OCC football: Ohrel, three OCC teammates, moving on

Barry Faulkner

COSTA MESA - Orange Coast College sophomore Raymond Ohrel, who set

single-season and single-game reception records for the Pirates football

team last fall, is one of four OCC players who have made commitments to

four-year schools, Coach Mike Taylor announced Monday.

Ohrel, an All-CIF Southern Section running back at Newport Harbor High,

plans to join former OCC quarterback Jared Flint at the University of

Hawaii.

Ohrel, a 5-foot-9, 195-pounder who split time between running back and

receiver for the Pirates, is projected to play receiver for Hawaii Coach

June Jones. Jones, formerly the Atlanta Falcons’ head coach, guided the

Rainbows to a bowl game last season after inheriting a winless squad.

Ohrel may also return kicks for the Rainbows.

Ohrel caught 63 passes for 733 yards and five touchdowns as a sophomore.

He also rushed for 336 yards and threw a touchdown pass. He still needs

to finish work on his associate arts degree and also plans to attend

summer school at Hawaii, in order to become eligible next season.

OCC sophomore Bobby Johnson, a first-team All-Orange Empire Conference

free safety who led the Pirates in tackles (98), will continue his career

at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

The 6-2, 215-pound Trabuco Hills High product, also a first-team academic

All-American, had two interceptions last season. Buffalo was winless in

its debut season in Division I and the Bulls open at Syracuse next fall.

Jesse Chagolla, a 6-4, 328-pounder who started at center as a sophomore,

as well as fellow lineman Johnny Garcia, are bound for Northern State in

South Dakota.

Chagolla, out of Whittier High, played at Cerritos College in 1997. He is

expected to compete for a starting job next fall, Taylor said.

The 6-1, 256-pound Garcia was a reserve who saw playing time on the

offensive and defensive lines last fall. A La Mirada High product, he

also played at Cerritos in ’97.

Chagolla and Garcia join former Costa Mesa High and OCC standout Jeremy

Jehangiri with the Division II Wolves.

Taylor also said Jimmy Banks, the Pirates’ sophomore fullback last

season, failed to meet academic requirements at USC, to which he had

previously committed.

“Jimmy needs to complete the semester to get back on track,

academically,” Taylor said.