COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOOTBALL ROUNDUP : Orange Coast Gets 21 Points in Final Quarter to Win

Orange Coast scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to rally past Fullerton, 31-24, in a Mission Conference football game Saturday at Cal State Fullerton.

The Pirates’ winning score came on a one-yard run by Jimmie Banks with 2 minutes 18 seconds left.

Fullerton (0-1) had taken a 24-17 lead when quarterback Greg Garand passed 39 yards to wide receiver A.J. Pressley, who came up with the ball in the back of the end zone after he, teammate Lazell Kitchen and an OCC defender collided with 10:28 left in the game.

It was the game’s fourth touchdown of more than 30 yards.

But Orange Coast (1-0) tied it, 24-24, on a short scoring pass with 5:42 to play.

Quarterback Jared Flint threw seven yards over the middle to tight end Ben Fredrickson.

OCC’s winning drive started on the Fullerton 43. Three plays later, Banks broke four tackles during a 22-yard run that got the ball to the Fullerton one-yard line. He scored on the next play.

Fullerton did get a good final chance thanks to a 47-yard kickoff return by Craig Phillips that put the Hornets at the OCC 33 with 2:04 left.

But after four consecutive incomplete passes, OCC got the ball back and ran out the clock.

Orange Coast’s defense also got in on the big plays thanks to linebackers Andrew Medley and Dustin Davis. Medley picked up a fumble and ran 30 yards for a touchdown to tie it, 17-17, at 13:01 of the fourth quarter.

The play was set up by a big hit by Davis on Fullerton quarterback Garand. The sack was the fourth of the game for Davis.

Flint, a returning starter, was 23 of 37 for 361 yards with one interception and two touchdowns. The Pirates also had two players over 100 yards in receiving--running back Ray Ohrel caught eight passes for 133 yards and David Castleton had six catches for 101 yards.

Ohrel’s longest catch went for 70 yards and Castleton’s was for 31.

“It was nice to see our guys rise to the occasion,” said OCC Coach Mike Taylor, who made his debut as head coach after 13 years as an assistant. “Fullerton is a top-class school and we’re happy leaving here with a win.”