OCC Football: Bucs shock Mt. SAC

Steve Virgen

WALNUT - Someone forgot to tell the Orange Coast College football

team it was playing the No. 4 team in the nation. Someone forgot to tell

the Pirates they got shut out last week, and that they have only scored

nine points in three games this season.

Someone, actually OCC Coach Mike Taylor, told his players they could

beat Mt. San Antonio. He never stopped believing.

The Pirates never stopped playing.

And with one second remaining, Rob Pate knocked in a 33-yard field

goal to shock host Mt. SAC, 26-25, Saturday night.

The Mounties are No. 4 in the nation according to the J.C. Grid-Wire

rankings.

“We’re not totally different,” said Taylor of his team’s play in

comparison to the previous week. “The same bodies are playing, the same

numbers. We didn’t go out and hire a bunch of mercenary football players

this week. It was just a case that these guys believed in themselves and

they knew they needed to win.”

OCC scored nine points in the last 3:22 remaining as quarterback Nick

Higgs played his first full game of the season and connected with Justin

Dale for a 21-yard touchdown to pull within two.

“We were due. We knew that we could score,” Higgs said of the Bucs’

offense that had scored just one touchdown coming into the game.

The Pirates tried to tie the game with a two-point attempt, but

Michael Adams intercepted Higgs’ pass.

OCC then went for an onside kick and Mt. SAC recovered. And the

Pirates sent the Mounties three-and-out.

With two minutes remaining, OCC began the game-winning drive from its

own 34-yard line. The Bucs converted on two fourth downs on a 16-play,

66-yard drive capped by Pate’s field goal. Pate said he saw someone block

the field goal, but he had kicked it so hard it still went through.

“I played JV last year at Edison High. And I just hope my coach sees

this in the paper,” said Pate, who kicked the first game-winning field

goal of his career. In the third quarter, he made a 42-yarder to increase

the Bucs’ lead to 10-6. Pate was actually the team’s backup kicker

because starter Steve Terwiske was out with a hip flexor.

“This was the biggest game of my life,” Pate said.

The victory was just as huge for OCC (1-3), Taylor said.

“This is the biggest win we’ve had in a long time at Orange Coast,” he

said. “Beating the No. 2 team in the state and it was in their place.

(The Mounties) knew they were in a dogfight at the half. We told our kids

that it was going to be a tough second half and it turned out to come

down to a field goal.”

Last week, the Mounties scored on their first six possessions in a

51-34 win at Santa Ana. Mt. SAC (3-1) was undefeated and led the Mission

Conference in scoring.

Yet on Saturday, the Mounties played as if they hadn’t won a game.

They committed 16 penalties for 150 yards, which included four

personal-foul calls.

“I think we made a lot of mistakes,” Mt. SAC Coach Bill Fisk said.

“But, I definitely give credit to Orange Coast and their coaching staff

for how hard they played. They came back and they did what they had to do

to win. Excellent job of getting prepared for us. They did a super job.”

The Pirates used a zone coverage on defense to prepare for the

Mounties’ deep passing game.

OCC defensive back Barret Burkett intercepted Jeff Cordova’s first

pass, Mt. SAC’s first play from scrimmage. But OCC went three-and-out.

And on Mt. SAC’s second offensive series, the Bucs forced the Mounties to

punt.

OCC still couldn’t gain a first down and would also have to punt. Then

on the ensuing possession, Cordova fumbled as he was sacked and Justin

Blackard recovered for the Bucs.

This time, OCC would take advantage of the turnover. Jared Kemp took

the option pitch for 10 yards as he flipped over tacklers into the end

zone capping a six-play, 23-yard drive.

On a fourth-and-15 situation in that drive, Mt. SAC committed a pass

interference penalty.Overall, the Bucs had four fourth-down conversions,

including two in the game-winning drive. On fourth-and-inches with 1:00

remaining and the ball on the Mt. SAC 25, Higgs faked a handoff to Kemp

up the middle and pitched the ball left to James Dawkins, who charged for

22 yards to set up the field goal.

“I just got the ball and I knew I wasn’t going to be denied,” Dawkins,

an Estancia High product, said. “We know we have a good football team. We

knew if we came to Mt. SAC and beat Mt. SAC here, it would just turn

around the season. Everyone was ready for the challenge and we took it to

them. It was a full team effort.”

After Pate’s wobbly, low kick sailed through the uprights, pandemonium

broke loose as OCC was penalized for its celebration. There was still one

second remaining and Pate would have to kick off.

OCC’s Tim Ogo tackled Joey Gonzalez as time expired and the

celebration continued as fans and players rushed the field.

The scene was surreal for Higgs.

“(The celebration) brought tears to my eyes because, the main thing,

our team came together tonight like a family,” he said.