By
Tony Lee
On
Saturday, November 14, 2009
The Pirates stopped the Vikings and forced another three-and-out.
Coast's Joe Galvez, who muffed his last punt return, had a much better returned on his second try and returned it for 18 yards.
Ray Holley (pictured) was once again Coast's main offensive weapon as he got the Pirates' first 20 yards, 10 from a reception. However, Coast failed to get it field goal range and was forced to punt.
Pirates defense forced another three-and-out and Bryce Brantley added a sack, but Galvez muffed his second punt of the night.On the Viking's second offensive life, the Pirates forced a fumble on the very next play.
Coast capitalized off that turnover and scored. Holley also added a 33-,10 and 9-yard run in that drive and has 105 yards in the game. The nine-yard run was for a touchdown with 1:52 left in the half.
Holley need 147 yards for the school record.
14-7 Coast.
[Photo courtesy of Hank Schellingerhout]
By
Tony Lee
On
Saturday, November 14, 2009
The Vikings take a 14-3 lead after a 43-yard interception return for a touchdown by Genesis Fonoimoana, but he was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for "crip walking" after his TD.But Kyle Manning quickly answered back with a 26-yard completion to wide receiver Kyle Burdett to put behind the interception.Ray Holley added 30 yards to this drive and scored on a one-yard run with 12:53 left in the second quarter.Holley now has 36 yards on 11 carries with one TD. He needs 216 more yards to break the school's all-time rushing record.[Photo courtesy of Getty Images]
By
Tony Lee
On
Saturday, November 14, 2009
The Pirates stopped Long Beach with a three and out but Joe Galvez muffed he punt and gave the ball back to the Vikings at the 30-yard line.Long Beach's Daveon Barner eventually scored on a one-yard run with 4:48 left in the first quarter. David Covey's extra point attempt was good.Score is 7-3, advantage Vikings.
By
Tony Lee
On
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Long Beach stated the game with a 21-yard run by Daveon Barner but failed to get into field goal range in the Pirates 49.The Pirates went three and out after Calvin Brister dropped a perfectly thrown pass from quarterback Kyle Manning, but recovered the ball on the 29-yard line after the Vikings muffed the punt.After three runs from Ray Holley for six yards and no pass completions, the Pirates put up three with a 40-yard Lucas Vandeman (pictured) field goal.Score, 3-0 Pirates, with 9:40 left in the first quarter.[Photo courtesy of Hank Schellingerhout]
By
Tony Lee
On
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Orange Coast College's sophomore running back Ray Holley needs 252 yards to break the school single-season rushing record of 1,442 yards set by Jeff Clayton in 1993.
Holley averages 132.3 yards per game but has been held below 100 yards per game in the last three contests. He is still ranked No. 3 in the state.
During the game, there will be constant updates on Holley's progress, under "Holley Watch."[Photo courtesy of Hank Schellingerhout]
By
Tony Lee
On
Saturday, November 14, 2009
This is a copy of a report from the Daily Pilot's Barry FaulknerKey Pirates: - Sophomore running back Ray Holley (1,191 yards and 13 TDs on 269 rushing attempts)
- Sophomore outside linebacker Jimmy Keating (56 tackles, 11 for losses)
- Freshman outside linebacker Travis McNaughton (47 tackles)
- Sophomore free safety Keahi Raikes (three interceptions)
Breakdown:
- The Pirates (5-4, 1-4 in the National Division), ranked No. 14 in Southern California, end their regular season against the Vikings (2-7, 1-4).
- Holley needs 252 yards to break the school single-season rushing record of 1,442 yards set by Jeff Clayton in 1993 ... Holley ranks No. 3 in the state in rushing yards per game (132.3).
- OCC’s defense is No. 4 in the state in rushing yards allowed per game (68.4).
- The Pirates’ rank No. 70 among 71 schools in passing rating and have completed just 36.5% of their passes. OCC quarterbacks have four TD passes and 16 interceptions.
- Both teams’ lone division win was against Santa Ana Collge.
- LBCC has allowed 40.8 points per game.
By
Tony Lee
On
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Impressive showings by Orange Coast College's men's and women's water polo squads earned the Pirates a spot at the Southern California Regional Tournament at Pasadena City College, starting on Thursday (Nov. 12).
