Orange Coast Football Preview

Orange Coast (3-2) vs. Desert (1-3)

When/where: Saturday, 1 p.m. at OCC

Key Pirates: So. LB Nick Cody (47 tackles); So. RB Robert Penny (561 yards, six TDs rushing); Fr. QB Jon Newsom (1,066 yards, 10 TDs passing); Fr. LB Chris Aguilar (42 tackles); So. DE Vince Coleman (36 tackles, 5.5 sacks).

Key Roadrunners: So. RB Nephi Garcia (403 yards, five TDs rushing); Fr. QB Dakota Dartis (608 yards, four TDs passing); So. WR Joel Jean-Felix (16 catches, 181 yards); So. LB Michael Mehling (34 tackles).

Breakdown: The Pirates, ranked No. 11 in Southern California and No. 21 in the state, aim to bounce back from last week’s 49-31 loss at Grossmont that snapped a three-game winning streak ... Desert lost to Grossmont, 36-3, in its opener ... Penny has four straight games of at least 100 yards rushing and ranks No. 12 in the state at 112.2 yards per game ... Cody is tied for No. 9 in the state in tackles and leads all player in the Southern Conference ... Desert leads the series, 2-0, including a 28-24 win in 2011 ... OCC is minus-seven in turnover ratio, while Desert is minus-three ... Newsom has been sacked 16 times this season ... Desert Coach Dean Dowty was an assistant for the now-defunct Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League ... This is the Pirates’ final regular-season nonconference game.

— Barry Faulkner