Warriors Head to Golden West for Beach Bowl

TORRANCE, Calif. --- El Camino College received its sixth straight postseason bowl bid as the Warriors will head to Huntington Beach to take on Golden West in the 2023 Beach Bowl.

The Warriors will be playing in a postseason bowl game for the sixth consecutive time and it will be the third time (2017, 2021) participating in the Beach Bowl during that span with the previous two resulting in victories. The Warriors are 3-2 overall in their previous five postseason games.

Overall, the Warriors have played in the Beach Bowl three times and they are 2-1 in the game. Their last loss came in 2009 against Grossmont, a 27-22 defeat. This year will also mark the first time the Warriors will be playing the Beach Bowl on the road.

The Warriors went 6-4 during the regular season and 4-3 in National Northern League action, tying for fourth place in the conference with Bakersfield.

On the season, the Warriors ranked fifth in the Southern California Football Association in total offense, averaging 474.4 yards per game. They ranked sixth in passing yards per game (261.2) and fifth in rushing yards per game (213.2).

Meanwhile, Golden West finished the season with an 8-2 overall record and 6-1 mark in National Central League play. They dropped the final league game of the season against Mount San Antonio with the league title on the line.

The Rustlers finished the year with the seventh best scoring defense in the league as they allowed just 18.6 points per game. They were also the No. 5 ranked defense in the SCFA in yards allowed per game and first amongst teams in the National Division. They allowed just 273.9 total yards of offense per game against their opponents.

This will mark the 23rd all-time meeting between the Warriors and Rustlers with ECC holding an 18-3-1 overall record since the teams first met in 1979. The teams have not met since 2011 when the Warriors handed the Rustlers a 24-21 defeat at Golden West. The Warriors have not lost on the field to the Rustlers since Sept. 10, 1993, a 30-23 decision in favor of the Rustlers.

In 2010, the Warriors defeated the Rustlers 34-7 at Murdock Stadium but was later ruled a forfeit in favor of the Rustlers due to an ineligible player participating for ECC.

Monday's matchup also marks the first ever meeting between the teams in a bowl game or postseason contest of any kind. The two teams were members of the same division in the Mission Conference from 2005 to 2007 and non-division members of the conference from 1988-2004. Prior to that, both teams were a part of the PAC-9 Conference from 1984-85 and the South Coast Conference from 1986-87.