Orange Coast College

Football: Pirates come up short against Gauchos

Saturday, November 01, 2008

MISSION VIEJO -- Not even a near record-setting offensive night could pull the Orange Coast College football team out of its funk.

Despite a 369-yard, four-touchdown night from sophomore quarterback Taylor Hughes, the Pirates had no answer for the Saddleback Gauchos' "Fly" offense and lost 48-38 on Saturday night in SCFA Southern Conference action.

Hughes' performance nearly equaled OCC's all-time single-game passing mark of 378 passing yards, set in 1987 by Keith Jarrett against Citrus in 1987. The sophomore from Corona del Mar HS went 18-of-34 with two interceptions and four touchdowns.

Ricky Carroll and Cameron Hall combined for 222 receiving yards and three scores on 11 receptions.

However, the Pirates (4-4, 0-4 in conference) struggled mightily against one of the top-rated offenses in the SCFA as the Gauchos (6-3, 4-1) racked up 615 yards of total offense (261 rushing, 354 passing), led by the legs of Jai Morris and the arm of Brian Shrock.

Morris rushed for 118 yards and three touchdowns on 17 carries, while Shrock threw for 330 yards on 17-of-27 passing with one touchdown and one interception.

In the second half, both teams traded touchdown drives one after the other. OCC trailed by a touchdown on three different occasions, only to come back three different times to tie the game.

Saddleback finally took the lead for good on a 39-yard touchdown run by Morris with 6:23 left in the game, giving the Gauchos a 45-38 lead.

OCC had a couple of chances to even the score, but Hughes' first pick of the night stalled the Pirates' drive inside the Gauchos' 40 with just under three minutes remaining.

Saddleback drove down the field and iced the game with a 32-yard field goal by Christian Lepore with 46 seconds left.

The Gauchos' 615 yards of total offense tied their previous all-time best, set in 1996.

OCC returns to action on Saturday at Palomar, beginning at 1 p.m.