Pirates humbled

Bryce Alderton

Host Saddleback College lived up to its billing as one of the

upper-echelon community college football teams in the state while its

opponent Saturday night -- Orange Coast College -- saw its modest

two-game winning streak to begin the season come to a screeching

halt.

The Gauchos picked apart the Orange Coast defense -- rated No. 1

in the state coming into Saturday’s game -- at will and cruised to a

30-7 victory at Saddleback College to begin Mission Conference play.

The Gauchos (3-0, 1-0 in the conference’s National Division),

rated fourth in the state by the Junior College Athletic Bureau,

compiled 387 yards of total offense against Coast while the Pirates

(2-1, 0-1 in the American Division) amassed just 169 -- 158 of those

through the air.

The Gauchos, led by sophomore linebackers Ryan Powdrell and Matt

Pattison, along with strong safety Jeff Dixon, forced three Pirate

interceptions and recovered one fumble. They blitzed relentlessly,

giving OCC’s offensive line, along with quarterbacks Beau Budde and

Kelika Higa, fits.

“This is the best defense I’ve ever had,” Saddleback Coach Mark

McElroy said, who is in his fifth year at the helm. “It is a pressure

defense. It was just another day at the office.”

Saddleback limited Coast to eight first downs, none rushing.

“You have to be able to block people up front,” OCC Coach Mike

Taylor said. “We need to move the ball better on offense. We were

working with short fields and in a 60-minute game, a lot of things

can take place.”

Coast, which had allowed opponents just 240 total yards through

two games, couldn’t contain Saddleback quarterback Dan Tomcheck, who

threw for 213 yards on 22 of 30 passing, two touchdowns and no

interceptions in place of regular starter Brock Farrel, the

conference’s Co-Offensive Most Valuable Player a year ago. Farrel

missed Saturday’s game with an ankle injury. Tomcheck completed his

first eight passes and had touchdown strikes of 12 and 28 yards to

freshman wide receiver Justin Petit, making his college debut after

sitting out the first two games due to injury.

Saddleback rushed for 174 yards against a Coast defense that saw

the returns of sophomore defensive linemen Jesse Mahelona and Ryan

Miller. Miller, playing in his first game after recovering from a

tear in the medial collateral ligament in his right knee, showed

little signs of favoring the knee, chasing down ball carriers and

dropping Tomcheck for a 9-yard sack late in the first half.

Miller’s sack preceded Matt Hanson’s 47-yard field goal to put the

Gauchos up, 9-0, heading into halftime. The Gauchos had drives of 65

and 87 yards in the third quarter that resulted in two touchdowns,

taking a commanding 23-0 lead six seconds into the fourth quarter.

Coast responded with its only score on a three-play drive capped by

Budde hitting a wide-open Jermaine Snell down the near sideline for a

78-yard touchdown pass with eight minutes, 32 seconds to go in the

game.

Budde finished 12 of 24 for 150 yards and two interceptions while

sophomore Kelika Higa completed 1 of 4 throws for 8 yards. Snell had

two catches for 83 yards while Jon Garcia hauled in two passes for 24

yards.

Sophomore linebacker Dallas DeFries sacked Tomcheck for a 10-yard

loss and free safety Una Latu dropped a receiver for a 7-yard setback

in a third-quarter drive that resulted in a 45-yard missed field-goal

attempt by Saddleback.

Both teams combined for 26 penalties worth 233 yards. Coast

committed 12 penalties for 112 yards.

“The guys have to learn to work through frustration,” Taylor said.

“There are regulations out there. That is why there are [referees].

The team needs to realize that personal fouls will hurt, especially

in close games.”

Coast’s freshman defensive end Justin Williams, who had four sacks

a week ago, had to be carried off the field in the third quarter. He

couldn’t put any weight on his right leg. Taylor said the injury

could involve the knee, but would know more later in the week.