Pirates edged by Grossmont, 31-26
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast (0-3) | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 26 |
|
Grossmont (2-1) | 7 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 31 |
EL CAJON -- The "big play" giveth and the "big play" taketh away for the Orange Coast College football team as the Pirates fall to host Grossmont, 31-26 on Saturday afternoon.
The Pirates (0-3) capped off a pair of scoring drives with some big-yard completions from quarterback Brandon Cannella as he hooked up with Kaden Baptista on a 38-yard TD strike in the first quarter and with Glenn Atkins on a 59-yard TD completion late in the fourth quarter.
OCC also picked up a big play defensively as Nathan Lyken picked off a Griffins' pass and returned it 57 yards for a touchdown just before halftime, giving Coast a 13-10 advantage at the break.
But Grossmont would respond with a couple of big strikes of its own as quarterback Elia Kirisimasi found Dillon Gebase for a 69-yard touchdown completion just 1:54 into the third quarter, putting the Griffins up, 17-13. Following an OCC punt, the Griffins struck big again as running back Keiyon Holloway found daylight and ran past the OCC defense for a 76-yard touchdown run, making it 24-13, Griffins.
Cannell, who threw for 189 yards on 14-of-28 passing, used his legs to cap off a touchdown drive with a 5-yard TD keeper to pull OCC to within five at 24-19.
Grossmont extended its advantage to 31-19 when Gus Espiritu pulled in a 16-yard TD pass rom Kirisimasi. Atkins' TD catch with 1:02 left in the game gave OCC a chance, but the Griffins recovered the ensuing onside-kick attempt to wrap things up.
J.P. Segura had his best game of the season, rushing for 114 yards on 19 carries, while receiver Kaleb Stamps caught a team-best four passes for 75 yards.
On defense, lineman Joe Carroll led the Pirates with five solo tackles and added a sack, while Charlie Iafeta had three tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery.
The Pirates return to LeBard Stadium to take on Santa Monica City College on Saturday night, beginning at 6 p.m.
