Pirates run over by Vikings

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College football team struggled from the opening whistle and fell to 1-2 overall with a 46-16 nonconference loss to visiting Long Beach City College on Saturday night at LeBard Stadium.

On a night that celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Pirates' 1963 National Championship team, the 2013 Pirates came out flat, fell behind early and the Vikings (1-2) earned their first win of the season after back-to-back losses to kick things off.

LBCC used a balanced attack on offense and dominated the time of possession, keeping the OCC offense off of the field. The Vikings totaled 585 yards of total offense (270 on the ground and 315 in the air) and had the ball for nearly 37 minutes of the game (compared to just 23 minutes for the Pirates).

Vikings' quarterback Kenny Potter threw for 267 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-31 passing, with favorite target DeQuan Hampton pulling down seven catches for 128 yards and two TDs.

On the ground, Joel Panteau led the Vikings with 86 yards on 19 carries.

For the Pirates, Jon Newsom completed just 9-of-21 passes for 194 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. Backup Cameron Biedgoly came in the second half and threw for 60 yards and a touchdown on 5-of-11 passing. D.J. McFadden was the leading receiver for Coast, totaling 110 yards on three catches.

Top tackler for the Pirates was safety Elijah Steen, who came up with 12 (four solo). 

Things looked good early on for the Pirates as they marched down the field on their second possession. But, on second-and-10 from the Vikings' 12-yard line, Newsom was picked off by Jaylenn Hart, who returned the ball 57 yards into OCC territory.

Seven plays later, Long Beach cashed in on the turnover when Potter connected with Mikail Parr for a 10-yard touchdown, giving the Vikings a 6-0 lead after a failed 2-point try.

A pair of Matt Mengel field goals put LBCC up 12-0 and after a second interception by Newsom, the Vikings blew the game open with a 2-yard touchdown run by Potter to make it 19-0.

Coast found the scoreboard with 7:19 left in the half when Talia Teaupa slammed in from a yard out to make it 19-7.

But the Vikings scored again with 45 seconds left in the half when Potter hooked up with Hampton for a 17-yard touchdown to make it 26-7.

Griff Amies connected on a 32-yard field goal and Biedgoly hooked up with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Darren Hambrick to cap off the Pirates' second-half scoring.

OCC will return to action on Saturday at Palomar College, beginning at 6 p.m. The Pirates will return to LeBard Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 1 p.m. against Grossmont College.

GAME NOTES -- Several members of the 1963 National Champion OCC football team were honored with a halftime ceremony. That team will be inducted into the OCC Athletics Hall of Fame -- the first-ever team to be enshrined into Coast's HOF.