Orange Coast is at Compton, led by former Pirate

The Orange Coast College football game against Compton today brings slightly more intrigue than your average Week 2 matchup.

Compton, which hosts the 1 p.m. nonconference contest, starts Tom Parrish at quarterback. Parrish attended Orange Coast last year, but never played, instead settling for practicing with the team and redshirting.

Pirates Coach Mike Taylor knows there will be added motivation for Parrish in this game.

“I’m sure this is a big game for him,” Taylor said.

There is also the fact he will be going against Pirates’ sophomore quarterback Kekoa Crowell, who helped keep Parrish on the sideline.

After Crowell went seven for 24 with 56 passing yards in the opener Taylor, there is motivation with both signal callers.

“[Parrish] knows Kekoa and that makes it an interesting side bar,” Taylor said. “[Crowell] looked like a first-game guy and that wasn’t his first game. He didn’t have one of his better games.”

Despite a short-circuited passing game and a running game which averaged barely more than three yards a carry, the Pirates still came away with a 39-7 win over Santa Barbara in the opener.

“I hope our offense is better,” Taylor said. “We didn’t have any turnovers last week. We were plus-five in turnovers which is great. I’d like to stay at plus-five every week for the entire year.”

The defense, which starts five freshmen today, and the special teams accounted for two touchdowns and one safety last week.And Taylor expects more of the same against Compton.

“I thought our defense, with so many freshmen, played well,” Taylor said, singling out freshman cornerback Chris Holmesly for his stout play. The defense held Santa Barbara to 17 yards on the ground.

A glaring problem for the Pirates was penalties, 11 for 120 yards to be exact.

“It’s one thing to hold somebody, it’s another to block somebody in the back or push them after a play,” Taylor said.

Taylor is also concerned with the game being on the road and it being one of only two day games this year.

“A bus trip is always a concern,” Taylor said. “A day game in Compton concerns me. I don’t know how hot it will be.”

Taylor said Compton, which lost to Santa Ana last week, 27-10, has huge linemen and is at its most dangerous early in the game before the linemen tire.

“It was close for a while with Santa Ana before [the Dons] scored three touchdowns late,” Taylor said. “We want to punch [Compton] back early because I think they are a better first-half team. It’s important if they score that we come back and score. We have to beat them at a game of attrition. We watched them and they were walking a little bit after plays.”

Taylor also plans on tailback Andrew Banks improving after his first game at the community college level, in which he carried 20 times for 80 yards and TD.

On the receiving end, 6-foot-4 205 pound Damola Adeniji went without a catch after finishing last season with 171-yard game in the East County Bowl, in which he was named MVP.

Taylor also said he is aware of Compton’s big play potential.

“They’re capable of going 84 yards because they have speed,” Taylor said. “There won’t really be any adjustments. We’re just trying to get them to eliminate mental mistakes. We had a good week of practice.”