OCC pounds Lancers

Whatever Orange Coast College football coach Mike Taylor told his

team before Saturday’s game at Pasadena City College, apparently

needed little time to sink in.

The Pirates, who slumped to a 21-3 halftime deficit the week

before in a 40-32 loss at Palomar, opened emphatically Saturday on

their way to a 37-17 victory over the host Lancers.

“I challenged the team before the game,” said Taylor, who watched

his team open a 14-0 cushion in the first 101 seconds, cruise to a

30-0 halftime lead and hold on to improve to 3-1. “We came out flat

last week [against Palomar], but we came out ready to play tonight.”

The defense got things started as sophomore middle linebacker Dave

Ronning picked off a shovel pass and ran 54 yards for a touchdown on

the fourth play of the game.

On the first play after the ensuing kickoff, freshman cornerback

Paul Barnes recovered a PCC fumble at the Lancers’ 30-yard line.

The Pirates, who had scored three offensive touchdowns the first

three games, responded immediately as Robert Aoki took a handoff,

flipped back to quarterback Chad Schmigel on a flea-flicker pass that

wound up in the hands of receiver Shane Hoffman in the end zone.

Freshman Kyle Vandenbos kicked the second of his four conversions

and the Pirates had a 14-point lead with 13:19 left in the first

quarter.

There was more where that came from before intermission as OCC,

which last opened 3-1 in 1992, scored on five of its first six

possessions to help send the Lancers to their third loss in four

games this fall.

Cory Nicol intercepted a fake punt pass near midfield, which led

to a 43-yard Vandenbos field goal that just cleared the crossbar with

1:51 left in the first quarter.

After the OCC defense forced a three-and-out, the Pirates, relying

primarily on the run, marched 60 yards on 11 plays to expand their

lead.

Freshman Joe Harris, who joined sophomore Robert Aoki atop the

100-yard rushing plateau - the first time two Pirates had run for

triple digits in the same game since 2002 - carried the final 3 yards

for the score that, after a failed two-point run attempt, put the

visitors up, 23-0.

Harris again found the end zone on OCC’s next possession, running

6 yards to paydirt to cap a six-play, 79-yard drive that included a

39-yard Aoki run the play before.

But playing with a big lead for the first time all season, the

Pirates sputtered in the third quarter.

Pasadena, taking advantage of an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty

on OCC to end the half, recovered an onside kick to open the third

quarter at the Pirates’ 40.

The OCC defense, which has been carrying the load thus far, held,

but OCC’s offense turned the ball over on its next two possessions

with interceptions.

Pasadena cashed in the first interception with a 44-yard Angel

Reyes field goal and turned the second into a 33-yard scoring pass

from quarterback Carlos Celis to Herbert Martin, who played last fall

at OCC.

Down, 30-10, PCC drove to the Pirates’ 1-yard line early in the

final quarter. But the defense rose up again for OCC. On first and

goal at the 1, a run gained nothing and sophomore end Justin Williams

tripped up quarterback Tremane Vaughns on a keeper for a 4-yard loss

to the 5. Two subsequent incomplete passes rounded out the rousing

goal-line stand and the visitors needed just four plays to go 95

yards for a TD that virtually locked up the victory.

OCC had five sacks to help hold PCC to 19 rushing yards on 26

attempts, but the Lancers’ no-huddle spread offense piled up 290

passing yards.

“We played a good first half, but we were sloppy in the second,”

said Taylor.