Coast catapults to No. 14

Don’t get Orange Coast College football head coach Mike Taylor

wrong, he does like to see his team’s name in print, but he’s trying

to keep things realistic regarding OCC’s ascent to No. 14 in the most

recent California Community College Football Poll for the Southern

California section after the Pirates’ 28-11 win Saturday over the

visiting Huskies of East Los Angeles.

“We’re not worried about (the poll),” Taylor said Wednesday. “It’s

always fun to see your name in print but the only poll that counts is

the last one. We have a formidable opponent on Saturday night in L.A.

Harbor. They are a good football team and we have to play well to

beat them. We’ve had tough practices this week and you couldn’t have

told any inclination that won the game Saturday. Players and coaches

need to be pushed.”

Last season Harbor defeated OCC 35-29 after the Bucs beat East

L.A. 21-17 in Week 1. Taylor doesn’t want to see a similar let down

this year.

Taylor expects Harbor to load defenders in the box to stop OCC’s

ground game, which piled up 307 of the team’s 393 total yards led by

the legs of sophomore Niles Mittasch (20 rushes for 128 yards with

one touchdown) and freshman Steven Mahelona, who had 13 carries for

104 yards and two touchdowns.

With 307 rushing yards, OCC ranks second in the Mission Conference

in rushing offense after the Week 1 with Pasadena City in first with

357 yards. Mittasch and Mahelona are No.’s 4 and 5 in the

conference’s rushing leaders.

“(Mittasch) plays the game like it’s supposed to be played,”

Taylor said. “He’s got great vision and some natural moves he’s been

able to attain over his career playing football. He doesn’t give the

defender a clear shot. Mahelona is more of a slam-it-in-there type of

guy. They are a good one-two punch.”

Taylor was pleased with the running game and the defense, but said

the offensive line needs to block better and the team needs to

decrease the penalties.

OCC committed 15 penalties for 136 yards last week.

“We had way too many penalties and that needs to be improved,”

Taylor said. “I’m pleased with the running of our backs, but we

didn’t block as well. Stephen Herring did a good job at tackle, but

they’ll be better this week. I’m pleased with the defense because we

faced a team that ran multiple open sets and didn’t huddle so it got

us out of our comfort zone. We had a few missed tackles, but this is

a hungry group that wants to do well.”

After one week, the OCC defense ranks second in the conference,

allowing 163 yards in Week 1 compared to the No. 1-ranked Cerritos

defense, who allowed 157.

“Bryan Meers (freshman defensive lineman), Ryan Miller (freshman

defensive end), Jesse Mahelona (freshman defensive end), the

linebackers and the secondary all played well,” Taylor said. “When

you hold a team to 23 yards in the first half that’s playing good

football on both sides of the ball.”

Three Pirate defenders garnered conference Player of the Week

honors for their performances.

Sophomore linebacker Dan Steinau made five tackles and caused one

fumble and one quarterback hurry while Miller made seven tackles, one

sack and pressured the quarterback once and sophomore cornerback

Stephen Turner recorded four tackles, recovered a fumble and broke-up

two passes.

* The women’s soccer team is undefeated at 6-0-0, 2-0-0 in the

Orange Empire Conference after their 6-1 win over visiting Santiago

Canyon Tuesday, and a large part of their success has been the result

of sophomore Jaycee .

Through a mere eight games, she has a conference-leading nine

goals to go along with two assists for 20 points. The Pirates have

scored a remarkable 27 goals, allowing just five.

Goalkeeper Heather Metcalf ranks fifth among conference

goalkeepers with a 1.33 goals-against average, making 11 saves while

allowing only four goals.

*

And how about the OCC cross country teams? After faring

exceptionally well at the Fresno City College Invitational at

Woodward Park Saturday, they dominated on Friday at the Orange Empire

Conference Preview Meet (see page B4).