COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College football team grabbed a lead in the fourth quarter, regained the ball on a turnover, then milked the clock dry to cap off an exciting 38-31 nonconference win over visiting Long Beach City College on Saturday at LeBard Stadium.
After the Vikings overcame an 17-point deficit to tie the game up at 31 before Bill Chimphalee capped of a 12-play, 80-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge, putting the Pirates up for good.
LBCC (0-2) marched back down the field, led by quarterback Ryan Craighead, who threw for 348 yards and three touchdowns on 24-of-38 passing, but his lone mistake proved costly. With the ball on the OCC 30-yard line, Craighead threw a pass that sailed over his intended target and into the arms of defensive back Derrick Romo, giving the ball back to Coast with 7:49 left to go.
It would be the last time the Vikings would see the ball the rest of the afternoon as OCC took to the ground and drained the clock dry with a 16-play, 16-rush drive that covered 71 yards.
That final drive perfectly illustrated the key to success for the Pirates (1-1), who rushed for 315 yards for the game, giving them 690 yards in their two contests in 2011.
Once again, freshman Domenic Betts was at the top of the rushing leaderboard, gaining 158 yards and one touchdown on 24 carries. OCC's other three main ball-carriers -- Chimphalee, Silver Maake, and Dylan Chenoweth -- combined for 93 hard-fought yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries. What those runs lacked in yards gained, they more than made up for in drives continued as the Pirates racked up 19 of their 27 first downs on the ground -- 10 coming on third or fourth down.
Coast took its opening possession down the field and capped off an 11-play, 63-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run by Maake, putting OCC up 7-0.
A 32-yard field goal by Jackson Dionne on the first play of the second quarter pushed Coast's lead up to 10-0 before Craighead hooked up with Sean Morris on a 16-yard touchdown strike, cutting the deficit to 10-7.
Another grinding, 10-play, 62-yard scoring drive by the Pirates ended when Chynoweth found the end zone on a 3-yard touchdown run and after a poor punt by the Vikings, Coast took advantage of a short field and scored again two minutes later on a 1-yard run by Jeremiah Rideaux, putting OCC up 24-7.
But the Vikings showed some offensive success late in the first half and ended the quarter with a 25-yard field goal to make it 24-10 and on the second offensive series of the second half, LBCC scored again to make it 24-17. Craighead hooked up with Travon Payne on the first of two touchdowns for the receiver, who finished with 123 yards on just five catches.
The Vikings' first big mistake came on their next drive when Craighead failed to connect on a backwards pass. The ball was scooped up by OCC's Dex Homer and a 31-yard return gave Coast excellent field position. Two plays later, Betts found the end zone on a 16-yard run to the right, putting Coast up 31-17.
Using the slant passes, Craighead picked apart the OCC defense and helped set up a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Holman Faatili to make it 31-24 with 4:22 left in the third quarter.
After Coast punted on its next possession, LBCC wasted no time to tie things up when Craighead hit Payne with a 70-yard touchdown strike, tying the game at 31.
But the Vikings would not be able to regain the lead as the Pirates used their ground game to take the lead and later, preserve the win.
- Game story courtesy of Orange Coast College Sports Information