Pirates pound Jaguars

COSTA MESA — It was fitting that the gadget play failed grandly.

The Orange Coast College football team, in fact, used much more grit than gimmick to post a 37-10 East Conference victory over visiting Southwestern of Chula Vista on Saturday.

The Pirates (2-5, 1-1), who won their first conference game since 2008, amassed 66 rushing plays and 82 plays on offense to dominate the Jaguars (3-4, 0-2).

Freshman tailback Bill Chimphalee gashed Southwestern for 161 yards on 18 carries to do the bulk of the ground work for an OCC running game that utilized 10 ballcarriers. Chimphalee, whose one-yard touchdown run capped the Pirates’ eight-play, 70-yard opening possession, sprinted 65 yards for his second score on the hosts’ first offensive snap of the second quarter.

Chimphalee’s long touchdown run gave OCC a 17-3 cushion that increased only 104 seconds later when Keali’i Doll returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown that gave the Pirates their 24-3 halftime lead.

After a scoreless third quarter, OCC freshman Robert Penny scored on a one-yard run just 26 seconds into the final period.

After Southwestern answered with a three-play touchdown drive kick-started by a 49-yard kickoff return, OCC’s Steven Hauptmann recovered an onside kick at the Southwestern 39.

That’s when OCC offensive coordinator Junior Tagaloa went for the Jaguars’ jugular, calling for a flea-flicker that put Doll alone behind the secondary awaiting a pass from freshman quarterback A.J. Josue. But Josue’s toss went long and the Pirates kept the ball on the ground 20 of their final 21 plays.

Sophomore Kaiona Dutro ran over a defender at the goal line for a 14-yard touchdown to finalize the scoring with 8:04 left to help OCC claim victory for only the second time in its last 14 conference games.

The OCC defense also showed its muscle, intercepting four passes and limiting Southwestern to 23 yards on 20 rushing attempts.

Sophomore cornerback Joe Galvez had the first three picks for the Pirates, who received a fourth from freshman corner Clay Guess.

But the secondary was far from the only heroes for the Pirates, who stopped Jaguar rushers at or behind the line of scrimmage nine times. In addition, eight of Southwestern’s pass completions resulted in four or fewer yards.

Tackle Isaiah Reupena, linebackers Eric Wiersma and Earnie Saigao and end Bryce Brantley spearheaded a front seven that seemed to find as little trouble dominating the neutral zone as the Pirates’ offensive line.

OCC blockers including tackles Robert Wright and Kyle Donaldson, guards Mike Meyer, Stuart Strother and Travis Whitlock, as well as centers Alec Davis and Andy Palacios, helped create seams for running backs to cruise downhill all night.

Josue completed just six of his 16 passes for 68 yards and his only interception set up the Jaguar’s second-quarter field goal.

“We’re excited,” OCC Coach Mike Taylor said. “We played a lot better tonight. The backs really ran well.”

The 37 points were a season high for the Pirates, who came in ranked No. 33 in the 37-team Southern California Football Assn. in scoring at 16.8 points per game.

The 27-point margin of victory was the biggest since the Pirates topped Santa Barbara, 39-7, in the 2006 season opener.

Orange Coast 37, Southwestern 10

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Southwestern 0 – 3 – 0 – 7 — 10

Orange Coast 10 – 14 – 0 – 13 — 37

FIRST QUARTER

OCC – Chimphalee 1 run (Vandeman kick), 10:06.

OCC – Vandeman 21 FG, 3:50.

SECOND QUARTER

S – Navarro 28 FG, 14:08.

OCC – Chimphalee 65 run (Vandeman kick), 13:52.

OCC – Doll 70 punt return (Vandeman kick), 12:08.

FOURTH QUARTER

OCC – Penney 1 run (kick failed), 14:34.

S – Grimes 28 pass from Van Nostrand (Navarro kick), 13:39.

OCC – Dutro 14 run (Vandeman kick), 8:04.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

S – Perez, 3-21.

OCC – Chimphalee, 18-161, 2 TDs.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

S – Van Nostrand, 14-29-3, 125, 1 TD.

OCC – Josue, 6-16-1, 68.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

S – Grimes, 6-50, 1 TD.

OCC – Romo, 3-25.