Hughes, who was bothered by a right (throwing) shoulder injury sustained in last week’s loss at Saddleback, warmed up, but had no velocity on his passes, OCC Coach Mike Taylor said. Hughes, a Corona del Mar High product, had thrown for 1,733 yards and 13 touchdowns in the first eight games.
Reilly finished 21 of 41 passing for 209 yards, with two interceptions. Reilly began hot, hitting freshman running back Ray Holley on a 65-yard touchdown pass with 7:33 left in the first quarter to open the scoring.
OCC padded its lead when Reilly connected with sophomore wideout Cameron Hall for a 12-yard touchdown pass just 89 seconds later.
But that was virtually the extent of the offensive highlights for the visitors, who matched the Comets’ three turnovers and punted eight times.
Holley led OCC ballcarriers with 50 rushing yards on 10 attempts, while Hall finished with 71 yards on six receptions.
Chris Reihanifam added four catches for 26 yards and Holley had 60 receiving yards on three catches.
Matt Christian threw for 288 yards, completing 13 of 26 with one interception, to help the Comets, ranked No. 12 in the state and No. 7 in Southern California, prevail.
Freshman receiver Martavious Lee amassed 159 yards on four receptions, including touchdown grabs of 44 and 20 yards. Lee also had a 69-yard reception.
Sophomore cornerback Karlo Bantan had the interception for OCC, which received a team-high nine tackles from freshman outside linebacker Jimmy Keating.
Sophomore defensive end Dean DeLeone chipped in seven tackles, including his team-leading ninth sack of the season.
Combined with last week’s 48-38 loss at Saddleback, this marks the first time in the 60-season history of the OCC program that the Pirates have allowed at least 40 points in back-to-back games.