The lady Pirates, led by Brittany Daniels' five goals (right), defeated Saddleback College and the No. 1 seeded Golden West College at the Orange Empire Conference Tournament over the weekend to advance to the championship match.Unfortunately, Coast fell to Riverside Community College 9-4 to finish in second place, but the impressive OEC Tournament showing earned the lady Pirates a No. 3 seed at SoCal Regionals.Against Saddleback and Golden West, Mary Jane Cooney and Alex Garcia added a total of three goals while Jamie Bee added two.Coast, 20-9 overall this season, faces Chaffey College Friday at 2 p.m. in the first round of the playoffs.
The men's team, led by Casey Sullivan's nine goals in the OEC Tournament (left), finished one-step behind the ladies as the Pirates finished third overall.After beating Santa Ana College 18-9, the Pirates lost to Riverside 12-7 in the semifinals but bounced back to beat Saddleback for third place.This showing earned the Pirates, 19-9 overall record this season, a No. 7 seed in the SoCal Regionals and will face the 10th-seeded Saddleback Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at PCC.Against Saddleback in the OEC Tournament, Adam Smith was the team leader with three goals, while Kyle Thorsness and Adam Thomas each added two goals.
If the men's team defeat the Gauchos, then the Pirates take on the No. 2 seed Long Beach City College later that day, starting at 5:45 p.m.[Photos courtesy of Hank Schellingerhout]
By
Tony Lee
On
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
The top 16 teams in the northern and southern region make the postseason for men's and women's soccer.At the moment, according to ccsoccernews.com, both Orange Coast College's men's and women's soccer teams are ranked 13th and staying alive with one game to go.The Pirates (8-9-3, 5-5-3 in Orange Empire Conference) will play the No. 12 ranked Riverside Community College, away, at 3 p.m. Friday (Nov. 13) which may affect the postseason seeding for Coast.The lady Pirates (13-5-1, 9-5-1) will finish the season off with a guaranteed-win Friday due to a forfeit by Irvine Valley College because of a lack of healthy players.Check back on the OCC Sports Blog on Saturday to see the official playoff bracket of both teams.
By
Tony Lee
On
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Over 50 percent of Orange Coast College's athletes achieved honor roll status for the spring 2009 semester and it is the best record Athletic Director Barbara Bond can remember in her recent years. Out of the 316 athletes in the 14 spring sports, 159 - or 51 percent - earned a 3.0 GPA or higher in addition to completing a minimum of 12 units and playing their sport.
Bond said in a press release that Coast athletes' honor roll rate is around 47 percent but was pleasantly surprised to see it go over the 50 percent mark. 17 athletes had a perfect 4.0 GPA and 55 others had 3.5 GPA or better.
Women's swimming and diving team led the OCC athletics with a combined 3.2 GPA. “More of our coaches are encouraging them to do well,” Bond said of Coast's academic success in the press release.
The athletic program recently introduced study hall for student athletes at the Student Success Center. Even if the athletes don’t take advantage of free tutoring and study services, the message is clear: “grades are important,” Bond said in the press release.
[Photo by Tony Lee]
By
Tony Lee
On
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
This week's top headline of the Coast Report's sports page is the men's water polo team making the playoffs. The Pirates will face Santa Ana Friday (Nov. 6) at Fullerton College.Also, the Pirates of the Week are Russel Westphal and Jane Kerner from the OCC cross country team.The football team lost its second-straight National Division game and the Pirates' bowl game hopes seems to be unattainable. In pages four and five of the Coast Report, "Sports stretched with fewer games and assistant coaches" talks about how the statewide budget cuts have affected OCC's sports program.
Sports column "It's Me, Tony Lee" is only available to view on the OCC Sports Blog this week.
All the articles are available on www.coastreportonline.com.
By
Tony Lee
On
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
There’s an unspoken law when it comes to sports when you play a rival.It doesn’t matter if you are injured, tired or trailing by 100 points. You never give up, you play with all the effort in your body and, most importantly, don’t let the rival embarrass you.Ever.But for the Orange Coast College women’s volleyball team, the lady Pirates did get embarrassed, badly, at home, to cross-town rivals Golden West College and I wondered how it’ll affect the team going forward.Coast had a 23-17 lead in the fourth set and needed only two more points to win, but the lady Pirates let the Rustlers go on an 8-1 run and lost its first match of the season on Oct. 7.Coast came into that match not even losing a single set for the season. But after losing its first set, the lady Pirates folded like a lawn chair and choked against its toughest opponent this season.
