Pirates fight hard, but come up short against Cerritos

COSTA MESA -- The performance on the field was a vast improvement from Week 1, but in the end, the Orange Coast College football team came up just short, falling to visiting Cerritos College, 34-31, on Saturday at LeBard Stadium.

After a week of alternating quarterbacks in the season opener, the Pirates (0-2) turned to bounceback sophomore Mason Dossey, who became just the second OCC quarterback to throw for over 400 yards in a game, finishing with 406 with three touchdowns on 27-of-36 passing. Sophomore wide receiver Stefan Derrick pulled down 10 passes for 202 yards and two TDs. His 202 receiving yards were seven yards off of the school's all-time single-game record of 209, set by Junior Tagaloa back in 1987.

But the Falcons (2-0) had a QB-WR tandem that equaled the hosts as quarterback Jimmy Walker threw for 376 yards and four touchdowns on 25-of-37 passing, while receiver DeJai Whitaker caught eight passes for 182 yards and three TDs.

Whitaker's first TD grab from Walker came on the opening series of the game as the Falcons marched 74 yards on seven plays in the opening 2:33 to take a 7-0 lead.

From there, the Pirates held the Falcons in check for the remainder of the quarter and early in the second quarter, Coast evened the score on a 7-yard TD run by Kyle White, capping off a seven-play, 86-yard scoring drive.

Coast grabbed a 13-7 lead when Dossey hooked up with Marcus Durham on a 31-yard touchdown pass. The extra-point attempt was blocked, keeping the Falcons to within six.

It appeared that the Pirates would take that six-point lead into halftime, but the Falcons stunned the hosts on the final play of the half when Walker collected with Dashawn Gordon on a 38-yard hail mary, giving Cerritos a 14-13 lead at the half.

Coast returned the favor with a big play of its own to start the third quarter as Dossey connected with Derrick on a 60-yard TD string, putting the Pirates in front, 20-14.

Midway through the third quarter, the Pirates had a golden opportunity to extend their lead when a botched punt attempt by Cerritos kicker Corey Bojorquez appeared to result in a fumble recovery and touchdown by the Pirates, but Coast was called for kicking the loose ball before recovering, which negated the score and gave the Falcons another attempt to punt. OCC's ensuing drive stalled and the lead remained at just one point.

Cerritos would grab the lead for good when Walker hit Whitaker for a 48-yard touchdown, putting the Falcons up 21-20.

OCC's offense struggled for a spell in the third quarter and the Falcons made it 28-20 late in the third on another Walker-to-Whitaker TD ... this one from 14-yards out.

Dan Bjurman connected on a 41-yard field goal to get the Pirates to within a score at 28-23, but the Falcons responded with a draining, 11-play, 75-yard drive that was capped off by a 2-yard touchdown run by Kishawn Holmes with 5:42 left, putting Cerritos ahead, 34-23 after a missed PAT.

Dossey rallied the Pirates down the field with four straight completed passes -- the fourth connecting with Derrick on a 36-yard touchdown. The duo then connected on a two-point conversion and the lead was down to 34-31 with 4:42 left.

Cerritos milked most of the clock before finally giving Coast the ball back with 54 seconds remaining. The Pirates got into Falcons' territory, but a botched snap on the final play of the game thwarted any last chance of a Pirate comeback.

Coast will return to action on Saturday at home against Moorpark, beginning at 6 p.m.