Orange Coast College

Football: VICTORY BELL RETURNS TO OCC!!!

Friday, November 16, 2007

COSTA MESA -- The Golden West College Rustlers may have opened the night as owners and ringers of the "Victory Bell", but it was the Orange Coast College Pirates who claimed possession of the prized trophy by the end of the night, following a hard-fought 30-28 win on Friday night at LeBard Stadium.

It was a win that wasn't secured until the game's final minute when Chris Holmesly helped reduce the Pirates' blood pressure by falling on a loose ball from a GWC onside kick attempt, giving OCC the ball, the game and the "Victory Bell" following a one-year stint in Rustler Country.

Things looked good for the Pirates (5-5, 3-2 in Mission Conference American Division) as they held a 30-19 lead with less than five minutes remaining.

A missed GWC field goal from 27-yards out with 4:22 remaining seemed to seal things up for the "visiting" Pirates, but the Rustlers (2-8, 0-5) had other ideas.

An OCC punt nearly turned disastrous as a low snap rolled past the Pirates' punter and into the end zone. However, Pirate special teams player Travers Morgan quickly pounced on the ball for a safety, keeping the Pirates ahead by two scores, 30-21.

GWC got the ball back following the OCC kickoff and with 2:12 left in the game, marched down the field and scored on a 24-yard touchdown from quarterback Les Obie to Kellen Graham with 57 seconds left to make it 30-28, Coast, following the successful PAT.

With all of LeBard Stadium waiting for an onside kick, Rustler kicker Seth Guardado, hit a perfect one-hopper to the OCC front line and the short-hop bounded in the air, sending both sides into a frenzy. But when the smoke cleared, it was Holmesly who came up with the ball and with no timeouts left for GWC, the Pirates kneeled on the ball twice the run the remaining seconds off the clock.

The Rustlers, who found offensive success the past few weeks with some less-than-routine plays, pulled out several tricks from the playbook and racked up 447 yards of total offense against the conference's stingiest defense.

But it wasn't enough as the arm of quarterback Chris Debowski (10-of-18, 132 yards, one touchdown, pictured left) was equaled by the legs of Chris Debowski (16 carries, 102 yards, one touchdown, pictured right) to highlight OCC's offense.

Both teams traded field goals in the first quarter before the Pirates grabbed hold of the lead for good in the second quarter.

OCC used an eight-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a Debowski plunge into the end zone from a yard out, giving the Pirates a 10-3 advantage.

Following a Rustlers' punt, Cody Williams capped off an 11-play, 54-yard drive with a 32-yard field goal to make it 13-3.

GWC again was forced to punt deep in its own zone, giving the Pirates the ball inside Rustler territory. OCC needed just three plays to march 41 yards as Kevin Ah-Hi slammed into the end zone on a 2-yard run to make it 20-3. Highlighting the drive was a 33-yard scamper by Debowski on the previous play.

In a game fuelled with emotion, a costly personal foul penalty by OCC enabled GWC to get within scoring territory and the Rustlers cashed in with a 39-yard field goal from Seth Guardado just before halftime.

An Obie fumble on the Rustlers' 32-yard line was recovered by Nathan Barnett, giving the Pirates more great field position. On the next play, Debowski hooked up with Cameron Hall (pictured left) for a 32-yard touchdown strike and after a Williams PAT, OCC had its lead up to 27-6.

But the Rustlers wouldn't go away. They took their next possession down the field and seven plays later, Obie connected with Dan Delahoussaye for a 23-yard touchdown to make it 27-13. Obie finished with 286 yards passing on 23-of-37 passing, with most of the production going to Delahoussaye (eight catches, 164 yards, two TDs).

Late in the third quarter, GWC struck again as Obie hit Delahoussaye for a 75-yard TD strike, cutting the deficit to 27-19 following a missed PAT by Guardado.

With the win, the Pirates finished the season with a two-game winning streak, giving them some momentum heading into next season.

Tonight was the 40th meeting between the two schools. GWC leads the overall series 20-18-2.