Football: OCC 2000

Tony Altobelli

COSTA MESA - Orange Coast College’s football team heads into the

new millennium with some newfound experience in some areas and some holes

to fill in others.

“Obviously we are going to lose some players in some specialty

positions,” Coach Mike Taylor said. “But this will give some of our

freshmen from this year a chance to prove themselves next year.”

Especially on offense, the Bucs, who finished this season, 4-6, will

have to fill holes at quarterback, both running back positions and wide

receiver.

Gone will be quarterback Jared Flint, running back/receiver Raymond

Ohrel and receiver David Castleton.

“We’re gonna have to go out and do some serious recruiting to try to

replace these guys,” Taylor said. “We’ll obviously be lacking in

experience at quarterback and in the backfield, but there’s some great

athletes out there for us to pick from.”

Ben Fredrickson, who caught 30 passes for 411 yards and five touchdowns will be looked upon to lead the Pirates offense into the 2000

season.

Some of the other key players returning for the Bucs’ offense will be

wide receivers Justin Dale and Gerard Fane, along with running backs

Stephan Boka and Keenan Williams.

Taylor will have to find a replacement for his two big sophomore

fullbacks, Jimmie Banks and Devon Griffin.

One of the most inexperienced components to the Pirates was the

offensive line, who managed to gain valuable playing time this year, and

should be one of the strong facets of the Pirate offense next year.

Some of the key returners for the Pirates will be Ronnie Price,

Charlie Drake, Yannick Boka and Apolonio Rodriguez Jr.

“Obviously, they gained a lot of experience, but we’re going to have

to get bigger and stronger in order for us to be more successful up

front,” Taylor said.

On the defensive side, look for linebacker Dustin Davis to continue to

wreak havoc on the opposing offense. His 79 tackles led all freshman this

season and was second behind defensive captain Bobby Johnson.

Johnnie Peeples, one of OCC’s best coverage guys will have to lead a

fairly new batch of players in the secondary.

On the defensive line, despite losing former all-Mission Conference

player Kent Anderson, almost the entire line will be returning for the

2000 season, something that Taylor is excited about, considering their

much-improved play down the stretch.

“Like the offensive line, they need to get bigger and stronger, but

that should be one of the most veteran parts of our game,” Taylor said.

For special teams, standout punter Eddie Johnson (Newport Harbor High)

will look to improve his 40-yards-per-punt average and may see time at

the quarterback slot for the Pirates.