Palomar rally tops Pirates

ESCONDIDO — Orange Coast College freshman quarterback Sean Reilly, filling in for injured sophomore Taylor Hughes, threw two first-quarter touchdowns to give the visiting Pirates a 14-0 lead over Palomar Saturday afternoon at Escondido High.

But the Comets rallied to earn a 41-14 Southern Conference National Division triumph to extend the Pirates’ losing streak to five.

OCC (4-5, 0-5 in the division), surrendered 544 yards of total offense to the Comets (7-3, 3-3), who tied the score with 6:45 left in the second quarter and took the lead for good less than 2 1/2 minutes later.

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.

Orange Coast, ranked No. 11 in Southern California and No. 24 in the state, finishes its season Saturday with a National Division home game against Long Beach City College at 6 p.m.

— From staff reports

PALOMAR 41, ORANGE COAST 14

SCORE BY QUARTERS

OCC 14-0-0-0--14

Palomar 7-14-13-7--41

FIRST QUARTER

OCC – Holley 65 pass from Reilly (Casano kick), 7:33.

OCC – Hall 12 pass from Reilly (Casano kick), 6:04.

Pal – Lee 44 pass from Christian (Yost kick), 4:31.

SECOND QUARTER

Pal – Lee 20 pass from Christian (Yost kick), 6:45.

Pal – Lavea 24 run (Yost kick), 4:17.

THIRD QUARTER

Pal – Lavea 66 run (Yost kick), 12:34.

Pal – Davis 1 run (kick failed), 1:13.

FOURTH QUARTER

Pal – Dennis 12 run (Yost kick), 6:45.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

OCC – Holley, 10-50; Ah-Hi, 8-42; Mokhtar, 10-41; Reihanifam, 2-10; Lefrandt, 1-9; Durnell, 1-2, King, 1-2; Reilly, 3-2.

Pal – Lavea, 10-133, 2 TDs; Philliops, 8-43; Davis, 8-32, 1 TD; Dennis, 6-28, 1 TD; Christian, 2-18; Martinez, 3-2.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

OCC – Reilly, 21-41-2, 209, 2 TDs.

Pal – Christian, 13-26-1, 288, 2 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

OCC – Hall, 6-71, 1 TD; Holley, 3-60, 1 TD; Reihanifam, 4-26; Vidal, 2-42; Butler, 3-2l Ah-Hi, 2-minus 1; Durnell, 1-4, Jones, 1-4.

Pal – Lee, 4-159, 2 TDs; Moore, 3-42; Lavea, 2-24; Williams, 2-14; Duhart, 1-39; Davis, 1-10.