Orange Coast College

Football: BELL STAYS PUT! PIRATES EDGE RUSTLERS, 24-21

Saturday, September 19, 2009

COSTA MESA -- For the first time in Orange Coast College football history, the Pirates extended the residence of the coveted "Victory Bell" for a third straight season thanks to a 24-21 West-Coast Showdown win over rival Golden West before a rowdy homecoming crowd at LeBard Stadium.

It was another gritty performance by the Pirates (3-0) and once again, the effort was led by sophomore running back Ray Holley (pictured right), who pounded the Rustlers (0-3) for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 34 carries.

A majority of that damage came in a crazy fourth quarter that saw both teams combine for 31 of the game's 45 points in the final nine minutes of the game.

The fun was started by the Pirates, who broke a 7-7 tie with 9:24 left on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Maning to Lano Fuentes. The extra point was good, giving Coast a 14-7 advantage.

After Golden West was forced to punt, OCC milked the clock on a 9-play, 43-yard, five-minute drive that ended with a 22-yard field goal by Lucas Vandeman, giving Coast a 17-7 advantage with 2:33 left.

But the Rustlers found life on their next drive when Mike VanDeripe (18-37-0, 269, three touchdowns), hit Matt James on a 41-yard touchdown strike on fourth-and-21 to cut the lead to 17-14 with 1:46 left.

On the ensuing onside kick, the Rustlers recovered, but the officials ruled that the ball was touched one yard ahead of the mandatory 10 yards needed to travel and OCC maintained possession.

Two plays later, Holley appeared to ice the game with a 39-yard touchdown run, giving OCC a 24-14 lead with 55 seconds remaining.

However, GWC fought down to the last seconds as VanDeripe hit Brandon Grissom on a 3-yard touchdown, capping off an 8-play drive that took just 40 seconds off the clock, making it 24-21.

On the next onside kick, the Rustlers were able to recover the loose ball and got down to OCC's 36-yard line thanks to a pair of personal foul penalties on the Pirates.

From there, the Rustlers tried for a 53-yard field goal with one second left to tie the game, but the kick came up well short, giving the Pirates the win and the victory bell for a third straight season.

Manning finished with 158 yards and one touchdown on 13-of-28 passing with two interceptions. Kyle Burdett led the receiving corps with four catches for 61 yards.

Once again, it was another dominating effort by the OCC rushing defense, holding the Rustler runners to two yards on 29 carries. Five sacks on VanDeripe -- three by Bryce Brantley -- helped stifle the GWC offense. Mike Patrick had seven tackles (six solo) and a forced fumble to lead the Coast defense.

The Pirates return to action on Saturday at home against the Glendale College Vaqueros, beginning at 6 p.m.