OCC holds off foe

COSTA MESA — The emotional fire of the rivalry game was temporarily extinguished due to poor air quality as a result of fires in the region, but the Orange Coast football team looked to reignite the flame and torch Golden West Friday night.

Motivated by a video posted on the YouTube website of Golden West’s victory in last year’s Battle for the Bell, the Pirates came into the 40th edition blazing.

The Pirates beat the Rustlers, 30-28, in a Mission Confernce American Division game that really wasn’t much of a contest until the end.

The Pirates (5-5, 3-2 in the division) scored first, capping their opening drive with a 32-yard field goal by Cody Williams and taking the early 3-0 lead.

Golden West (2-8, 0-5) tied the score with three points of their own and that got the Bucs’ offense up and running, scoring three more times before halftime.

Sophomore quarterback Chris Debowski, who ran for 76 yards and threw for 132 on the night, led the attack, scoring the game’s first touchdown.

Freshman tailback Kevin Ah-Hi followed with a touchdown run of his own, posting 64 yards on 21 carries on the night and helping the Pirates go into halftime with a 20-6 lead.

OCC had control of the game but was in no way content with playing not to lose.

After coming out of halftime and stopping the Rustler’s opening drive by recovering a fumble on the Golden West 32-yard line, the Pirates immediately looked for the big play and found it.

Debowski hooked up with freshman receiver Cameron Hall for a 32-yard touchdown on the next snap that extended the Pirates’ lead to 27-6.

The fire was definitely burning in a bitter rivalry game that saw both teams fighting for the Bell, bragging rights and pride.

It was all Orange Coast midway through the third but the Rustlers, as true rivals do, came back and made things interesting.

In a drive that took nearly three and a half minutes off the clock, a Golden West pass from Les Obie to Dan Delahoussaye put the Rustler’s in the end zone and cut the lead to 27-13.

The Rustlers went three-and-out on the next drive with the Pirates defense holding strong.

But the game became a contest again in a matter of seconds, with Golden West scoring on a 75-yard touchdown catch by Delahoussaye, cutting the deficit to 27-19.

Rustler’s kicker Seth Guardado, who would later miss a 27-yard field goal try, missed the point after touchdown and Golden West saw these four potential points come back to haunt it.

With OCC leading, 30-19, the Pirates left the door open for the Rustlers as a botched punt snap was recovered by Pirates punter, David Harrington, in the end zone for a safety, giving Golden West two points plus the ball.

With 2:16 left in the game, Orange Coast was anything but comfortable and it played like it, giving up 55 yards on a Rustler’s drive that ended with Golden West receiver Kellen Graham in the end zone, making it 30-28.

The Rustlers had one more shot at the Bell.

Everyone in the crowd, everyone on the field and everyone on the sidelines knew what was coming next.

In an attempt that almost worked to perfection, Golden West’s onside kick attempt took a favorable bounce and deflected off an Orange Coast player but was quickly smothered by three Pirates, giving them possession and ultimately the Bell.

ANDREW SNYDER may be reached at (714) 966-4616.

FIRST QUARTER

OCC – Williams 32 FG, 11:45.

GWC – Guardado 31 FG, 2:00.

SECOND QUARTER

OCC – Debowski 1 run (Williams kick), 12:24.

OCC – Williams 32 FG, 7:07.

OCC – Ah-Hi 2 run (Williams kick), 4:27.

GWC – Guardado 39 FG, :17.

THIRD QUARTER

OCC – Hall 32 pass from Debowski (Williams kick), 12:57.

GWC – Delahoussaye 23 pass from Obie (Guardado kick), 9:23.

GWC – Delahoussaye 75 pass from Obie (kick failed), 1:34.

FOURTH QUARTER

OCC – Williams 29 FG, 7:00.

GWC – Safety, punter tackled in end zone, 2:16.

GWC – Kellen 24 pass from Obie (Guardado kick), :57.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

OCC – Debowski, 16-102, 1 TD, Ah-Hi, 21-64, 1 TD, Banks, 3-13, Barnett, 1-7.

GWC – Mason, 14-73, Vaimoui, 3-11, Webber, 3-5, Moore, 1-4, Delahoussaye, 1-3, Obie, 7-minus 11.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

OCC – Debowski, 10-18-0-132, Banks, 0-1-0-0.

GWC – Obie, 23-37-0-286, 3 TDs, Webber, 1-1-0-33, LaPlante, 1-1-0-43.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

OCC – Hall, 3-55, 1 TD, Simmons, 2-44, Barnett, 2-17, Taylor, 1-13, Redding, 1-2, Brown, 1-1.

GWC – Delahoussaye, 8-164 2 TDs, Graham, 8-101, 1 TD, Mason, 4-32, Paul, 2-45, Malamala, 2-4, Webber, 1-16.