Whitaker's five TD passes lead Pirates past Brahmas

COSTA MESA -- Kody Whitaker threw for 335 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Orange Coast College football team to its first win of the season as the Pirates rolled past visiting L.A. Pierce College, 49-10, on Saturday night at LeBard Stadium.

Whitaker picked apart the Brahmas' defense the entire night and completed 20 of 25 passes along the way. Receiver Mark Munson continued his dominating 2014 season, catching seven passes for 167 yards and three touchdowns. 

Clayton Howard rushed for a team-high 100 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, while Ian Pogue made the most of his opportunities with 94 yards of total offense (47 rushing, 47 receiving). 

While the OCC offense racked up a season-best 49 points at 525 yards of total offense, the Pirate defense forced three Pierce turnovers and three sacks to slow down the Brahmas' offense. Leading the Coast defense was sophomore Paul Swanson, who amassed 10 total tackles (seven solo) and recovered a fumble in the end zone for a Pirate touchdown.

Coast (1-4) took the opening possession and wasted no time getting into the end zone. Two plays after a 38-yard hookup from Whitaker to A.J. Holman, the Pirate QB found Munson for a 13-yard touchdown, putting Coast ahead 7-0 just 1:21 into the game.

Following a Pierce punt, Coast again struck fast as Whitaker capped off a three-play, 60-yard drive with a 44-yard TD toss to Munson, putting Coast up 14-0.

Late in the first quarter, Pierce (1-4) was pinned on its own 9-yard line when quarterback Edrees Ahmadi was sacked in the end zone by Hugh Tompkins, who forced the aforementioned end zone fumble that was recovered by Swanson to make it 21-0.

A Howard 8-yard TD run made it 28-0 with 9:07 in the second quarter and the rout was on. The Brahmas had no answer on offense in their first five possessions with two lost fumbles, three punts and 37 yards of total offense to show for them. 

Meanwhile, Coast racked up four TDs on its first six possessions and racked up 243 yards of offense.

Three more Whitaker touchdowns highlighted the third quarter as he connected with Holman on an 18-yarder, Munson on a 57-yarder and Kyle White on a 9-yarder, putting Coast up 49-3.

The only question remaining was if the Brahmas were going to find the end zone before the game came to an end. They did as Zachary Mumford plowed in on a 4-yard TD run with 16 seconds left in the game.

The win also is the first "W" for head coach Kevin Emerson at Orange Coast College. Emerson became the Pirates' head coach this year after a successful run at San Bernardino Valley College.

Coast will return to action on Saturday at Escondido High School as they take on the Palomar College Comets, beginning at 6 p.m.