Second-half surge dooms Pirates in loss to Saddleback

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College football saw it's four-game win streak come to an end on Saturday at LeBard Stadium with a 35-22 Southern Conference loss to visiting Saddleback College.

The Pirates (4-3, 2-1 in conference), who carried a 15-8 lead into halftime, came out and were blitzed by an more up-tempo style of offense by the Gauchos (6-2, 4-0) in the second half. Saddleback outscored Coast 27-7 in the second half and racked up more than 350 yards of total offense over the final two quarters of play.

Quarterback Johnny Stanton threw for 290 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions for the Gauchos, while a pair of receivers -- Dominic Collins and Zach Davis combined for 13 catches for 236 yards and all three TDs.

After being pinned on their own 5-yard line, the Gauchos needed just eight plays to find the end zone as Stanton hooked up with Collins on a 17-yard TD strike and after a successful 2-point pass from Stanton to Anthony Amaro, Saddleback, led 8-0.

It stayed that way until 5:56 left in the second quarter when OCC quarterback Mason Dossey connected with Stefan Derrick on an 11-yard touchdown pass, capping off a four-play, 47-yard scoring drive and after Mason hooked up with Kyle White on the 2-point conversion, the game was tied, 8-8.

On the ensuing drive, Stanton was picked off by Zoauntarrious Brunt, giving Coast the ball on Saddleback's 33-yard line. Five plays later, White plowed in from five yards out, putting Coast ahead, 15-8.

The Gauchos had the first drive of the third quarter and wasted no time to pick up the pace of the game as Stanton capped off a six-play, 74-yard drive in just 1:47 with an 8-yard touchdown run. On that drive, Stanton was 3-for-3 for 62 yards and the game was tied at 15.

Dossey was hit hard by Saddleback defender Zachary Wade, who forced a fumble and recovered the loose ball, putting the Gauchos inside OCC territory. Just three plays and 48 seconds later, Stanton scrambled for a 21-yard touchdown run and with 10:31 still remaining in the third quarter, Saddleback had 14 unanswered points and the lead for good.

After a nine-play drive stalled for the Pirates, Saddleback again rolled down the field. But OCC's defense tightened up and with the help of a personal foul penalty, had the Gauchos on their own 31-yard line, facing a third-and-goal situation. 

But Stanton delivered the knockout blow as he connected with Davis for a 31-yard touchdown, putting Saddleback up 29-15.

Right before the end of the third quarter, Dossey tossed a lateral pitch to Darrel Watts, who surprised the Gaucho defense with a 23-yard touchdown strike to Derrick, cutting the deficit to 29-22.

But the Gauchos responded on their next possession as Stanton again found Davis on a 10-yard TD strike, putting Saddleback up 35-22 with 11:12 left in the game.

Coast managed to pick up a few first downs down the stretch, but the Gauchos kept the Pirates out of the end zone as the clock slowly ran down. Finally, OCC was stopped short on a fourth-down play with 31 seconds left, ending the hosts' final threat.

Dossey finished with 153 passing yards and one touchdown on 21-off-33 passing. Daniel Rodriguez led the rushing game with 68 yards on 17 carries, while Derrick capped off a solid receiving night with seven catches for 68 yards and two TDs.

Brunt anchored the defense with eight tackles (six solo), one forced fumble and one interception, while Christian Webb led all defenders with 10 total tackles (six solo).

Coast will return to action on Saturday at Santa Ana College's Eddy West Field, beginning at 1 p.m.