Pirates fall to Rustlers in season opener
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Orange Coast (0-1) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
|
Golden West (1-0) | 14 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 41 |
HUNTINGTON BEACH -- The Orange Coast College football team dropped its season opener to rival Golden West, 41-7, in the 54th Annual Battle of the Bell game, hosted by GWC, on Saturday.
Things looked good early for Coast when Billy Hester took the opening kickoff 59 yards down to the Golden West 36-yard line, putting OCC in great field position right away.
Four plays later, quarterback Brandon Cannella hooked up with Max Difilippo on a 15-yard touchdown strike and after the successful PAT from Calvin Kirchoff, Coast had a 7-0 lead.
The turning point of the game came late in the second quarter. With OCC trailing just 14-7 and the Pirates driving for a tying score right before halftime, Coast had a third-and-goal from the GWC 3. But a costly sack and a delay of game penalty pushed the ball back to the GWC 18 and a botched snap on a field-goal attempt turned into an interception and return back to the GWC 40. And, with just 2:22 left before halftime, Golden West marched down the field and made it 21-7 with an 8-yard TD pass from Malakai Martinez to Nick Kennewell.
So instead of a potentially tied game at the half, Coast, trailed by 14 and when GWC took the opening possession of the second half and scored, the Rustlers suddenly found themselves comfortably in front, 27-7 and it was down here from there.
Cannella finished with 183 passing yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. The Rustler defense completely shut down the OCC rushing game, holding Coast to just 11 rushing yards on 21 carries.
Joshua Huerta led the OCC defense with six tackles (four solo) to go along with a sack. Teammate Nick Koclanakis also had six total tackles (three solo) for OCC.
Coast will host Santa Barbara City College on Saturday, beginning at 6 p.m. for the 2022 home opener.
