Gauchos pillage Pirates for sixth straight

The Saddleback football team ran its winning streak to six games on Saturday with a 35-22 win over Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.  The Gauchos trailed at half before rattling off 21 straight points to start the second half.

Saddleback looked good early, scoring on its opening drive by driving 95 yards in 3:12. The drive was capped off when Johnny Stanton found Dominic Collins open for a 17-yard score at 5:35 of the opening quarter for an 8-0 lead. 

Orange Coast was stagnant on offense through the first 20 minutes before finding their stride in the second quarter.  The Pirates evened the score at 8-8 when Mason Dossey found Stefan Derrick from 11-yards out, with the two-point conversion evening the score.

OCC then grabbed all the momentum before half when they intercepted Stanton and took over at the Gaucho 33-yard line with just over five minutes remaining in the half.  The Pirates cashed in just 1:41 later when Kyle White ran five yards to put OCC up 15-8. 

The second quarter featured some chippy play as both teams were guilty of personal fouls.  It seemed to light a fire under the Gauchos in the second half when they exploded for 21 points in under 13 minutes.  Saddleback took the opening kickoff and drove 74 yards in six plays, capped off by a Stanton 8-yard score.  Following an Orange Coast fumble on their own side of the field, the Gauchos again wasted no time as Stanton carried three defenders into the end zone on a 21-yard run as Saddleback grabbed back the lead at 22-15. 

On the ensuing drive, OCC picked up two first downs before being forced to punt, giving Saddleback the ball at their own 27-yard line.  Stanton orchestrated another brilliant drive that appeared stalled after the Gauchos were guilty of a pair of penalties and facing a third-and-goal from the 31-yard line.  He then found Zach Davis on a crossing pattern near the 10-yard line, and Davis did the rest with his legs in outrunning the Pirate defenders in finding the corner of the end zone for a 29-15 lead.

Orange Coast finally responded at the end of the third quarter when they drove down the field in the face of adversity.  They caught the Gauchos napping on a double-pass when Darrel Watts found Stefan Derrick wide open in the end zone to narrow the gap to 29-22.

Saddleback again responded to open the fourth quarter when Stanton led the Gauchos on a 12-play, 75-yard drive.  He again found Davis from 10-yards out, pushing the lead back to 35-22 with the Pirates running out of gas.

OCC had two more drives in the quarter, but could not penetrate a Saddleback defense that was relentless and focused on finishing off the Pirates.  The Gauchos sacked Pirate quarterback Mason Dossey three times on the final two drives, also forcing him into a number of quick throws.  OCC's final drive came up short on fourth and six in the final minute, putting the final nail in the coffin.

Saddleback held a big advantage in yardage, outgaining the Pirates 428-273 for the game.  Stanton finished 22-of-37 for 290 yards and three scores.  He also rushed 15 times for 79 yards and two scores on the ground.  Collins and Davis both finished with over 100 yards receiving, collecting 13 balls combined for 236 yards and three scores.

The defense received a big day from safety Kai Ross, who led the team with nine tackles on the afternoon.  Ross was joined by Marcus Meredith and Anthony Hickey, who both finished with seven tackles and two tackles-for-loss. 

Saddleback is now 6-2 overall and 4-0 in Southern League play with two games remaining in the regular season.  The Gauchos travel to Fullerton College next Saturday to play a Hornet program that has won three straight games.  Kickoff is set for 12:30 PM at Nathan Shapell Memorial Stadium in Yorba Linda.