COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOOTBALL / ORANGE COUNTY BOWL : After Time Off, Clayton Helped Turn On Orange Coast

Jeff Clayton made a name for himself by mimicking others as a redshirt on the Orange Coast football team last season.

This season, he got to play and turned out to be better than expected.

Clayton rushed for 1,202 yards this season, the second best single-season total in OCC history. He had 100 or more yards an OCC-record seven times and scored 13 touchdowns.

His offensive performance was a major reason why the Pirates (7-3) are playing in the Simple Green Orange County Bowl at 7 tonight against Antelope Valley (6-4).

Clayton came to OCC after being an all-Pacific Coast League player at Trabuco Hills in 1991.

He sat out a year because of a slight problem with dyslexia.

“I wanted to get some of the harder classes out of the way without so much pressure,” he said.

But Clayton hardly sat on the sideline. He spent at least two days a week as a target for the Pirate defense. His job was to impersonate the other team’s top running back.

The week OCC played Saddleback was the hardest for Clayton. His role was to play Marcellus Chrishon, Saddleback’s standout running back who went on to become an All-American.

Clayton was hit repeatedly and kept getting up.

“That’s when I earned my starting position,” Clayton said. “I knew that no game would be as hard as that week of practice was.”

Clayton was in danger of not remaining a starter in OCC’s first game, a 32-20 loss to Mt. San Antonio. He was taken out after his second fumble.

When things go wrong like that, Clayton calls on his mother, Ramona Rapley, for advice.

“She’s my inspiration,” he said. “She helps me keep focused on what I have to do and keeps me from getting frustrated.”

So, instead of going back to the bench to sulk, Clayton stood next to Coach Bill Workman to let him know he was ready and expecting to go back in.

“He’s a great kid,” Workman said. “And he’ll be better next season because he’s always doing something to get better. He never just sits around.”

Bowl notes

This is the third bowl appearance in four seasons for OCC Coach Bill Workman, who is looking for his first postseason victory. . . . OCC, which won seven of its last eight games, allowed a Mission Conference-low 274 yards and 15.4 points contest. Linebackers Craig Reynolds and Aaron Gutridge led OCC with 86 tackles each. Efriam Miranda, a lineman, was second with 84 and tied for lead in sacks with eight. Noa Pua, a defensive end, also had eight sacks. Riverside (6-4) plays Cerritos (7-2-1) in the 1 p.m. game. The Tigers, Mission Conference Central Division champions, have won six in a row.