Pirates reach finish line with makeup matchup at Santa Barbara

COSTA MESA -- The sport of football and the threat of COVID-19 have been a major concern to all involved with the Orange Coast College football program and to have the Pirates involved in a 10th game of the season is an accomplishment that should not go unnoticed.

The Pirates (3-6) will travel up the coast to Santa Barbara to take on the host Vaqueros (6-3) in a nonconference makeup game from Sept. 18 that was postponed due to COVID concerns. Kickoff is set for Friday evening at 5 p.m.

"Early on, when we lost two straight games in the first three weeks due to COVID, I didn't think we'd be here at the end of the season playing our full schedule," OCC head coach Bubba Gonzalez said. "I think losing those games early on was a rude awakening for our team as a whole. The guys did a great job of understanding what we needed to do. Things could not be normal for us and if we wanted to play football, sacrifices had to be made when it came to just being a teenage kid and wanting to go out and have some fun. I think that break helped us get back on the right track and it showed that we as individuals had to play for each other as a team. Once we started doing that, it really brought our team together. I'm so blessed that we were able to get this entire season in and to spend time with this group of guys. 

"I spoke with our leadership counsel earlier this week and I told them how proud I was that they didn't throw in the towel at all this year. We could have easily blamed COVID or whatever, but they didn't accept it and they wouldn't let the other guys accept it either. We've been able to show some success later on this season but I've been so proud of everyone throughout this entire process. It's been our first year together as a coaching staff, too, and I think we've all shown a lot of growth and a willingness for all of us to fight for the same things. That's really made this season more special for all of us."

The hard work has continued to pay off for the Pirates, who topped West. L.A. on Saturday, 20-17, in a hard-fought, Metro Division battle between two hungry teams. Coast fell behind 14-3 midway through the second quarter, but found a way to not only slow down the Wildcats, but also find some offensive success as well.

"Travel is always a concern for any coach and we just didn't get off to a good start on Saturday," Gonzalez said. "But the good thing I saw ... there was no hanging heads or anything like that. The players bought into what we were trying to accomplish and at halftime we made some adjustments and figured out what we needed to do to win that game. If you play with heart, fight, grit and pride and not be afraid to put yourselves out there with the risk of failing, then you're going to keep moving forward and you're going to be successful."

Now the Pirates will get their long-awaited matchup with Santa Barbara, also winners of two straight, including a 52-7 win over Santa Monica this past Saturday. 

"We have another opportunity to prepare for a hard-fought game and we really want to go out there and finish this season strong," Gonzalez said. "We may not have won as many games as we would have liked, but we are moving forward as a team and we're going in the right direction. I'm proud of our season, but not content and this team feels the same. This season hasn't been ideal for success from start to finish because of the COVID restrictions, but we've made the best of it and the guys are still flying around at practice and having fun. That's all you can ask for as a coach."

Quarterback J.D. Rafkin topped the 1,000-yard mark for the Pirates in a shared role of the position and he enters Friday night's matchup with 1,016 passing yards and 10 touchdowns against only four interceptions. 

The running back trio of J.P. Segura-Queijeiro (99 rushes, 544 yards, 3 TDs), David Hernandez (98-374, 1 TD) and Colin Gretgg (61-286) have combined for 1,204 rushing yards through nine games and have been the backbone of the OCC offensive success in 2021. 

Tight end Edwin LaCrosse leads the Pirates with 48 receptions for 379 yards and five touchdowns, while Jacob Munro (23-256) and Aaron Fletcher (21-386, 4 TDs) have been high-impact targets for the OCC passing game as well.

Coast will miss several sophomore standouts after Friday's game, especially on the defensive end, led by Marquise Alexander (53 tackles, four sacks, one fumble recovery), Grant Conaway (39 tackles, six sacks, one forced fumble), Noah Skobis (36 tackles, two interceptions) and Corey Sampson (29 tackles, two interceptions).

Freshman QB Alex Johnson led the SBCC offensive attack with 990 passing yards and nine touchdowns, while running back Jerry Martin has carried the majority of the load for the Vaqueros, rushing for 552 yards and three touchdowns on 112 carries. Mehki Norfleet leads the RBs with five touchdowns, so keep an eye on him near the goal line. 

The wide receiver trio of Marcus Bellon, Chase Wells and Cyrus Wallace has combined for 87 receptions for 1,146 yards and nine touchdowns.