Big plays plague Pirates in loss to Grossmont

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College football team fell victim to the "big play" on Saturday night and lost to visiting Grossmont College, 27-18, in a Southern Division matchup played at LeBard Stadium.

Three of Grossmont's four touchdowns came on the big play -- a 69-yard touchdown pass, a 44-yard TD pass and a 33-yard TD pass -- and despite 310 yards of total offense by the Pirates, the Griffins managed to hold their lead to the final whistle.

OCC quarterback Adam Carr was 21-of-48 passing for 207 yards, but had three costly interceptions, including two deep inside Grossmont territory. Running back David Hernandez had 65 rushing yards and a touchdown on 17 carries as the Pirates committed to the ground game and found pockets of success. 

Wide receivers Corey Barker and Edwin LaCross each had five receptions for a combined 109 yards to lead the OCC pass-catchers, while on defense, Chris Castillo and Matthew Passi each had five solo tackles and a combined four tackles for loss. Adrian Rosales also had a big game with five solo tackles, including a sack and three tackles for loss.

Coast used a 39-yard field goal by Kieren Spradlin and a 1-yard touchdown run by Hernandez to keep things close in the first half and trailed 14-10 heading into the break.

It stayed that way until the fourth quarter, when Grossmont used a 2-yard TD run by Jarius Burnette and a 33-yard TD strike from Sharif Harris-Legree to Mylik Steen to extend the Griffins' lead to 27-10. Coast capped off the scoring when Jacob Avalos scored on an 8-yard TD run to make it 27-18 following a successful 2-point pass from Carr to LaCross. 

OCC had 14 total drives in the game and 11 of them reached the Grossmont side of the field, but penalties (13 for 129 yards) and turnovers proved too much to overcome.

The Pirates will play their final two games of the season on the road, beginning this Saturday at Riverside City College, beginning at 6 p.m.