Orange Coast College

Football: Pirates drop third straight

Saturday, November 07, 2009

COSTA MESA -- In the final regular season home game of 2009, the Orange Coast College football team fell to visiting Palomar, 41-9, on Saturday at LeBard Stadium in SCFA Southern Conference action.

Trailing 21-3 at the half, Orange Coast (5-4, 1-4 in conference) got back into the game when Chris Reinhanifam snagged a 30-yard touchdown pass on fourth down from quarterback Kyle Manning on the Pirates' first series of the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 21-9.

But the Comets (8-2, 4-2) quickly responded with three touchdowns and two extra points over the next 13 minutes to put the game out of reach.

In a battle between Palomar's No. 5-ranked rushing offense and OCC's No.2-ranked rushing defense, the Comets earned the victory, rushing for 199 yards and two touchdowns, led by Orenzo Davis (19 carries, 77 yards, one TD and Xavier McGinnis (9-51).

Meanwhile, with the Comets headstrong to stop standout running back Ray Holley, the SCFA's top running back was held to 47 yards on 24 carries, while the OCC passing game was unable to force Palomar from stacking the defensive box.

Sophomore quarterback Kyle Manning threw for 157 yards and one TD on 13-of-38 passing with one interception. Reinhanifam led the receiving corps with five catches for 68 yards.

Palomar quarterback Nate Ong threw for 247 yards and four touchdowns on 21-of-34 passing with three interceptions. He also rushed for 35 yards and a touchdown.

Bryan Pali led all OCC defenders with nine tackles, while Jimmy Keating and Travis McNaughton each had six. Interceptions were turned in by Tommy Gatewood, Eric Wiersma and Keahi Raikes.

Orange Coast will conclude the regular season on Saturday at Long Beach City College, beginning at 6 p.m. A win by the Pirates would give them an opportunity to play for a bowl game, slated for Nov. 21.