Barry Faulkner
Tonight's 7 o'clock Mission Conference American Division football
matchup between visiting Orange Coast College and Cerritos appears,
at least on paper, to be evenly matched.
But the Pirates (1-7, 1-2 in the division), having lost 11 of
their last 12 games and having produced just 14 offensive touchdowns
and a conference-low 108 points this season, have proved no match for
their own offensive struggles in 2004. OCC has not scored more than
19 points in a game this fall, as well as the final five games of
2003.
Cerritos (2-6, 1-2) ranks 11th in the 12-team conference in total
defense. But Falcons' sophomore quarterback, Kevin Brown, has thrown
14 touchdown passes and amassed 1,535 aerial yards.
The Pirates and Falcons are locked in a four-way tie for third in
the division, one game behind second-place Long Beach, which OCC
beat, 17-10, Oct. 16.
An OCC win would advance its bid to finish second in the division,
behind Mt. San Antonio (7-1, 3-0). The Pirates wrap up the season
Nov. 13 against Golden West (3-5, 1-2).
The Pirates are hoping to rebound from a 10-7 loss at Palomar last
week, in which the Comets scored the winning touchdown with 28
seconds left.
"Last week was the toughest loss this year," OCC Coach Mike Taylor
said. "It was kind of a picture of our season."
The Pirates are led by sophomore quarterback Kyle Basanez (93 of
193 passing for 1,259 yards), while freshman tailback Matt Padilla
(476 rushing yards this season) keys the running game.
Basanez and Brown are both transfers from Fordham.
