Tony AltobelliThere was no place to go...

Tony Altobelli

There was no place to go but up for the 1998 Orange Coast College

football team after suffering through a dismal two-win, 1997 campaign.

After giving up an average of 35 points per game, then OCC Coach Bill

Workman focused on strengthening the Pirates’ defense, particularly, the

in the line.

The Pirates started the season by honoring assistant coach and Daily

Pilot Hall of Famer Paul Briggs for 50 years of coaching during halftime

of their season opening loss to Fullerton, 34-24.

That defensive focus started to pay off for OCC in week two.

OCC took its act on the road and after falling behind 16-0 in the

first half, came back with an impressive 20-16 win over Saddleback,

shutting the Gauchos out in the second half.

Quarterback Jared Flint was solid in the win, completing 15 of 30

passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner to

Ivan Mercer with 4:35 remaining.

Flint was again solid against visiting Santa Ana, throwing for 241

yards and three touchdowns as the Pirates outscored the Dons, 21-3, in

the third quarter and held on to win, 28-17, giving the Pirates their

first two-game winning streak since the 1995 season.

The winning streak came to a halt when the Pirates fell, 42-17, to

Palomar, ranked No. 3 in the nation.

Kevin Torres ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Pirate

attack.

Defense and quick thinking by Flint carried the Bucs to a 3-2 record

with a 21-14, double-overtime victory over Riverside at LeBard Stadium.

Flint’s eight-yard scrambling touchdown run in the second overtime was

made possible by the Bucs’ stingy defense, which kept the Tigers out of

the end zone most of the game.

Unfortunately, that momentum from OCC’s thrilling victory could not be

carried into conference play.

The Pirates lost five-straight Orange Empire Conference, Northern

Division contests, most by fairly large margins.

There were some conference highlights, however.

Freshman running back Raymond Ohrel tallied 302 all-purpose yards in

the season finale against El Camino, the first Pirate to eclipse 300

all-purpose yards since Bart Recktenwald’s 344-yard performance against

San Diego Mesa in 1987.

With one year under OCC’s belt in the Northern Division, the Pirates

will use both the positives and negative for a successful 1999 season.