 452-426 advantage in total points in the history of the series, which dates back to 1983