Cerritos bowls OCC over

OCC football game story vs. CerritosPirates’ aspirations for bowl game are virtually dashed after overtime loss to visiting Cerritos.COSTA MESA -- The Orange Coast College football program will use next week’s regular-season finale to honor three championship teams from its past.

But by virtue of a 27-21 overtime loss Saturday to visiting Cerritos, this year’s Pirates figure to be playing only for pride Saturday against district rival Golden West.

Orange Coast came in against Cerritos ranked No. 8 in Southern California and tied for second in the Mission Conference National Division. With two more regular-season victories, a postseason berth was probable.

But all that evaporated in a scoreless second half and overtime for the Pirates (5-4, 2-2 in the division).

The Falcons (4-5, 2-2), who have now beaten Orange Coast nine straight times and have won 13 of the last 14 meetings, also failed to score in the second half. But after holding the hosts to a missed field goal on the first possession of overtime, Cerritos scored four plays into its first overtime possession when quarterback Jeff Kline found receiver Greg Smith open in the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown pass.

The setback was even more painful for the Pirates, because they had far more chances to score after halftime than the Falcons.

Orange Coast freshman kicker Kyle Vandenbos missed on second-half field-goal attempts of 48 and 53 yards and also misfired on a 45-yard attempt in overtime.

Cerritos also blocked a 41-yard Vandenbos field-goal try in the second quarter.

The Pirates had one possession end when a pass bounced off a receiver’s hands and was intercepted by Cerritos middle linebacker Dylan Campanale at his 15-yard line.

Orange Coast was held without a point on possessions that reached as far as the Cerritos 14, 11 and 13. And the overtime began, as with NCAA overtime sessions, at the opponents’ 25-yard line.

“We had some opportunities to go down and score and we didn’t,” Orange Coast Coach Mike Taylor said. “And we had an opportunity at the end to stop them on defense and we didn’t.”

Penalties hindered Orange Coast, which committed nine infractions for 85 yards. Procedure penalties on the hosts twice turned third-and-three situations into third-and-eight chances they failed to convert on separate drives in the second quarter.

The OCC defense drove the Falcons backward to their 6 on the first possession of the second half and a short punt from the end zone was returned to the Cerritos 27. But a roughing-the-punter penalty gave the visitors an automatic first down.

Taylor said the Pirates had a return called on the punt, and called the attempt at blocking the kick misguided.

The Pirates were flagged for pass interference on the next play. And though Cerritos eventually punted, OCC took over at its own 20, losing a chance to sway the field-position battle in its favor.

On the Pirates’ ensuing possession, a 17-yard run to the Cerritos 11 was nullified by offsetting penalties. Then on fourth-and-one at the Cerritos 25, an apparent 6-yard run was called back when the Pirates were guilty of illegal motion. Forced to try a field goal, they could not convert.

Sophomore linebacker Keola Asuega appeared to give the Pirates a golden opportunity when he intercepted on the first play of the fourth quarter to set the hosts up at the Cerritos 35.

After a 6-yard pass and a 16-yard scramble by freshman quarterback Kekoa Crowell, an incomplete pass, a penalty for an illegal block and the aforementioned would-be-completion-tuned-interception ended the threat.

An OCC receiver dropped another apparent completion near the Cerritos 25-yard line on the Pirates’ next possession and the drive eventually ended in a punt.

A pair of penalties sabotaged Cerritos’ final possession in regulation and OCC took over after a punt at its own 32 with 50 seconds left.

Two scrambles by Crowell, who rushed for 88 yards and threw for 144 more, moved the Pirates to their 46. After two incomplete passes, Crowell connected with Jimmy Thorson for 18 yards to the Cerritos 36 with six seconds left. But the ensuing field-goal try was well short and wide left, prompting overtime.

Orange Coast opened the game with a 13-play, 83-yard touchdown drive.

After cornerback Chris Assily recovered an errant Cerritos option pitch and returned it 8 yards to the Falcons’ 2, OCC scored again to take a 14-7 lead with 13:17 left in the second quarter.

Cerritos then scored on back-to-back possessions. Kline, who rushed for 105 yards and threw for 133, ran 33 yards for the second Falcon touchdown.

After an OCC punt, Cerritos needed just two plays to cover 70 yards. A 49-yard scoring connection from Kline to Smith and a two-point conversion pass put the visitors up, 21-14, with 2:37 left in the half.

But OCC drove 58 yards on seven plays to tie the game with 30 seconds left in the half. Shane Hoffman caught an 8-yard Crowell pass for the capper.

Crowell, who was consistently pressured in the pocket, carried 17 times. He completed 15 of 32 passes with the one interception.

Aoki, who bolted 24 yards for the Pirates’ first touchdown, had 82 rushing yards and caught for passes for 28 more.

The OCC defense tightened things up in the second half. Sophomore end Justin Williams, had two sacks and Aaron Miller added another for the Pirates.

Kline completed 10 of 20 passes, but was more dangerous when tucking the ball and running out of the shotgun spread.

“[Kline] has been playing that way all year,” Cerritos Coach Frank Mazzotta said. “He’s as good a quarterback as I’ve ever had when it comes to beating people with his feet.”

Mazzotta downplayed his team’s dominance over OCC.

“We just got really lucky a couple times when it counted.”20051106ipic4kkn(LA)Orange Coast safety Mordy Ornguze breaks up a pass in the end zone intended for Cerritos’ Cory Rhoane during Saturday’s game. 20051106ipic3vknPHOTOS BY: MARK DUSTIN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Orange Coast College tailback Robert Aoki breaks away from Cerritos’ Arlando Bryant on his way to the end zone for a touchdown in the first quarter of Saturday’s Mission Conference game.