OCC Football Preview vs. Ventura

Orange Coast (7-3) vs. Ventura (7-3)

When/where: Saturday, 6 p.m. at Ventura College

Key OCC Pirates: So. QB Mason Dossey; So. WR Stefan Derrick; So. MLB Mark Cushing; So. SS Brandon Worthy.

Key Ventura Pirates: So. RB Chris Beeson; Fr. QB Ty Gangi; Fr. WR Nick Rodriguez; Fr. DL Mark Zavala.

Breakdown: The Beach Bowl is OCC’s first bowl appearance since 2006, but the fifth in a row for Ventura, a school record ... OCC’s last bowl win was 1993, also the last time it finished with eight victories ... Ventura has lost its last three bowl games ... It’s the first meeting between the two programs, the football history for which spans a combined 168 seasons ... Ventura, ranked No. 10 in the state, ranks No. 1 in the state in first downs (283), No. 2 in yards (509.4 per game), No. 3 in passing yards (326.9 per game) and No. 5 in scoring (42.7 per game) ... Ventura has scored 62, 60, 59 and 54 points in wins this season ... OCC, ranked No. 12 in the state, tops the state with six defensive touchdowns and ranks No. 15 in the state in scoring defense (22.4 ppg) ... Dossey has completed 183 of 285 passes (64.2%) for 2,185 yards and 19 touchdowns, with only four interceptions ... He needs 340 yards to break Keith Jarrett’s school single-season passing mark set in 1987 and eight completions to move to No. 1 in OCC single-season annals, surpassing Jared Flint (1999) ... Dossey’s one interception per 71.3 attempts is the best in Southern California ... Beeson has 879 yards and 11 TDs rushing, while Gangi has completed 169 of 262 passes for 1,959 yards and 17 TDs, despite sharing time with Brandon Jones (100 for 170 for 1,247 yards and 11 TDs) ... The two Ventura QBs have combined to throw 13 interceptions, while OCC’s 18 picks rank fifth in the state ... Derrick needs 11 receptions to tie the school single-season record (68), 175 receiving yards to break the school record of 1,190, and three to tie the OCC season record for receiving touchdowns (17) ... Cushing leads OCC with 85 tackles, while Worthy ranks second (52) and has a team-best five interceptions ... OCC freshman kicker Dan Bjurman has made eight of 12 field-goal attempts, while Ventura sophomore Jake Lanski is 14 for 16 ... Zavala leads Ventura with 67 tackles and seven sacks ... OCC, the runner-up in the Southern Conference, has won seven of its last eight games ... Ventura co-champion of the Northern Conference to give it three conference titles in four years, has won four in a row ... Ventura is 36-18 the last five seasons under Coach Steve Mooshagian ... OCC Coach Kevin Emerson is in his second season.

— Barry Faulkner