Pirates topple Seahawks in home finale, 40-30

COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College football team ended the home portion of the 2021 schedule on the right foot by picking up a hard-fought 40-30 Metro Division win over visiting L.A. Harbor on Saturday night inside LeBard Stadium.

Brandon Cannella threw for 234 yards and three touchdowns on 18-of-27 passing, while the rushing corps of J.P. Segura-Queijeiro, Colin Gregg and David Hernandez combined for 211 rushing yards on 36 carries with a pair of touchdowns, including a 72-yard back-breaker by Segura-Queijeiro in the final two minutes of play.

Cannella did a solid job against an attacking Seahawks' defense that had him scrambling at times, but the freshman QB used his scrambling ability to make something out of nothing on several occasions. He found NINE different receivers throughout the game, including touchdown grabs by Gregg, Aaron Fletcher, Edwin LaCrosse.

With the Pirates in front, 21-16 heading into the third quarter, L.A. Harbor (2-7, 0-4 in Metro Division) was pinned inside its own 10-yard line on its opening drive and after a Grant Conaway sack put the Seahawks near their own goal line, a sack by Marquise Alexander in the LAHC end zone gave the Pirates a safety and a 23-16 advantage.

Coast got the ball back and needed just four plays and 41 yards to score again as Cannella connected with Fletcher on a 26-yard touchdown connection, putting the Pirates up, 30-16.

After the Pirate defense forced a punt, OCC was marching down the field with a chance to further extend the lead, when suddenly, the game shifted as Marcus Jackson picked off a Cannella pass and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown, bringing the Seahawks to within a touchdown at 30-23.

Coast was stopped and the ball went back to L.A. Harbor, but the Pirate defense stiffened and forced another punt. From there, Coast came up with an eight-play, 47-yard drive that ended with a Zach Grisotti 30-yard field goal to put Coast back up by two scores at 33-23.

A Nick Skobis interception appeared to wrap things up, but with 1:36 left, Coast had to run another play to eat up some more clock and Segura-Queijeiro made the most of it, scampering 72 yards for a touchdown to make it 40-23.

Harbor tacked on a last-minute touchdown to conclude the scoring, but it wasn't enough as the Pirates picked up their first home win of the season.

OCC will play at West L.A. College on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m.