Pirates host Rustlers for "Battle of the Bell" showdown

COSTA MESA -- Throw out the records when Orange Coast College and Golden West College get together for a football game. Both teams will meet up inside LeBard Stadium for a rare Thursday night matchup, beginning at 6 p.m. for the annual "Battle of the Bell" matchup.

"Our guys understand that this is the most important game of the year for both schools," OCC head coach Bubba Gonzalez said. "There is a lot at stake and we are ready for the challenge. We expect to have a great game on Thursday night ... ANYTHING can happen in a rivalry game!"

It's been a bit of a one-sided rivalry of late as the Rustlers enter Thursday's game winners of six straight and 10 of 11 against their fellow Coast Community College neighbors. OCC's last win came in 2015, a 17-14 victory over GWC at LeBard Stadium.

"Golden West is solid on both sides of the ball and they will be another tough opponent, bu we will have a good game plan for them," Gonzalez said. "On defense, we will need to stop their run game and not allow big plays in their pass game. Offensively, we will need to be able to win on first down and keep the chains moving. Take advantage of any opportunities given to us by defense or special teams. It will take a total team effort for us and we expect that it's going to be a great atmosphere."

OCC quarterback Zach Congalton leads the Pirate offense, throwing for 651 yards and three touchdowns, while completing just under 55% of his pass attempts (79-of-144). Congalton has been OCC's top yard-getter on the ground as well, rushing for 315 yards and two touchdowns on 59 rushes. Defensively, the Pirates (0-5, 0-2 in the National Conference, Central Division) have seen steady performances from Nathaniel Lyken (32 tackles, two interceptions), Joseph Near (32 tackles, five tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery) and Mason Lambooy (30 tackles, one forced fumble). Naluwaea Loo has led Coast with 3.5 sacks, while Lyken and Angel Gutierrez each have a pair of interceptions to their credit. 

"This is a resilient group and they are looking forward to the second half of the season," Gonzalez said. "We are starting to get healthy in some areas and our young players continue to grow and improve. We still believe in ourselves and we will continue to compete to the best of our abilities for the next five weeks. I still believe we are a good football team ... we just have to put it together on gameday. We are going to take it one game at a time and the focus now is on Golden West and ringing that bell."

The Rustlers (4-1, 2-0 in the National-Central) have won three straight, including a 31-21 win over Citrus College on Sept. 30 before the bye week. The QB trio of Parker Awad, Braden Siri and Luther Richesson have combined for 930 passing yards and nine touchdowns on 76-of-126 passing (60.3%). Running backs Jae'Sean Pete and Ralph Ekechi have combined for 493 rushing yards and six touchdowns, while top pass-catchers for the Rustlers have been Dasani McIntosh (14 catches, 241 yards, one TD), Nate Jimenez (13-137, 1 TD), Tru Tanner (11-221, 3 TDs) and Caleb Dochnal (8-98, 3 TDs).