OCC football: Unforgettable

Steve Virgen

COSTA MESA - Remember the Titans?

Remember the Pirates!

The Orange Coast College football team won the Mission Conference

Central Division championship with a 32-18 victory over visiting

Saddleback Saturday and made 2000 a season to remember.

OCC (6-4, 4-1 in the division) finishes as co-champion with Palomar, a

56-7 winner over Golden West. Fullerton missed on its chance to share the

title with a 35-23 loss at Santa Ana.

Against Saddleback (3-7, 2-3), the Pirates did what they have done

since their fourth game of the season: Dig down deep and come together as

a team.

One heartbeat. Once again, true to their theme for the season.

Yes, Fullerton spoiled the Pirates’ winning run last week. But, OCC

still accomplished what nearly no one thought it would.

The Bucs won the division title. They beat powerhouses Mt. San Antonio

and Palomar. They finished above .500 for the first time since 1993, won

their first title since 1990 and earned their first bowl bid since ’93.

“When we were down with an 0-3 record, Tyrone McNeace came up with the

‘one heartbeat,’ ” said James Dawkins, an Estancia High product who ran

for 134 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. “And every game since,

we’ve played like one heartbeat. Everyone just came together.”

With the Pirates protecting a seven-point lead, Dawkins spun out of a

tackle and sped toward a 52-yard touchdown run to put the game away in

the fourth quarter.

After OCC Coach Mike Taylor congratulated his team and the Pirates in

turn poured water on him, Dawkins was quick to give credit to his

teammates.

“The offensive line did a good job,” Dawkins said. “Without them

springing me into the secondary I wouldn’t have done anything.”

Gary Lewellyn, the 31-year-old Orange County police officer, would be

among those linemen. Lewellyn, just as the other Pirates will tell you,

said OCC deserves the Strawberry Bowl bid it was awarded Sunday (the

Pirates will play at Cerritos Dec. 2).

“We beat (Mt. SAC) the No. 1 team in California,” Lewellyn said. “If

we’re the only team that can beat them, we should be able to get a bowl

game.”

Pirates’ linebacker and defensive captain Dustin Davis agreed. The win

over Mt. SAC and the division title should get OCC into a bowl game, he

said.

“If we play our game, we can beat anybody,” Davis said. “We’re

co-champs with Palomar even though we beat them. (The bowl selection

committee) should consider us just because of the teams we have beaten.”

OCC quarterback Nick Higgs said the greatest moment of the season was

the upset victory at Mt. SAC, 26-25, on Sept. 30. Perhaps even greater

than their division title, the Bucs are proud of that win.

“That basically turned around our season,” said Higgs, who threw for

134 yards and one touchdown. “We stuck together and made the big plays

when it counted. We never gave up.”

The Pirates went to Mt. SAC with an 0-3 record and nine points to show

for themselves in those losses. The Mounties had defeated OCC eight years

in a row. Higgs was 7 the last time the Bucs beat Mt. SAC (1989).

But, OCC pulled off the impossible and drove its momentum with four

more wins, which included a triumph in Pasadena, setting the school

record for offensive yards in a game over Golden West, shocking Palomar,

and outlasting Santa Ana in a three-overtime thriller.

The season has been unforgettable, especially for Taylor. There is a

simple reason why the Bucs were so special this season.

“They’ve played to their potential,” Taylor said. “I’ve coached for

over 20 years. I coached on that Edison CIF championship team (1979) and

we obviously had some great, great players. This team has some good

players. They have played to their level. This team deserves a chance to

go on and play another week.”