Pirates face uphill battle

The euphoria over the Orange Coast College football team’s best start since 1991 was muted slightly by the Pirates’ first loss of the season last week to El Camino.

If the Pirates (5-1, 0-1 in the Mission Conference National Division) are to retain realistic hopes for a division title, they must defeat Saddleback, which visits today at 1 p.m.

But the Gauchos (6-0, 1-0), ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 2 in the nation by J.C. Grid-Wire, are an unlikely opponent against which to build esteem.

“To stay in the title hunt, we need to win,” said OCC Coach Mike Taylor, whose squad is ranked No. 9 in Southern California. “We need to figure out a way to beat these guys.”

There is no obvious place to start against the Gauchos, who are first among 12 conference teams in scoring defense (allowing 16.3 points per game) and tied for first in scoring offense (41 per contest).

Orange Coast is ranked No. 2 in scoring defense (18.2 points per game), but is averaging only 29.2 per contest.

Clearly, offense is the key area in need of improvement for the Pirates, who have been outgained by opponents, 1,660 yards to 1,601.

OCC’s longest rushing gain this season is 22 yards, by receiver Damola Adeniji.

Taylor said Pirates blockers were physically overmatched in the 31-17 loss at El Camino last week.

“We need to do a better job of blocking,” Taylor said.

Any holes created by OCC figure to benefit freshman tailback Andrew Banks, who has 476 yards and five touchdowns on 129 rushing attempts this season.

Banks was held to 30 yards on 15 carries against El Camino.

OCC sophomore quarterback Kekoa Crowell rushed for a team-high 44 yards against El Camino, but threw three interceptions.

Crowell had thrown just one interception in the 5-0 start. He has thrown for 820 yards and 12 TDs, completing 66 of 131 this season.

Crowell’s favorite target is Adeniji, a 6-foot-4, 215-pounder, whose only two receptions last week came in the fourth quarter. Adeniji has 18 catches for 203 yards and five TDs this fall.

‘”[Adeniji] is a playmaker and we need to find a way to get the ball in his hands,” Taylor said. “We should be able to do that this week, because Saddleback runs a three-three-five and plays a lot of soft zone coverage.”

Taylor said his defense must be disciplined against Saddleback’s spread option, which features Colorado-bound quarterback Nick Nelson and tailback PT Gates, the conference’s leading scorer.

Nelson, a product of Tesoro High, has completed 81 of 130 (62.3%) for 1,239 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has just one interception.

Gates, has rushed for 559 yards and nine TDs on 111 attempts. He also shares the team lead with 18 catches, which have produced 188 yards and two TDs.

But it was running back Andrew Nakihei who stood out in a division-opening, 49-21 win over Cerritos last week. Nakihei rushed for 170 yards and four TDs on just eight carries against Cerritos.

Taylor said freshman receiver Nathan Barnett, who greyshirted last season at Saddleback, and freshman outside linebacker Shaun Mohler, who chose OCC over Saddleback after favoring the Gauchos early in the recruitment process out of Corona del Mar High, will be team captains today.