“I’m completely disappointed in my team’s performance, especially in game four.” Coast head coach Chuck Cutenese said back in Oct. 7 when his team lost 22-25, 25-23, 25-21, 29-27. “We came out in game one and played well, then we got flat in game two and flat in game three. You know, good teams don’t lose (after leading) 24-21. We lost our focus. People couldn’t put the ball away. We weren’t swinging to win; we were swinging not to lose.”This was the turning point in Coast’s season. If the women fail to bounce back from this embarrassing loss, then the No. 3 ranked lady Pirates might throw away a potential state championship-winning team.In that match, many of the fans were even pro-Rustlers. OCC fans were outnumbered in a good five-to-one ratio.Coast libero Nikki Osuna (bottom) said “It didn’t even seem like our own gym” and outside hitter Rachel Freeno (top) said "We're a lot better than we played - a whole lot better. And we'll get them next time in their gym."There’s something to be said about getting embarrassed – not lose but completely get pummeled by a rival – because the lady Pirates bounced back strong since then.Since Oct. 7, Coast has won its last seven matches – three sweeps and three hard-fought five-set matches – and moved back up to No. 5 in the state rankings.But most importantly, Freeno was right. The lady Pirates did get Golden West Friday (Oct. 30) by sweeping the No. 11 ranked Rustlers 25‐16, 25‐15, 25‐20.What didn’t kill the lady Pirates made them stronger. If Coast makes it to the state championship, it’ll be because of how the team bounced back from that embarrassing loss to a rival.
EDIT
The lady Pirates' winning streak came to a halt Wednesday (Nov. 4) when the seventh-ranked Cypress College defeated Coast in five sets 25-13, 22-25, 25-23, 19-25, 15-13.
I guess I jinxed it huh?
To read that game summary written by OCC's Sports Information Director Tony Altobelli, click here.
[Photo courtesy of Hank Schellingerhout]
By
Tony Lee
On
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Christmas came early for Saddleback College as the Orange Coast College football team turned the ball over five times in the first half en route to a 52-14 blowout at the LeBard Stadium on Halloween night.“That obviously gets you off on the wrong foot against a good football team and we really never recovered,” OCC head coach Mike Taylor said of Coast (5-3, 1-3 in the National Division) starting the game trailing 31-0, 28 of those coming off a Coast turnover.On top of the turnovers, Saddleback (7-2, 3-2) contained Ray Holley, the No. 2 running back in the state, as he averaged less than three-yards per carry in the first half and finished with 96 yards on 29 carries and two touchdowns.“For the most part, (teams) are stacking the box because it’s the way to go,” Holley said. “The teams that are doing it and doing it well are stopping us.”Holley now has 1,144 yards this season and is OCC’s No. 5 all-time rusher. According to OCC’s Sports Information Director Tony Altobelli, Holley is 11 yards behind Tony Accomondo’s mark set in 1975 and 298 behind Jeff Clayton’s all-time total of 1,442 yards, set in 1993.However, Coast quarterback Kyle Manning, who completed nine-of-15 passes for 155 yards in the first half, gave a spark to a struggling Pirates’ passing game that averaged only 128.2 yards per game this season.Manning finished the game completing 19-of-50 passes for 231 yards but was one pass attempt shy of holding OCC’s record of number of pass attempts in a game, set by Alvin White in 1972 against Mt. San Antonio College, by himself.He would’ve had the record to himself but on his last pass attempt, Manning was sacked — one of his five sacks on the night. He was also on the opposing end of Saddleback’s three roughing the passer penalties.“I’ll be a little sore tomorrow but it’s football,” Manning said. “But like I said, when we looked good today, we looked good.”Coast’s last home game is Saturday against Palomar College at 1 p.m. The Pirates finish off its season Nov. 14 at Long Beach City College, starting at 6 p.m.“Now the potentials gone way down,” Holley said of the team having a bowl game opportunity. “We have two more games and we have to win them both and that doesn’t guarantee us a third game. It hurts, it sucks but we got to move on and keep our heads up.”
The Pirates stopped the Vikings and forced another three-and-out. 
