Led by record-setting running back Jonathan Smith, the Pasadena City College football team hosts Long Beach City College in a contest to decide the Mission Conference, Northern Division title Saturday, Nov. 17. Kick-off is 1 p.m. at Robinson Stadium.

PCC is 8-1 and 3-1 in the division, while LBCC is 6-3 and 3-1. PCC has the state’s leading offense at 537.1 yards a game. The 2001 Lancers are the highest scoring team in the school’s 77-year football history with 372 points in 9 games. The previous regular-season high was 362 points in 10 games by the 1953 squad.

The Lancers are hoping to impress the Commission on Athletics (COA) Southern California Regional Poll voters. Right now, Pasadena is No. 3 in the poll, just eight voting points back of No. 2 Palomar (8-1 record) and behind No. 1 Chaffey (9-0). The top two teams ranked in the poll will play each other in the regional championship bowl on Dec. 1, and the winner of that game then plays for the state championship on Dec. 8.

Pasadena clinched a postseason bowl berth in an offensive explosion at Cerritos, 51-12, Nov. 10. The Lancers totaled a season-high 639 yards (rushing and passing), the most by a PCC team in at least 10 seasons. Much of PCC’s offense was thanks to Smith, who had one of the greatest performances ever by a community college player.

Smith set a national, state, conference and school record with 515 all-purpose yards (combined rushing, receiving and return yardage). He broke the national mark of 506 yards set by current NFL star and New York Giants defensive back Jason Sehorn for Shasta College in 1991.

Smith also set the following records and standards:

1. Smashed the Mission Conference record and PCC record for most rushing yards in a game with 353 yards on 34 carries. The MC previous record stood for 29 years (Ken Williams, 348 yards for Citrus College in 1972).

2. Tied a conference record and set a PCC record for most touchdowns in a game with 6 TDs. Set a PCC record for most rushing TDs with 5.

3. His 54-yard TD reception from quarterback Nathan Chandler in the third quarter broke the PCC mark for most points in a season set by Jackie Robinson in 1938. He now has scored a school-record 26 touchdowns for a state-leading 156 points.

4. Set a PCC record for most rushing yards in a season with a current 1,659 yards, breaking the mark of 1,549 yards by Reggie Brown in 1979. He now leads the state in rushing.

Smith scored on runs of 1,11, 17, 56 and 1 yards. He had 102 receiving receptions on 5 receptions and added 2 kick returns for 60 yards. PCC finished with a season-best 432 yards rushing.

Nearly lost in Smith’s monster statistics is the PCC individual record tied by Chandler. The 6-foot-7 signal caller completed 14 of 23 passes for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns, which now gives him 20 for the season. He shares the school record for most TD passes in a season with Rick Houlebek (1972) and Sheldon Paris (1977).

Chandler found tight end Ryan Antle for a 13-yard TD pass late in the second quarter as PCC jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead. Kicker Joe Timchenko was perfect on his 6 extra point kicks and booted his 10th field goal of the season, a 38-yarder in the second quarter.

Grid Notes—PCC is vying for its first conference championship since winning the Metropolitan Conference title in 1980. Pasadena has never finished first since joining the Mission Conference in 1988...Smith’s 2,393 all-purpose yards leads the state and is a PCC single-season record...The 5-foot-9 sophomore back has a team-high 42 catches for 515 receiving yards and he already has the fifth highest season total for receptions in school history...Timchenko needs 5 point afters to set a PCC record for most extra points in a season. Mike Lansford (1977) and George Textor (1951) share the mark with 40 each...PCC’s defense had several big performances against Cerritos. Linebacker James Griffin made 10 tackles, had 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery and 5 quarterback hurries, while cornerback Darryl Moore had 2 interceptions. Lineman David Harley added 5 tackles, a sack and a fumble recovery as all three players were among top Mission Players of Week No. 9...Long Beach downed Mt. San Antonio, 21-10, last week. The Vikings have two dangerous offensive weapons in wide receiver Clint Bingham (46 receptions, 686 yards, 9 TDs) and running back Craig Richardson (177 carries, 962 yards)...Chandler became only the seventh PCC quarterback to throw for 2,000 yards in a season with a current 2,181 on 172 of 268 attempts...Smith Record Watch: PCC’s star back needs 90 rushing yards to break a conference record for most yards in a season and needs 103 all-purpose yards to break the MC mark in that department. He is just 2 touchdowns shy of breaking the conference single-season scoring record of 27 scores set by Leonard Green of Mt. SAC in 1993. PCC Head Coach Tom Maher was the offensive coordinator on that Mounties team.

Released by Robert Lewis -Pasadena City College Sports Information Director