OCC football: Battle for the bell is back

Steve Virgen

What is a rivalry?

Proximity, animosity and some sort of title on the line are some of

the facets to a rivalry.

Case in point: the Orange Coast College football team vs. Golden West

tonight at 7 on the OCC campus.

The Mission Conference Central Division opener between the Pirates and

the Rustlers will feature the battle for the bell -- The Victory Bell,

awarded to the winner of the OCC-Golden West game.

Due to a Mission Conference realignment, the rival schools didn’t play

in 1998 or 1999. Tonight’s matchup will be the first between the two

since a 28-6 Rustlers’ win in 1997.

“This will definitely be a big game for us,” OCC Coach Mike Taylor

said. “We have to stay focused.”

OCC (2-3) and Golden West (0-5) are coming off a bye week. The Pirates

come into the matchup with momentum as they reeled off back-to-back upset

wins at Mt. San Antonio and at Pasadena City.

A year ago, OCC was 2-3 at the midseason break. But the Pirates began

that season with two straight victories and then went on a four-game

skid.

“Last year’s 2-3 was different than this year’s 2-3,” said Taylor. “We

have some momentum this time.”

Golden West, on the other hand, has little, if any, momentum.

The Rustlers are in the midst of a 25-game losing streak and the

understatement here is that they are hungry for a win. No victory would

be sweeter for Golden West than one coming against its rival.

Golden West Coach Mike Shaughnessy believes his team runs out of

energy in games. Yet, ultimately, the Rustlers suffer from a wicked case

of bad luck.

They can’t escape that dreaded monkey on the back.

“We certainly haven’t had any good luck this season,” Shaughnessy, a

former Estancia High standout, said. “You would think that because we

have someone of Irish descent (coaching) we would have good luck. There

certainly is a monkey on our back.”

Shaughnessy said his team has self-destructed in games this season.

But, he’s confident the Rustlers will be ready for tonight’s game because

they are well aware of the rivalry.

“Absolutely,” he said. “They know about the rivalry. No doubt about

that.”

Taylor expects the Rustlers will be ready. Though the Pirates’ defense

is limiting opponents to 23.2 points per game, second-best in the

division, Taylor knows Golden West will try to throw in some wrinkles.

The Rustlers have nothing to lose, even though conference play provides a

new season.

“They do a fair amount of things well,” Taylor said. “They want to get

the monkey off their back. We just want to make sure that we’re not the

one that gets that monkey off.”

Golden West will be led by quarterback Anthony Zaragoza, a left-hander

who was injured early in the season but has returned and done well. His

top target is split end Brandon Huey, who has been clocked at 10.5 in the

100-meter dash. Huey is averaging 16.8 yards per catch.

Defensively, Golden West runs the flex, similar to the system run by

the University of Arizona. Linebacker Nick Heinle -- the Rustlers’ best

player at any position, according to Taylor -- is the key to the defense

as the flex linebacker. Heinle will attempt to confuse OCC quarterback

Nick Higgs. Heinle shifts during the cadence in an attempt to disguise

whether he is playing the run or pass.

OCC’s offensive success will depend on Higgs and the offensive line.

They must be able to read Heinle. Taylor said they’ve done well with it

in practice this week.

“They’ve been doing a good job picking it up,” he said. “We’ll have to

see how well they do with it in the game, but so far, they’ve done fine.”