OCC’s Lineup Is Still in the Formative Stages

At a recent Orange Coast football practice, a photographer from the campus newspaper asked Coach Bill Workman if he would line up the offensive and defensive starters for a group picture.

Workman smiled politely and said it was impossible, because at that point he had no idea who might be at several positions. “Three games into the season,” Workman added, “we still might not know.”

Being vague is nothing new for football coaches, but in Workman’s case it’s an honest answer. The Pirates start the season at 7 p.m. Saturday at Cerritos, and Workman and his staff are still sorting through a freshman class of 90 to identify the starters.

The Pirates, who have only 13 returners, took on Santa Monica in a scrimmage Friday. That helped answer a few questions, especially on defense, where OCC was sending in five or six players every five plays.

“We did some things that actually looked liked we had been coached to do,” Workman said. “And we looked like we were all running the same play at times. We did a little better than I expected. We’re sort of like a slow oil change. Some [players] drip out of the bottom and we pour some more in on top.”

There wasn’t supposed to be any question about who will start at quarterback until sophomore Chad Collins missed most of the last two weeks of practice because of illness. Collins had tests over the weekend to establish whether he has mononucleosis.

“We’re waiting to see if he can play this week,” Workman said. “I hope we find out fast.”

There was a time when Workman’s program wasn’t in the state of flux it has been in during the last three seasons.

From 1990-93, Orange Coast was one of the top teams in Southern California. The Pirates were 28-12 in those four seasons and went to three bowl games, winning one.

In 1994, the team fell to 2-8 and then recovered a bit and finished with a 4-6 mark in 1995. Orange Coast should have been 5-5 in 1995 but lost the final game to Riverside. In the final minute of that game, Riverside kicked the winning 23-yard field goal with 24 seconds left after returning a fumble 40 yards.

Things continued on a downward trend for Orange Coast last season.

Orange Coast was 1-9 in 1996, including losing the last eight. Besides having the worst on-field record for OCC since 1960, the Pirates also lost to rival Golden West, 31-0. The victory was the lone bright spot for the Rustlers, who also were 1-9.

Now, Workman is pinning much of his hopes on a team dominated by first-year players.

“I think we can be decent,” he said. “To say that we will take the title away from somebody may be too much to ask, but you never know.”