Pirates open division play with stunning win over host Hornets

YORBA LINDA -- A dominant second quarter of play proved to be the difference for the Orange Coast College football team during Saturday night's 31-23 National Division, Southern League victory over Fullerton College.

Trailing 14-0 after the first quarter, the Pirates (2-2, 1-0) came to life and dominated play over the second quarter, outscoring the Hornets (2-2, 0-1) 24-0 in that span.

Coast got its night jump-started with a big play as quarterback Mason Dossey connected with Stefan Derrick on a 71-yard touchdown connection, trimming the deficit down to 14-7 after the first of four made PATs by Dan Bjurman.

After a Fullerton punt, another big Dossey-to-Derrick pass play -- this one good for 41 yards -- put the Pirates deep inside Hornet territory and two plays later, Daniel Rodriguez scored on a 3-yard touchdown run to tie things up at 14.

Again, the Pirate defense stiffened and forced the Hornets to punt and just two plays later, sophomore running back Kyle White put the Pirates ahead for good on an impressive 80-yard touchdown run. White finished with 126 rushing yards on 12 carries to lead the OCC ground game.

It appeared that both teams would settle for the 21-14 score heading into halftime, but a botched shotgun snap by the Hornets ended up in the arms of OCC defender Joseph Jackson, giving Coast the ball on the Hornets' 11-yard-line with 27 seconds left. Bjurman came out and nailed a 30-yard field goal, put the Pirates ahead 24-14 at the half.

Twice in the third quarter, the Hornets drove deep into Pirate territory, but the OCC defense would not break and Fullerton settled for a pair of Tavis Guerra field goals, trimming the deficit to 24-20.

But with 10:20 remaining in the game, Coast put together the type of drive that winning programs create, grinding down the field and milking time off of the clock. Finally, a 15-play, 75-yard drive that took over seven minutes of the fourth quarter to complete, ended with a 1-yard touchdown by Ian Pogue, putting Coast ahead 31-20.

Once again, Fullerton drove deep down the field, but had to settle for another made field goal by Guerra, making it 31-23 with 1:13 remaining in the game. 

Coast recovered the ensuing onside kick, picked up a crucial first down and ran out the clock for the win.

Dossey was 14-of-25 for 179 yards and a touchdown for Coast. Derrick led the receivers with 127 yards and a TD on five catches.

On defense, Mark Cushing had a team-best 12 tackles (10 solo), while the combination of Prestn Hendry and Josh Odigie combined for 16 tackles, four sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss and one forced fumble.

Coast returns to action on Saturday at L.A. Pierce College, beginning at 6 p.m.