Orange Coast Shuts Out Long Beach in Opener

COSTA MESA —  As opening games go, Orange Coast College had to be pretty pleased with its 30-0 victory over Long Beach Saturday at OCC.

The Pirates were impressive in all aspects, despite preseason reports that Long Beach had one of the best defenses in Southern California. OCC used three quarterbacks, 10 running backs and eight receivers. And no one got hurt.

“We’re pleased,” OCC Coach Bill Workman said. “We knew their defense was going to be very, very tough and they proved it. We just wore them out. They were out there so long.”

OCC’s defense was as impressive as expected and because of it, Long Beach’s offense was almost nonexistent for the first half. The Vikings had only 18 yards in the first quarter and 54 by halftime. Long Beach finished with 148 yards passing, 52 in the fourth quarter, and 24 yards rushing.

In 12 possessions, Long Beach reached OCC territory only three times. The Vikings punted seven times, were intercepted twice, turned it over on downs two times and fumbled once.

Linebacker Kevin Roberts and defensive back Scott Seymour each had an interception and defensive lineman Vince Legaspi recovered a fumble for OCC.

Quarterback Greg Angelovic and tailback Adrian Steen led OCC to 343 yards in total offense. Angelovic was nine of 16 for 106 yards and a touchdown and had an interception. His scoring pass, a 19-yarder to Jeff Smith, gave OCC a 20-0 lead with 12:55 left in the first half.

Steen ran for 72 yards in 15 carries. Brian Theriot, a 32-year-old former middle-distance runner from UCLA, had 40 yards in six carries. Last season, he ran for 15 yards in seven carries.

Mike Wade of OCC kicked field goals of 45, 25, and 27 yards and three extra points for OCC. He lined up to try a 39-yarder in the second quarter, but holder Mark Recktenwald picked up the ball and threw a 22-yard scoring pass to Derek Whiddon with 9:23 left in the half. Whiddon reached over two Long Beach defenders to get the ball and give OCC a 10-0 lead.