The Pirate who persevered

Rolling out to his right with the game, and perhaps any future aspirations in football on the line, Orange Coast College sophomore quarterback Chris Debowski relied on the things that had allowed him to keep buckling his chin strap in three largely discouraging seasons since starring at Fountain Valley High.

On this play, the last of a double-overtime victory over visiting Fullerton on Oct. 20, much as he had shown in the long, bumpy ride to the controls of the Pirates’ offense, Debowski was all about patience and perseverance.

So, when his initial reads came up empty, he merely kept drifting toward the sideline, waiting for an opening, similar to the one that, at long last, had come for him just five days prior.

Whether that opening would ever come was an ongoing torment for Debowski ever since he took his final snap at Fountain Valley in the fall of 2004.

When an initial tryout ended in rejection at Saddleback College, Debowski decided to give it another try at Orange Coast.

The catalyst behind that decision was former Fountain Valley teammate Mike Musso, who had been a freshman receiver at OCC in 2004. But, just two weeks after urging his former high school friend to join him at OCC, Musso was killed in a car accident.

Hit hard by the tragic loss of his friend, Debowski greyshirted the 2005 season, returning in 2006 as the backup to Kekoa Crowell.

After Crowell was injured in the regular-season finale, Debowski started and played the whole way in the Pirates’ 29-20 loss to Mt. San Antonio in the U.S. Bank Beach Bowl. He completed 11 of 19 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception.

Energized by his success on the field, Debowski was in the weight room two days later, intent on adding muscle to his then 6-foot, 165-pound frame.

Throughout the spring and summer, Debowski was the starting quarterback, as he bulked up to 200 pounds and became, among teammates, one of the most popular Pirates players.

But just prior to the start of fall practice, Debowski broke the middle finger on his right, throwing, hand while helping his girlfriend move.

Then, days into practice, Sean Hakes, a former All-State performer and blue-chip recruit out of Nolan Catholic High in Fort Worth, Texas, who redshirted as a freshman in 2006 at Akron, showed up at OCC. Hakes, who had turned down scholarship offers from Mississippi, Colorado State and Bowling Green before picking Akron, was viewed as a signal-calling savior.