Mather Strikes on Ground in OCC’s Victory

COSTA MESA — Quarterback Todd Mather moved into the starting lineup a week ago and showed off his passing talents. Saturday, he stayed on the ground and rushed for 198 yards and four touchdowns as Orange Coast routed highly ranked Palomar, 42-7, in a Mission Conference game Saturday at OCC.

Palomar (2-1) came into the game as the seventh-ranked team on the J.C. Grid-Wire poll; Orange Coast (3-1) was unranked. But OCC earned some respect thanks to Mather, sophomore tailback Eric Washington (184 yards rushing) and the defense.

The Pirates had scored only one offensive touchdown in two games with sophomore Josh Gingrich at quarterback. Coach Bill Workman made the switch to Mather, from Burroughs Ridgecrest, and he passed for 194 yards and a touchdown as OCC beat El Cajon Southwestern, 42-35.

Against Palomar, Mather scored on runs of 13 and 76 yards in the second quarter and OCC sprinted to a 28-0 lead. But Palomar, which drilled Golden West, 57-14, last week, scored a touchdown with 32 seconds left in the first half.

The Comets then got the ball to start the second half and drove to the OCC 18. But on first down, defensive end Noa Pua deflected a pass by Tom Luginbill and it was intercepted by Ron Senatore. OCC held the ball for two minutes before punting.

Palomar then drove to the OCC two. After two incomplete passes, Luginbill fumbled the snap on fourth down and OCC took over.

OCC moved to its 25, where the Pirates had a third and two. Mather ran the option and kept the ball, breaking into the open and outrunning the Palomar defense for a 75-yard touchdown run. He was helped near the Palomar 20 by wide receiver Ryan Blanchard’s block, which took out the final two Comet who were giving chase.

“My speed comes when I have big guys chasing me,” Mather said. “I looked back and saw them out of the corner of my eye and just took off.”

Mather scored OCC’s final touchdown in the fourth quarter on an 18-yard scramble with 9:21 left. He got his 198 yards in 15 carries and was four of nine for 45 yards and touchdown passing.

“I don’t know where that comes from,” Workman said about Mather’s speed. “In practice he is a 4.7 (in the 40-yard dash), but in the game he is a 4.4. He isn’t a good practice player but it doesn’t matter.”

Workman also praised the defense, which intercepted four passes. Linebacker Quoc Pham returned an interception 51 yards to the Palomar nine to set up OCC’s first score. Three plays later, Mather threw a nine-yard pass to Brian Higgins and the Pirates led, 7-0, with 3:06 left in the first half. OCC also scored with 8:51 left in the half on an 18-yard run by Washington.

Besides Pham and Senatore, Keith Burke and Anthoni Davis also had interceptions for OCC.