Title, Potato Bowl Berth on Line for WSC Rivals : College football: Moorpark, Glendale to battle for Northern Division championship, right to meet Bakersfield in rematch.

When Glendale College plays host to Moorpark on Saturday at Glendale High, more than the championship of the Western State Conference Northern Division will be on the line.

So, too, is a berth in the Potato Bowl.

Walt Johnson, the bowl game’s director, said Tuesday the Potato Bowl will invite the winner of the Glendale-Moorpark game for a rematch against Bakersfield at Memorial Stadium in Bakersfield on Dec. 5.

John Cicuto, Glendale’s football coach, and John Keever, Moorpark’s athletic director, each said their school has accepted a verbal offer to play in the Potato Bowl should the team win Saturday. Bowl game invitations cannot officially be extended to teams that have not completed their regular season, according to state junior college rules.

Cicuto said Glendale would accept a Potato Bowl invitation even if the Vaqueros (8-1) are courted by the Orange County Bowl to play undefeated Saddleback, the nation’s top-ranked team.

“If they offer us the opportunity to play, we’d love to,” Cicuto said. “To me, the Potato Bowl is the most prestigious (junior college) bowl game there is.”

Bakersfield (7-1-1) already has clinched the championship of the WSC’s Southern Division by winning its first four division games.

The only blemishes on Bakersfield’s record are a 41-16 loss at Glendale on Oct. 10 and a 10-10 tie against Moorpark a week later at Memorial Stadium.

Moorpark (8-0-1) has won four in a row since the tie. Glendale has seven consecutive wins since it dropped a 28-21 decision to Valley on Sept. 26.

The loser of the Moorpark-Glendale game probably will play host to the Western State Conference Bowl.

Antelope Valley (6-2-1) and Pierce (5-4) also are among 15 teams still eligible to receive an invitation for one of five bowl games in the southern region of the state.

Antelope Valley is under consideration by both the Southern California and Western State Conference bowls. Pierce has an outside shot at a berth in the Western State Conference Bowl.