Orange Coast College

Finally! Pirates defeat Falcons, 17-7

Saturday, November 04, 2006

NORWALK - The last time the Orange Coast College football team defeated Cerritos, most of the current Pirates were being looked at by preschools, not colleges

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But win they did, 17-7, on Saturday night, breaking the Falcons' eight-game winning streak against the Pirates, dating back to 1991.
"Over the years, we've found just about every way possible to lose to those guys -- last-minute losses, overtime losses, bowl game losses -- so it's nice to go up there and get a win," OCC head coach Mike Taylor said. "Tonight, we were able to execute our game plan well. Our defense was strong and we picked up a couple of huge scoring drives when we needed them the most."
The win, combined with Santa Ana's loss to Saddleback, puts the eighth-ranked Pirates (7-2, 2-2 in Mission Conference National Division) alone in third place behind the Gauchos and El Camino. OCC wraps up the regular season against Golden West in the Beach Bowl and a win over the Rustlers would give the Bucs a strong bid for the state playoffs.
Freshman running back Andrew Banks (pictured above) ran for 106 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries to lead the Pirates' ground game, while quarterback Kekoa Crowell added 155 passing yards and 64 rushing yards to the team's offense.
Entering Saturday's game as the conference leader in interceptions, the Pirates notched two more to their totals, bringing that impressive number to 16. Derrell Perkins and Chris Holmesly were the recipients of the Falcons' misguided throws.
OCC took the lead late in the first quarter on a nine-play, 80-yard scoring drive that was capped off with a 7-yard touchdown strike from Crowell to A.J. Moskus, giving the Pirates a 7-0 lead following a successful PAT by Brock Jaramillo.
Following a Cerritos punt, OCC went back to work on offense and took a 10-0 lead on a 27-yard field goal by Jaramillo with 12:41 left in the second quarter.
Cerritos (2-6, 1-3) struck back on its next possession and with the help of three long pass completions by Chad Manis, the Falcons made it 10-7 on a 15-yard TD run by Rylon Thomas. Manis was 3-for-4 for 55 yards on the seven-play, 80-yard scoring drive.

Following a Crowell interception, the Falcons had the ball on their own 40 with under a minute to go, but the Pirates' defensef (pictured right) stepped up. Ryan Wolfe's quarterback sack on Manis ended the first half, keeping the Bucs in front, 10-7.
Following a scoreless third quarter, the Pirates put the nail in the Falcons' coffin with a 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive that ate up nearly 8 minutes off the clock. The drive was capped off by a Banks' 2-yard TD run, giving OCC a 17-7 lead.
Cerritos' last chance for a comeback win was dashed when backup quarterback A.J. Toscano was picked off by Chris Assily at the Pirates' 11, stopping a dangerous Falcons' drive midway through the fourth.
The Pirates' defense held the Falcons' ground game to just 51 yards of rushing offense and four quarterback sacks, while OCC's offense racked up 358 total yards. Cerritos was just 1-of-10 on third-down conversions.
OCC will return to action on Saturday at 5 p.m. at LeBard Stadium against Golden West in Beach Bowl XL, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the rivalry between the two neighboring schools.