PCC Football Returns To SCFA National Northern Conference In 2012

After participating the last two seasons in the National Southern Conference, the Pasadena City College football team will return to the Southern California Football Association’s National Northern Conference in 2012. In their fifth season as part of the SCFA, the Lancers rejoined the same division they played in the 2008 and 2009 seasons.

PCC will play conference games against Bakersfield, Allan Hancock (Santa Maria), Canyons, Moorpark, Ventura, and old Mission Conference foe Cerritos.  The 6-game NNC schedule along with the Lancers’ 4-game, pre-conference schedule will be released some time in late February, according to to the SCFA website.

Pasadena had little success in what was considered the region’s toughest conference, the NSC, going 1-9 in conference games. Saddleback, Mt. San Antonio, Palomar, and Grossmont, and Fullerton are teams that PCC won’t be competing against for the conference title anymore. In the Lancers’ first tour in the NNC, the team went .500 (6-6) in conference games.

“Geographical considerations and maintaining competitive balance were key factors in the placement process,” said SCFA commissioner Jim Sartoris.

Four teams will qualify for the Southern California Playoffs. The playoff teams will consist of the champions of each National Division Conference (Southern, Northern, Central) with the next highest-ranked team in the final CCCAA/CCCFCA Southern California poll earning a berth. The champions of the two newly restructured American Division conferences will also qualify for a division championship bowl game.

The Lancers completed a rebuilding first season for head coach Fred Fimbres, finishing 3-7 overall in 2011.

“We’ll go wherever they put us,” Fimbres said of the re-alignment. “It’s not the opponents that make or break us. It’s going to be how we perform. Bottom line is if you execute the game plan successfully and consistently, you can compete in any conference.

“I’m pretty excited about playing historic football programs like Cerritos and Bakersfield. We got to face Ventura and Allan Hancock last year, and those are two very tough programs. I expect us to be in a battle every conference game.”

The SCFA will re-align again prior to the 2014 season.