TONIGHT’S COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOOTBALL : OCC Linebacker Also Hits the Books

Like most football players, Orange Coast College linebacker Dan Petrone thrives on competition. He can’t wait for the chance to excel in games.

But Petrone, whose team travels to Mt. San Antonio for a 7 p.m. Mission Conference game tonight, isn’t totally satisfied by the physical side of competition. He likes the mental side as well.

“I don’t like to see someone get a better grade than me,” said Petrone, an honor student. “I can’t stand anyone doing something better than me. But if it happens then it means I just have to work that much harder.”

Petrone came to Orange Coast from Estancia High School, where he was a standout at linebacker and was the Sea View League co-defensive player of the year in 1989. He also played in the 1990 Orange County All-Star Game.

But even after leading the all-star game in tackles, he didn’t get any Division I scholarship offers, mainly because of his size. He is listed at 6 feet and 210 pounds, which is considered too small to play linebacker in most top-flight programs.

There was interest from a few Ivy League schools, but he decided to pass in favor of another goal.

Petrone wanted to keep playing football, but not right away. First, he wanted to travel around Europe.

So he went to work at a golf course concession stand and saved for his trip. Realizing he needed to focus his goal a little, he decided to travel only to Italy.

Then, realizing he missed school and football while working, he enrolled at OCC in the spring of 1991.

Petrone kept his trip on hold over the spring and summer and played last season at OCC. He was fourth on the team in tackles with 64. He played in all 10 games, but only started the final four.

His best game, and the best of any Pirate defender all season, came against Saddleback.

Petrone was in on 17 tackles (12 solo) and intercepted two passes. He had 16 tackles (12 solo) against Rancho Santiago.

Once the season ended, Petrone finally took his dream trip. Instead of going back to class at Orange Coast, he went to language school in Florence, Italy for a month in late winter.

He spent a lot of time learning Italian and visiting the sites of the city and countryside. His tight budget and constant walking helped him lose 10 pounds.

After returning home, he took four nine-week classes, getting an A in each, to become eligible for this season.

“I felt rejuvenated and fresh,” Petrone said. “It felt good to get over there. But once I was back, I was ready to go in the classroom and on the field.”

In tonight’s 7 p.m. games:

Orange Coast (1-0) at Mt. San Antonio (0-1)--OCC Coach Bill Workman said his team can only get better this week after struggling in most aspects of the game during a 16-14 victory over Long Beach last week. OCC quarterback Josh Gingrich was just six of 16 for 47 yards, but poor pass protection and four dropped passes contributed to his struggles.

Fullerton (0-0) at Long Beach (0-1)--The game marks the debut of co-head coaches Marv Sampson and Glenn Thomas for Fullerton. The pair replaced Hal Sherbeck, who retired after 31 years. Long Beach has the advantage of having already played.

Saddleback (1-0) at Southwestern (1-0)--Motivation shouldn’t be a problem for Saddleback, which is returning to the site of its only loss last season. The Gauchos led, 32-27, at the half but failed to score in the second half and lost, 43-32. Saddleback, the top-ranked team by the J.C. Grid-Wire, is coming off a 34-10 victory over Santa Monica.