ARRINGTON READY TO GO ON RECORD BACK CREDITS COC AS HE NEARS MARK AT CAL.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - After the interviews are done, the party ends and band goes home, J.J. Arrington will make a phone call.

Saturday could be the biggest day of his college career, the day he is expected to set the single-season rushing record for the University of California football team, which is ranked fourth in the country.

Saturday also marks the opening game of the junior college playoffs for College of the Canyons, where Arrington once played.

Most players rarely talk about their days back at the old JC, but Arrington is no ordinary player. And College of the Canyons is no ordinary program.

It is the place where Arrington said he learned about football and a whole lot more. It was the place that took in a tailback with strong legs and weak grades when it seemed there was nowhere else to go.

``I'm really thankful for the coaches there,'' said Arrington, who is 46 yards short of Chuck Muncie's Cal record entering the Bears' game against Stanford. ``To bring me in and teach me about football and the game of life. It was a very important part of my life. Without it, I don't know where I'd be right now.''

Arrington has been gone for two seasons, but despite his greatness, he barely has been missed.

For the second consecutive year, COC finished the regular season undefeated. Canyons' berth in Saturday's Western State Conference Bowl against El Camino gives the Cougars a bowl appearance every year since the program was reinstated seven seasons ago after a 17-year absence.

Canyons, ranked No. 1 in the nation earlier this season, won its fifth consecutive conference title and is ranked second in Southern California. It averages 41.9 points per game and 447.4 yards of total offense.

In the past six years, the Cougars sent 83 players to four-year programs. Last season, 18 players went on to Div. I schools. Jamall Broussard, a receiver at Canyons in 2001, became the program's first player in the NFL when he debuted with the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 17.

``I don't think we would have ever imagined this kind of success when we brought (football) back,'' Canyons athletic director Len Mohney said. ``We're obviously very happy and I think it has a lot to do with the people involved.''

What is even more impressive to Arrington and so many other players is coach Chuck Lyon's system, which fosters commitment and structure in a group that often is made up of players who fell under the radar of major college football because of academic problems.

It reminds quarterback Cory Miles of his time in the Marines.

``Basically Coach Lyon is the reason why this team is at the level it is,'' said Miles, who attended Westlake High. ``It's pretty disciplined. He tells you if you come here, you have to work. People come here and watch us lift (weights) in the spring and then they don't want to come here.''

In 1980, the program was canceled because of financial cutbacks. But as the Santa Clarita Valley grew in numbers during the 1990s, state funding improved and five sports were reinstated at Canyons.

Boosters, many of whom played at the school in the 1970s, headed fund- raising efforts that dwarfed junior colleges less than 15 miles away.

Out-of-state high school players such as Arrington, a North Carolina native, began to take notice. Another was sophomore receiver Tyrell Smith, a Michigan product who by his own admission came to COC to ``grow up.''

Lyon, who played at Canyons and coached at Pasadena and Long Beach city colleges, also has structured the program to keep his players in shape academically. The primary job of offensive line coach Garrett Tujague is academic counselor for the athletic department. When instructors call to say a player has skipped class, Tujague picks up the phone.

``I was on the other end for a long time,'' Lyon said, referring to past junior college experiences. ``This school is like no other JC. The campus, the facilities, the staff. This place is JC heaven. It really is.''

Back in Berkeley, Arrington is getting ready for his big game. He is the Pacific-10 Conference's leading rusher and has a good chance to participate in the Heisman Trophy award ceremony early next month in New York.

But the COC program always will hold a spot for him. Earlier this season, he came down from the Bay Area during Cal's week off to address the team. Arrington said he usually is reluctant to speak. But not to this group. He calls every week, just to check in.

``I basically listened to what my coaches said,'' he said, looking back. ``I went to class, never missed a practice or weight lifting. Hard work pays off.''

Heather Gripp, [phone]

heather.gripp(at)dailynews.com