Community college football: Who says the Pirates are playing for

nothing

Steve Virgen

COSTA MESA - The party-crashers are coming to town. Those tricky

Hornets of Fullerton College will attempt to cut off the celebration when

they visit Orange Coast College for a Mission Conference Central division

football contest today at 1 p.m.

Last year, the Hornets (4-4, 1-2 in the Central division) snapped the

Pirates (3-5, 1-2) five-game winning streak and forced the

co-championship label on them.

This year, Fullerton, which completed three of four trick plays on OCC

last season en route to a 47-35 win, will try to crash the party again,

as Coast will pay tribute to the 1951 Pirates team, the school’s first

championship squad.

“It’s a big day for us,” OCC Coach Mike Taylor said. “It will be the

sophomores’ last home game and 19 sophomores will be introduced. We also

have the class of ’51 team (to honor).”

The Pirates have strengthened the cause to defend themselves with a

20-10 victory over visiting Santa Ana, last week, that ended a four-game

skid. Fullerton is also coming off a victory, a 34-16 win over Golden

West, which kept the Hornets’ bowl hopes alive, though they must win

their next two games for consideration.

Coast found its running game in the win over the Dons, rushing for 311

yards on 51 carries. OCC freshman tailback Niles Mittasch, who is

averaging 5.3 yards a carry, ran for a season-high 165 yards and one

touchdown on 21 carries. Mittasch, the No. 5 runner in the Mission

Conference, who has 511 yards on 96 carries, has started just four games

for the Pirates, played wide receiver in the opener and missed the

debacle in Palomar because of an injury.

Mittasch saw more running room against Santa Ana because OCC used

option plays in its attack, which might also come about against

Fullerton. Sophomore quarterback Nick Higgs also ran for a career-high 77

yards on 15 carries with two touchdowns.

“We have a couple of wrinkles in the (offensive) plan,” Taylor said.

“We just can’t drop back and pass the ball. We’ve had to retool the

offense.”

On the contrary to running the ball, Fullerton’s strength is its

passing game. Quarterback Brian Bartczak leads the Hornets’ big-play

offense.

Bartczak has thrown for 1,723 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine

interceptions on 112-of-215 passing, averaging 228 yards per game.

Last week, he connected with wide receiver Terrance Moore, the Mission

Conference’s yards-per-catch leader with 24 per reception. Moore had a

career day against the Rustlers, amassing 164 yards on five catches,

including touchdowns of 69 and 60 yards in the first quarter.

He has 527 yards on 22 catches (24 yards per catch) this season.

Coast’s receiving corps is led by Vince Strang, who is No. 8 in receiving

yards in the Mission Conference with 560 yards on 25. He’s just behind

Moore in the yards-per-catch category with 22 yards per reception.

“Fullerton poses different problems than Santa Ana,” Taylor said.

“They have more skill on offense. They have a great passing game.

Defensively, they’re about the same as Santa Ana, but they don’t give up

the big play.”

Taylor said he is hoping the Pirates can end the season on a high note

as there will be no postseason. Hopes of repeating as champions ended

with the 35-24 loss to rival Golden West Oct. 20 and left the Pirates

searching for what went wrong.

“It’s a wake up call for the freshmen,” Taylor said of the current

sub-.500 season. “They have to get to stronger.”