OCC victory has dramatic ring

Barry Faulkner

Forget the 37-game history of the Battle for the Bell series,

Saturday’s Mission Conference American Division football clash

between Orange Coast College and visiting Golden West may have been

the most entertaining in OCC’s 57-season gridiron lore.

At least it was difficult to find anyone basking in the Pirates’

33-32 season-ending triumph willing to disagree.

OCC sophomore quarterback Kyle Basanez threw a 21-yard fade pass to Brian Johnson for the game-winning touchdown with 18 seconds left

for the last of five lead changes.

The Pirates’ David Mendoza recovered a Golden West fumble on the

ensuing kickoff and the hosts burned the final 13 seconds, before

cavorting with the perpetual Victory Bell trophy the two rivals have

swapped for the last six seasons.

Golden West leads the series, 19-16-2.

Perhaps 84-year-old OCC assistant coach Paul Briggs, in his 56th

season of coaching, his 21st with the Pirates, cast the best

perspective on a victory that caps an otherwise dismal 2-8 campaign

(2-3 in the division).

“What goes around, comes around, and it came around again,” Briggs

said. “The nice thing was, when it did, we grabbed the brass ring.”

Golden West (3-7, 1-4) appeared to have snatched victory when

Gerald Fields hauled in a Todd Crabtree pass and zigzagged 11 yards

into the end zone to put the Rustlers ahead, 32-27, with 2:21 left.

“It looked pretty bleak in the last minute,” OCC Coach Mike Taylor

said of a holding call that negated an apparent 38-yard touchdown

bomb from Basanez to Johnson with 1:04 left.

The penalty created fourth-and-14 from the Golden West 47 and

Basanez’s subsequent pass over the middle fell incomplete.

But the Rustlers were called for pass interference on the play,

giving OCC an automatic first down at the 32.

Two completions on the next three plays moved the Pirates 11 yards

closer. And, after a spike on first down to stop the clock, Basanez

found Johnson in the corner of the end zone to give the Pirates the

win, as well as their highest point total in 15 games.

Johnson’s catch came near the sideline, between two defenders.

“I was just thinking ‘I’ve got to get it back,’ ” Johnson said

after his first end zone reception was nullified.

“That [final touchdown pass] wasn’t about one thing,” Basanez

said. “It was everybody in general just doing there job. Finally,

something came together for us.”

Basanez, a vocal leader during tough times this fall, finished 11

of 24 for 112 passing yards. He also rushed for 84 yards on 14

attempts.

Freshman tailback Matt Padilla produced 155 rushing yards and four

touchdowns on 29 carries.

His 2-yard TD run with 10:43 left put the Pirates up, 27-26.

Golden West scored on its first two possessions to seize a 14-0

lead, but Padilla capped TD drives of 73 and 47 yards to tie the

score.

The Ruslters took the halftime lead when a deflected Hail Mary

pass found its way into Steve Yaden’s hands for a 43-yard score, one

play after a holding call negated a Hail Mary TD toss to Fields.

Paul Bartsch and Zach Weigart recovered fumbles forced on sacks by

Mordy Ornguze and Ricky Miller, respectively, for OCC.

“This win is going to make the winter a little warmer,” Taylor

said.

Yaden had nine catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns, Crabtree

threw for 223 yards and three scores (completing 17 of 27), and

Turill Engelman had 117 rushing yards for the Rustlers.