Rustlers regain Bell from OCC

Having regularly won possession of the perpetual Bell Trophy that goes to the annual winner of the West Coast Showdown between Golden West College and Orange Coast College in recent years, Golden West football coach Nick Mitchell is aware that continual celebratory ringing will eventually loosen the bolt that keeps the bell affixed to its wooden base.

As it turned out, Saturday night, some opportunistic first-quarter offense and a ball-hawking Golden West defense helped unravel the thread of the Pirates, whom the Rustlers overwhelmed, 39-18, in a Southern Conference game at OCC.

Golden West, which has now won six of the last seven meetings to seize a 26-21-2 advantage in the series, scored three touchdowns in a span of 3:37 to take control. The blitz was aided by two of five OCC turnovers, to help the Rustlers seize a 20-2 lead with 6:38 left in the opening quarter.

The Rustlers (4-4, 3-0 and alone atop the Southern Division with two conference games left), pushed the lead to 26-2 and expanded a 26-9 halftime advantage to 39-11 early in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore quarterback Adam Vance triggered a precise passing attack for the designated visitors. He completed 22 of 26 passes for 251 yards and five touchdowns, without an interception.

Golden West recovered three OCC fumbles, one muffed punt, and picked off two passes. Only a fumble in the final minute kept the Rustlers from a turnover-free game.

Golden West freshman Desmond Bowden carried 20 times for 112 yards and one touchdown and sophomore Zimari Manning continued to build his highlight reel with seven receptions for 80 yards and two touchdowns.

At the end of one quarter, Golden West held a 175-8 advantage in offensive yards.

Orange Coast (3-5, 1-2) managed one touchdown in each half, while earning four points by returning two blocked conversion-kick attempts into the end zone.

“That was the game,” Mitchell said of the first-quarter surge in which the Rustlers followed a six-play, 77-yard scoring march by recovering a Pirates fumble on the first snap after the ensuing kickoff.

Five plays later, Bowden carried in from the one-yard line and just three snaps after the ensuing kickoff, Manase Time returned an interception 29 yards to the OCC 28. From there, Vance connected with Manning for a touchdown on the next snap to create a 20-2 cushion.

Golden West, which has won three straight after a 1-4 nonconference start, will play host to Grossmont on Saturday, before wrapping up the regular season with a road date with Fullerton on Nov. 12.

It was the second straight week a heretofore-struggling Golden West offense showed signs of awakening. The Rustlers held a 269-140 halftime edge in total offense, before the Pirates picked up their pace in the final two periods.

“We won the first half, when the offense played really well,” Mitchell said. “We won the second half, but it wasn’t clean. Without the turnovers, who knows what would have happened. Orange Coast played hard.”

OCC quarterback Kody Whitaker completed 24 of 51 for 246 yards and one touchdown, with two interceptions. He also caught a touchdown pass on a halfback throwback toss from Andrew Wilk midway through the second quarter.

Derrick Hunt had 88 yards rushing on nine carries and Joey Cox had six receptions for 71 yards, including one touchdown for the Pirates.

OCC appeared to have some momentum early in the third quarter, when the defense forced a punt and a 50-yard burst by Hunt helped the Pirates advance to the Golden West 10-yard line.

But sophomore cornerback Kory Garcia jumped a slant route to intercept on his own three-yard line, killing the Pirates’ scoring chance, as well as their momentum.

Manning capped the ensuing drive with a 12-yard scoring reception and it was 33-9 with 6:20 left in the third quarter.

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SOUTHERN CONFERENCE

Golden West 39, Orange Coast 18

SCORE BY QUARTERS

GWC 20 – 6 – 7 – 6 – 39

OCC 2 – 7 – 0 – 9 – 18

FIRST QUARTER

GWC – Kilgore 41 pass from Vance (Conaway kick), 10:15.

GWC – Bowden 1 run (kick blocked), 7:43.

OCC – Williams blocked PAT return, 7:43.

GWC – Manning 28 pass from Vance (Conaway kick), 6:38.

SECOND QUARTER

GWC – White 6 pass from Vance (kick failed), 9:56.

OCC – Whitaker 8 pass from Wilk (Silva kick), 6:36.

THIRD QUARTER

GWC – Manning 12 pass from Vance (Conaway kick), 6:20.

FOURTH QUARTER

GWC – Flowers 52 pass from Vance (kick blocked), 12:41.

OCC – Williams blocked PAT return, 12:41.

OCC – Cox 6 pass from Whitaker (Silva kick), 7:25.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

GWC – Bowden, 20-112, 1 TD .

OCC – Hunt, 9-88.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

GWC – Vance, 22-26-0, 251, 5 TDs.

OCC – Whitaker, 24-51-2, 246, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

GWC – Manning, 7-80, 2 TDs.

OCC – Cox, 6-71, 1 TD.