Orange Coast College

Football: Pirates make it two in a row with 26-9 win over L.A. Southwest

Saturday, September 12, 2009

HAWTHORNE -- On a team that is searching for offensive and defensive consistency, one constant has definitely emerged through the first two games for Orange Coast College -- sophomore running back Ray Holley.

The sophomore running back who rushed for 222 yards in the season opener, racked up 163 yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries, lifting the Pirates to a 26-9 nonconference road win over L.A. Southwest on Saturday.

Holley, who rushed for a team-high 464 yards last year, is already up to 385 through the first two games and shows no signs of slowing down.

Quarterback Kyle Manning took advantage of a 74-yard touchdown strike to teammate Lano Fuentes and finished the night with 153 yards on 9-of-22 passing with one interception.

While the offense found some second-half success, the Pirates (2-0) relied on their defense that held the Cougars (0-2) to minus-32 yards rushing for the game and seven first downs that were caused by penalties.

Speaking of penalties, it was a flag-fest for the Pirates, who racked up a school record 20 infractions for 197 yards, shattering both marks with room to spare. OCC had 15 penalties against Pasadena City College in 2005 and 155 yards in penalties against Golden West in 2002.

After a ragged first half that saw OCC lead 5-0, Coast found an offensive groove, capping off a 14-play, 87-yard scoring drive with a 5-yard TD run by Holley, giving the Pirates a 12-0 advantage.

After a 43-yard field goal by Luis DeLeon made it 12-3, Coast pulled away with Manning's TD strike to Fuentes, followed by Holley's second TD run of the night with 3:07 left in the game, pushing the lead to 26-3.

The Cougars capped off the scoring with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Marcell DeJean to Jerome Wooten with 44 seconds left.

OCC returns to action on Saturday at LeBard Stadium against longtime rival Golden West in the West-Coast Showdown, beginning at 6 p.m.