OCC can’t silence Griffins

COSTA MESA — Who’s afraid of the big bad “woof?”

The Orange Coast College football team would tell you it was not fear that was created by visiting Grossmont players hooting, chanting and singing in unison during pregame, halftime and, alas, while running off the field with a 21-13 Southern Conference National Division victory Saturday at OCC.

But so repeated and fundamental were the errors committed by Pirates players and coaches, one might suggest something spooked the hosts.

The errors of commission included three muffed punt receptions, one severely blown coverage that resulted in an easy 45-yard touchdown pass, and having a punt and a conversion kick blocked, the former setting up a 30-yard touchdown drive to open the scoring.

But the errors of omission were just as galling for the Pirates’ supporters, who routinely saw defensive substitutions go awry, leaving 10 or 12 players on the field, causing penalties, wasted timeouts and a lack of proper alignment.

Through it all, however, Orange Coast (4-3, 0-3 in the division), ranked No. 8 in Southern California and No. 14 in the state, had a chance to at least force overtime into the final 81 seconds.

The Pirates trailed, 14-6, when a fourth-and-10 pass inside the Grossmont 10-yard line appeared to go off the hands of would-be receiver Chris Reihanifam with 1:48 remaining.

A completion would have set up first-and-goal. Instead, the Griffins (5-3, 3-1), ranked No. 11 in SoCal and No. 24 in the state, took over and promptly expanded the lead when tailback Garen Demery bolted 72 yards around the right side for a touchdown that led to a 21-6 cushion.

OCC sophomore defensive end Dean DeLeone, whose speed allows him to line up as a deep man on kickoff returns, justified this faith by taking the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown to keep hope alive for the Pirates.

But OCC’s ensuing onside kick failed to go the necessary 10 yards, allowing Grossmont to take over and run out the final 1:21, then continue vocalizing as it celebrated, making a postgame shake of hands a luxury both teams decided they could do without.

Some OCC players, reacting to the echoing cries of Griffins players as they moved into and out of their locker room beyond the north end zone during pregame and halftime, gestured with both arms, rotating inward at the elbows, as if to indicate their wishes for Grossmont to bring it on.

Unfortunately for the Pirates, the Griffins’ defense took them up on the suggestion, making things difficult for the OCC ground game, and harassing sophomore quarterback Taylor Hughes in the pocket, as well.

Hughes completed 24 of 36 passes for 241 yards and one touchdown. But only two of those completions went for more than 14 yards and Hughes was sacked four times for a combined 37 lost yards. The Corona del Mar High product also threw two interceptions, the second after OCC had advanced to the red zone late in the first half.

The Pirates’ initial drive of 11 plays resulted in a 46-yard field-goal attempt by Ryan Casano that clanked backward off the left upright.

After an interception by sophomore cornerback Karlo Bantan late in the first quarter, OCC drove to the Grossmont 29, before turning the ball over on downs.

Four times OCC had the ball in Grossmont territory in the second half, but came away with no points each time.

Grossmont kicker Brandon Bogotay, who came in with a division-leading 10 field goals, including one 52-yarder, helped keep the hosts in it by missing three-point tries from 38 and 27 yards.

Grossmont had just 14 rushing yards through 12 possessions, but Demery’s final three carries produced 91 yards, including the game-winning TD.

Grossmont quarterback Brandon Fricke, the third-stringer just two weeks ago, threw for 167 yards, including a flip to a wide-open Paul Aubin, whose 45-yard touchdown reception came with 13 seconds left in the first half, one snap after OCC had punted from its own 23.

Kevin Ah-Hi scored on a 51-yard toss from Hughes to open the fourth quarter, drawing OCC within one possession of a tie.

“Too many mistakes,” said OCC Coach Mike Taylor. “It was a sloppy game. I’ll take the blame [for the substitutions problems] ... We wasted time, timeouts and got some penalties.”

GROSSMONT 21, ORANGE COAST 13

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Grossmont 0-14-0-7-21

Orange Coast 0-0-0-13-13

SECOND QUARTER

Gro – McPherson 12 pass from Fricke (Bogotay kick), 6:23.

Gro – Aubin 45 pass from Fricke (Bogotay kick), 0:13.

FOURTH QUARTER

OCC – Ah-Hi 51 pass from Hughes (kick blocked), 14:51.

Gro – Demery 72 run (Bogotay kick), 1:33.

OCC – DeLeone 99 kickoff return (Casano kick), 1:21.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

Gro – Demery, 21-105, 1 TD; Yamauchi-Yamate, 4-16; Camp, 1-4; Jeffcoat, 1-minus 2; team, 2-minus 4; Fricke, 6-minus 18.

OCC – Ah-Hi, 14-34; Holley, 8-28; Hughes, 12-12; Redding, 2-8; Mokhtar, 1-minus 1; team, 1-minus 1; Doll, 1-minus 6.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

Gro – Fricke, 13-29-1, 167, 2 TDs.

OCC – Hughes, 21-36-2, 241, 1 TD.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

Gro – Aubin, 4-66, 1 TD; Corder, 3-55; Hipp, 2-19; McPherson, 1-12, 1 TD; Yamauchi-Yamate, 1-7; Rozok, 1-6; Brroks, 1-2.

OCC – Hall, 7-84; Ah-Hi, 2-78, 1 TD; Reihanifam, 3-25; Carroll, 2-18; Holley, 5-12; Redding, 1-13; Butler, 1-11.

BARRY FAULKNER may be reached at (714) 966-4615 or at [email protected].