Community College Football : First Half Is Enough; Saddleback Hangs On to Beat Orange Coast

More than getting its 14th straight victory Saturday night, Saddleback College survived.

The Gauchos survived 166 yards in penalties and an inability to score in the second half for the second straight week to defeat Orange Coast, 27-24, in Mission Conference football action in LeBard Stadium.

Last Saturday, Saddleback (2-0, 3-0) scored 28 points in the first half against Grossmont and won, 28-7.

It was much the same against the Pirates. The Gauchos only had 51 yards of offense in the second half.

The Gauchos were helped by a poor OCC kicking game. The Pirates missed two extra points and had a punt blocked.

The loss keeps first-year Orange Coast Coach Bill Workman winless.

Saddleback’s defense made the big plays in key situations to stop the Pirates in the second half. Orange Coast got an eight-yard touchdown run from Dave Swigart, but had chances to do more damage.

Early in the third quarter, the Pirates (0-2, 0-3) drove to the Gaucho one only to be stopped on four downs.

Saddleback also stopped three Orange Coast drives in the fourth quarter. Gaucho lineman Tyler Hinds sacked Cary Conway with 32 seconds left, forcing the Pirates into a fourth and 30 on their 20. Conway had replaced injuried starter Jon Nowotny, who suffered a pinched nerve in his right shoulder, in the third quarter. Conway was chased out of bounds on fourth down to end the game.

In the first half, Saddleback took advantage of three Orange Coast turnovers and a trick play to lead, 27-18, at halftime.

On the first play from scrimmage, wide receiver Jeff Beilman took a pitch from quarterback Pat Hegarty and then threw an 80-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Bret Mersola, who had 7 catches for 130 yards.

The Pirates scored on their next two possessions to take a 12-7 lead early in the second quarter, but a fumble, a blocked punt and an interception led to three Gaucho scores.

Linebacker Terry Ledger recovered a fumble on the Orange Coast 27. Saddleback scored on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Hegarty to running back John Jungkeit to give Saddleback a 14-12 lead.

After the Pirates’ next series stalled, punter Marc Penso had his punt attempt blocked by Pat Quigley and recovered by Brad Schmidt, who returned the ball to the Orange Coast 10.

After a motion penalty, Hegarty completed a 15-yard scoring pass to Mersola for a 21-12 Saddleback lead.

Swigart scored on a one-yard run to bring the Pirates close at 21-18.

Orange Coast mounted one late drive but Nowotny’s pass was intercepted by Ennis Finley on the Saddleback 38 with 1:01 left in the half.

Saddleback went ahead, 27-18, when Hegarty completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Dave Ostrander with seven seconds left in the half.

The play before, Hegarty’s pass almost was intercepted by freshman Bart Recktenwald, but he collided with teammate Bill Craft and dropped the ball.

Orange Coast wide receiver Junior Tagaloa set a school record with 11 catches, surpassing the record of 10 set by Mike Gagein 1975.