El Camino Passes Orange Coast ‘Test,’ Wins Easily, 36-17

So much for John Featherstone’s prediction. The El Camino College football coach said his team would be tested in its Mission Conference opener Saturday night against visiting Orange Coast.

But after overpowering Antelope Valley in their opener two weeks ago, the Warriors could have used a better test. El Camino, which has been idle since Sept. 9, kept a nine-game winning streak alive by defeating Orange Coast, 36-17, in what turned out to be more of a scrimmage.

The Warriors, ranked No. 10 in the nation by the JC Grid-Wire and No. 4 in the state by the JC Athletic Bureau, improved their record to 2-0, while unranked Orange Coast fell to 1-1.

El Camino was extremely productive against the Pirates’ defense. Sophomore quarterback Frank Dolce completed 20 of 28 passes for 277 yards.

With nine minutes left in the third quarter, Dolce completed a 48-yard bomb to sophomore David Blakes. A minute later, he found Al Savea open in the end zone on a three-yard pass that gave El Camino a 30-3 edge.

Orange Coast scored its first touchdown four minutes later when quarterback Greg Angelovic connected with Tim Parker on a 25-yard pass that made the score 30-9. Angelovic completed 6 of 17 passes for 90 yards.

With 8:51 left to play in the game the Pirates scored again on a 13-yard run by Jason McGehee. Mike Vaez ran for the two-point conversion to make it 30-17.

The Warriors answered with their last touchdown, a 4-yard run by sophomore running back Alfred Lowe with 6:19 left to play.

“I realized we got a little sloppy in the third quarter,” Featherstone said, “but when you’re up like we were, that happens. I was really pleased with our effort.”

It was evident from the start that El Camino was anxious to get the show started. The Warriors had lengthy drives in the first half, and Dolce completed 12 of 18 passes for 170 yards and one touchdown.

Freshman Louis Perez kicked a 46-yard field goal on El Camino’s first possession.

El Camino also scored on its next possession, a 66-yard drive capped by Dolce’s 3-yard pass to freshman wide receiver Shannon Thompson, and led 23-3 at the half.

El Camino plays top-ranked Fullerton on the road next Saturday. The Warriors’ last loss was against Fullerton on Oct.1 of last year.