Orange Coast College

Crowell Carries Coast to 10-7 Win Over Dons

Saturday, October 29, 2005

SANTA ANA - Freshman QB Kekoa Crowell scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 13 seconds remaining to lift #11 Orange Coast to a 10-7 win over 8th-ranked Santa Ana, Saturday afternoon in Mission Conference National Division play at Eddie West Field.

The victory keeps the Pirates right in the thick of the playoff hunt and one-half game behind league-leading El Camino, which visits Cerritos later this evening. Eight teams from the South make the playoffs, with three at-large teams joining the five conference champions.

The Pirates were forced to march 78 yards with 3:44 remaining after the Dons scored their only points of the game on a 2-yard run by David Buehler at 3:51 of the fourth quarter. Robert Aoki got the drive started with a 15-yard run up the middle for the first of four first downs on the drive.

Facing a 3rd-and-9 after two short runs, Crowell hit Damola Adeniji on a 25-yard deep out pattern to continue the drive at the Dons' 37. Crowell completed another clutch third down throw to George Raco for 26 yards, giving the Pirates the ball at the Santa Ana 5.

A holding penalty on 2nd down pushed the ball back to the 15, then Crowell got four yards back on a 4-yard pass play to Jimmy Thorson. After a failed third down pass, the Pirates were saved from an incomplete pass on fourth down as the Dons were called for holding.

With the ball back on the Dons' 5, Crowell ran for four yards on first down, then spiked the ball to stop the clock with 17 seconds left. The Bucs called timeout and called for Crowell to roll to his right with three receivers to choose from. With each target covered, Crowell turned the corner and went untouched into the end zone for the game-winning score.

"The guys that were supposed to shadow me got stuck inside, so it was basically 3-on-3 in there," said Crowell, who finished 21-of-39 for 226 yards and one interception. "It was just instincts on that last drive."

Both teams moved the ball in the first half, but only the Pirates were able to turn it into any points thanks to a 34-yard field goal by Kyle Vandenbos with 18 seconds left in the first half. The Bucs had 185 yards while holding Santa Ana to just 100, but both teams had one turnover and combined to miss three field goals.

The Dons took advantage of a 1-yard punt with 5:21 left to set up their scoring drive. Daniel Morales ran for 11 yards, then hit Finas Rabb for 11 yards for two first downs. A pass interference call on 3rd-and-6 put the ball at the Coast 2 before Buehler plowed through for the touchdown.

Aoki led all rushers, carrying 21 times for 129 yards to help the Pirates average 4.1 yards per carry. Thorson led the receiving corps with 7 catches for 61 yards while Raco had four grabs for 42 yards.

Morales, the 2nd-ranked passer in the Mission Conference, was just 12-of-32 for 120 yards and two interceptions while also victimized by countless dropped passes by his own receiving corps. Kaleo Igarta led the Dons ground game with 14 carries for 103 yards.

Dave Ronning had another strong game for the Coast defense, posting 8 solo tackles while Cory Nicol had a sack and an interception in the secondary. Keola Asuega had another strong game with five tackles, a sack and one forced fumble.

Orange Coast (5-3, 2-1) is home for its final two games starting next Saturday, November 5 against Cerritos at 1 p.m.