Football: Homecoming, Vikings await Pirates

Tony Altobelli

COSTA MESA - Who would have thought that Long Beach City College,

which last year went undefeated in the Northern Division, 10-1 overall

and outscored its first-four opponents last year, 211-17, would be

looking UP at Orange Coast College in the Mission Conference Northern

Division standings heading into Saturday’s matchup. Game time is at 7

p.m.

Pirates Coach Mike Taylor isn’t buying into the notion that the

Vikings are as bad their winless conference record would indicate.

“They’ve been getting better and better each week,” Taylor said. “At

the end of the day, it’s still Long Beach City. They have that mystique

where you tell someone you’re playing Long Beach City and they cringe.

“It’s not like they’re a bad football team,” Taylor continued.

“They’re just not as dominant as they’ve been in the past.”

Nevertheless, the Vikings (3-4, 0-2 in conference), who, like Coast

(3-4, 1-1), won their first two games of the season, have since lost four

of their last five, including their last three.

The Bucs, on the other hand, are flying high, following last week’s

dramatic 29-26 win over Pasadena City, snapping a four-game losing streak

and breaking through in the Northern Division’s win column for the first

time since moving to the division at the start of last season.

“It’s been a fun week of practice,” Taylor said. “We seem to peek on

Wednesday, for some reason.”

However, the win over the Lancers did have some negative effects which

could affect Saturday’s homecoming game with the Vikings.

Middle linebacker Vance Babin, who played inspired defense for the

Pirates with nine tackles, will be out of the starting lineup with an

injury.

The Pirates leading rusher, Jimmie Banks, injured his leg in practice

and his status for tonight’s game is uncertain.

“He slipped on the tarp near the sideline and he went down in a heap,”

Taylor said. “He hasn’t practiced much this week and we’ll just have to

wait and see.”

It will be a battle of strengths as LBCC’s passing defense, ranked

second in the conference, goes up against the No. 1-ranked passing offense of the Pirates, led, of course, by the OCC’s three-headed monster

of Jared Flint, Raymond Ohrel and David Castleton.

Last week, Flint overcame a rough first half to throw for more than

300 yards and three touchdowns, while Ohrel set a new school record for

receptions in a game with 14.

Castleton ranks second in the conference with 669 yards on 39

receptions.

The Vikings are led offensively by freshman quarterback Chad Munson,

who leads the conference averaging more than 34 attempts a game and his

1,584 passing yards ranks fourth.

“Long Beach definitely likes to throw the ball more than run,” Taylor

said. “They are at the bottom of the teams rushing, but they do have some

weapons in their passing game.”

Some of those weapons that Taylor was referring to are Munson’s

favorite receivers, Brandon Brown and Jason Granger. Both have caught 24

passes, though Brown appears to be the deep threat with six touchdown

receptions and 22.1 yards-per-catch average.

It’s this time of the year, Taylor says, that the winning teams step

it up a notch and overcome the obstacles that occur after seven

hard-fought games.

“Obviously we would like to establish a ground game, but with our

injuries, it won’t be that easy,” Taylor said. “It’s that time of the

year, where players are going to have to suck it up and do what is

necessary to get the job done.

Against a very different Vikings team, the Pirates were battered last

year, 55-7. In the 16 games that have been played against the two

schools, both have won eight.

The Vikings are coached by Larry Reisbig, while Rich James works as an

assistant coach, both are meaningful to Taylor.

“Larry coached with me here at Coast at in 1990 and ‘91, and I’ve

known Richie for over 30 years. Our paths have crossed in the past, so

it’s a little special going up against these guys.”

In addition to football, OCC will have its homecoming ceremonies at

halftime, with the coronation of the new homecoming king and queen.