Orange Coast College

Football: Defense anchors Pirates' 10-6 win over Glendale

Saturday, September 26, 2009

COSTA MESA -- A steady diet of Ray Holley on offense and a suffocating rushing defense was, once again, the right formula for the Orange Coast College football team in a 10-6 nonconference win over visiting Glendale on Saturday at LeBard Stadium.

The Pirates' rush defense, which came in allowing minus-42 yards on 70 carries, added to their SCFA-best numbers, holding the Vaqueros (3-1) to minus-29 yards on 34 carries.

Glendale running back, Jorge Chaidez, who entered the game second only to Holley in rushing yards per game (150 yards/game), rushed for minus-13 yards on 10 carries.

While Chaidez and the rest of the Vaqueros struggled to regain the line of scrimmage, OCC's Holley once again controlled the turf. With one of the most experienced offensive lines in the area, Holley used what was given to him and rushed for 171 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries -- numbers that actually could have been better with the exception of a few big runs called back on Pirate penalties (13-121).

OCC (4-0), ranked 10th in Southern California, took an early 3-0 lead when Lucas Vandeman capped off a nine-play, 54-yard drive with a 28-yard field goal on the game's opening drive.

It would remain that way until early in the second quarter when Glendale quarterback Steve Miller hit Brian Williams with a 26-yard touchdown pass on 4th-and-20 to give the Vaqueros a 6-3 lead after a missed PAT.

From there, both defenses went to work and held both offenses out of the end zone until the fourth quarter. That's when OCC started a drive on its own 10-yard line and ran the ball down the Vaqueros' collective throats.

Kalii Kunitomo opened things with a 25-yard run off a reverse that got the Pirates out of the shadows of their own end zone. Two plays later, Holley found an opening and dashed 59 yards down to the Glendale 1-yard line. From there Holley slammed into the end zone on the next play to cap off the game-winning drive, putting the Pirates up 10-6 with 11:29 left.

Glendale, which totaled minus-5 yards of total offense in the second half, could not respond the rest of the way as the Pirates' defense used a pair of interceptions by Keahi Raikes and Anthony Curry to eliminate any chances down the stretch.

Jimmy Keating accounted for nine tackles (three solo), including two for a loss and one sack for the Pirates. In all, Coast racked up six sacks on Miller, who finished the night with 132 yards passing and a touchdown on 12-of-31 passing.

OCC quarterback Kyle Manning was 9-of-22 for 87 yards and one interception.

The Pirates will open up Southern Conference play on Saturday at Fullerton College, beginning at 6 p.m. Coast's next home game will be on Saturday, Oct. 10 against Santa Ana, also at 6.