Orange Coast Unable to Stop El Camino Back in 41-25 Loss

Sophomore running back Ivan Wilson set a Mission Conference record with six rushing touchdowns as El Camino beat Orange Coast, 41-25, Saturday at El Camino.

Wilson, from South Gate High School, led all rushers with 256 yards in 26 carries and scored on runs of 18, one, eight, two, three and 56 yards.

His final touchdown came with 1 minute 11 seconds left and gave El Camino (5-1, 4-1 in conference) a 41-25 lead.

OCC made it close when reserve quarterback Sean Ponder rallied the Pirates for two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to cut El Camino’s lead to 35-25 with 3:36 left.

After the second score, OCC recovered the on-side kick but Ponder’s pass was intercepted to end the threat.

El Camino Coach John Featherstone then put his starters back in the game, allowing Wilson a chance to score a sixth time.

Wilson’s performance dominated what was expected to be a much closer game. El Camino came in as the 17th-ranked team in the J.C. Grid-Wire national rankings. Orange Coast (4-2, 2-2) was 19th in the same poll.

El Camino’s defense frustrated OCC most of the game. Eric Washington, who entered the game as the conference’s second-leading rusher with 731 yards, was held to 42 yards in 13 carries and had only 17 yards at halftime.

El Camino finished with 538 yards in total offense to 275 for OCC.

El Camino led, 14-10, at halftime and went ahead, 21-10, when Wilson scored his third touchdown on an eight-yard run with 10:01 left in the third quarter.

He set up his fourth touchdown with a 54-yard run before being pushed out of bounds at the OCC two-yard line.

Wilson’s fifth touchdown came on a three-yard run with 14:55 left, giving El Camino a 35-10 lead.

In the first half, El Camino was impressive on a late drive that led to a 14-10 lead. Wilson capped the 10-play, 80-yard march with a one-yard dive into the end zone with 33 seconds left in the half.

OCC took a 10-7 lead on a 38-yard Gene Adair field goal with 2:04 left in the half.

But Singleton was sharp during the drive, completing six of six passes for 60 yards.

OCC started the game with a 70-yard pass play for a touchdown, from quarterback Todd Mather to wide receiver Eric Coleman, who was open behind the El Camino secondary. It was the second consecutive game that OCC scored on its first play.

El Camino came back to tie the score, 7-7, when Wilson went 18 yards around left end for a touchdown with 7:44 left in the first quarter. The play completed a 15-play, 78-yard drive that took nearly six minutes.