Injury prompts early end to Pirates’ scrimmage

COSTA MESA — The Orange Coast College preseason intrasquad football scrimmage came to a discordant halt Friday night, when freshman running back Bill Chimpalee sustained a broken right wrist while being tackled by sophomore outside linebacker Jimmy Keating.

Chimphalee, who had scored a touchdown earlier, was attended to on the field by trainers and paramedics for approximately 25 minutes, before being taken off the field in a cart, then transported by paramedics to a hospital.

Chimphalee was the Alaska Gatorade Player of the Year in 2007, when he rushed for more than 2,000 yards as a senior at Kenai Central High. He practiced but did not play with the Pirates last season.

He is expected to miss the remainder of the season. But he did not go down before impressing OCC Coach Mike Taylor.

“He was having a good scrimmage, runing the ball pretty well,” Taylor said.

Chimphalee, whose touchdown came on a 34-yard burst up the middle, the longest run of the scrimmage, was hurt with 2:22 remaining in the first quarter of what was to be a full half of live scrimmaging. The format called for punts and moving the chains, while shuttling offensive and defensive units onto the field.

But after Chimphalee was removed, Taylor directed players to the north end zone, where he ended the evening after a short address.

“It was tough to see the way it ended,” Taylor said.

The offensive units had success moving the chains, both in the game-like scrimmage and controlled sequences that preceded it.

Third-team quarterback Ethan Wetzel, a freshman, had a particularly effective sequence in the controlled scrimmage. He completed back-to-back passes for 22-yard gains, the latter a well-placed fade pass that was caught in the end zone by Brad Thompson.

Wetzel, largely competing against third-team defenders, was six for 13 passing for 79 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for an eight-yard touchdown on a quarterback draw.

Projected starting quarterback Sean Reilly, a sophomore, completed four of six for 23 yards.

Sophomore Kyle Manning, expected to be the backup coming in, was four for eight with one interception and 31 passing yards.

The interception, by sophomore defensive lineman Josh Madrigal, occurred after the ball was knocked from Manning’s hand in the pocket.

The 290-pound Madrigal lumbered 59 yards to the opponent’s 10-yard line, before being hammered out of bounds.

Sophomore tailback Ray Holley carried seven times for 30 yards and caught three passes for 10 more. The Pirates’ leading rusher last season, when he collected 510 yards on 99 carries, Holley earned praise from Taylor.

“Ray Holley ran like we said he would,” Taylor said.

Taylor said some of the defensive struggles, including two pass interference penalties, was due to the unusual flow of the scimmage, with offensive and defensive players from both teams being on the field every down.

“We would rather have scrimmaged someone else,” said Taylor, who could not continue the program’s traditional scrimmage against another school due to budget cuts.

“But it was fun. The kids were spirited and everyone had their opportunities.

“After a while, scrimmaging yourself starts to get a little boring. It’s a little like watching reruns.”

The Pirates, coming off a 4-6 season that included six straight losses to end the campaign, open their regular season Saturday.

They venture to Santa Monica College to meet the Corsairs. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.