Pirates seeking Bowl berth

Orange Coast College has a long-standing rivalry with Golden West, and this year’s game between the schools should add another page to the book.

The importance of the game, however, goes beyond that for the Pirates in the regular-season finale, which will take place tonight at 5 at OCC. Golden West is the home team.

Orange Coast (7-2, 2-2 in division) wants to end its Mission Conference National Division season strong, so that it can claim a bowl bid. But not just any bowl bid — the Pirates, ranked No. 6 in Southern California, want a berth into the Mission Conference playoffs.

The top eight teams in Southern California will play in a playoff starting Nov. 18, with the winner of that tournament playing the Northern California champion on Dec. 9 in Fresno. The bowls and playoffs will be decided in Sacramento Sunday.

OCC can also clinch third place in the National Division with a win tonight. Division leaders Saddleback and El Camino (both 4-0 in the division), the top two teams in Southern California, play tonight at Saddleback for the championship.

But the Pirates have to be careful not to overlook Golden West, which comes into tonight’s game at just 1-4 in the division and 1-8 overall.

OCC quarterback Kekoa Crowell had one of his most efficient starts last week in a 17-7 win over Cerritos. The sophomore, who has completed 52.3% of his passes on the season, went 12 for 17, with a touchdown pass to A.J. Moskus.

Andrew Banks, the Pirates’ leading rusher, now has 753 yards and seven touchdowns on the season. Against Cerritos, he had 106 yards and a score — including a season-best pickup of 22 yards.

But Orange Coast averages just 25.6 points per game, which ranks No. 7 in the 12-team conference. At times the Pirates have relied on their defense, which is No. 2 in scoring defense in the conference at 16.1 points allowed per game.

Golden West, which has lost eight straight after a season-opening win over San Diego Mesa, is averaging a conference-worst 13.3 points per game.

Rustlers quarterback Les Obie has passed for over 1,000 yards on the season, but has just four TD passes and 10 interceptions.