Pirates open home schedule against Jaguars

COSTA MESA -- After a 200-mile journey up the 101 Freeway to Santa Maria, the Orange Coast College football team will enjoy the friendly confines of LeBard Stadium as they host Southwestern College in the 2025 home opener for the Pirates.

Following last week's 42-20 loss to Allan Hancock College, the Pirates will look to turn their ship around with some home cooking and a battle with the Jaguars, who will have a nice 100-mile journey of their own from their home town of Chula Vista.

The Pirate offense managed some success against a bigger Bulldogs' squad, with Sonny Tierney throwing for 175 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 8-of-21 passing. Of those eight passes, several were for first-down yardage or more, including a 73-yard touchdown strike to Teagan Rumley and a 26-yard TD pass to Kaleb Stamps.

"Sonny showed he was accurate with the long ball, which is great," OCC head coach Bubba Gonzalez said. "He showed he understands what we are trying to do offensively and for the most part, he did a good job of managing the game and managing his emotions, which sometimes is hard for someone who hasn't gotten a ton of playing time in the past. I think he can do better in that department as it showed on some of his incomplete passes out there and I'm sure he will as he continues to get more live action."

The OCC ground game, led by Anthony Osorio, Dorian Webster and Daniel Sonnenberg, combined for 75 yards on just 20 attempts. "We showed that we can run the ball," Gonzalez said. "That comes from our offensive line being more consistent with executing their jobs and knowing their responsibilities. We need to make sure our backs are trusting our O-line and knowing the holes to run into. We had moments of showing that we can run the ball when we need to."

The key to the Bulldogs' win was the success sustained on third and fourth downs and a lack thereof, on the side of the Pirates. AHC was 10-of-16 on third-down attempts and 2-of-3 on fourth down, while the Pirates were a combined 2-of-12 in those same situations. Too many opportunities for the Bulldogs (72 offensive plays to OCC's 43), allowed the hosts to pull away in the second half as Coast kept the game within eight points midway through third quarter before a pair of AHC scores capped off the scoring for the afternoon.

"I thought our team came ready for a battle and they came in and battled their butts off," Gonzalez said. "We just had a few too many mistakes at the wrong times, which will happen on Week 1. We had a couple of third-and-longs on defense that we needed to stop to get us off the field and give our offense the ball back, but we didn't. We kept it close and had some momentum at that time in the third quarter, but it's hard to sustain success if you give up third down plays in those situations. So that's something we're really focused on this week as we get ready for our next game against Southwestern. But overall, I was proud of my team in general ... they didn't worry about the scoreboard, they just worried about doing their job and fighting and competing all the way to the end of the game.

"We've got a lot of young players and for them, that was their first college game. We had to deal with a long road trip, which is tough enough, but throw in a bunch of rookies against a tough Allan Hancock team, for me, it was nice to see us match up with their physically and stand toe-to-toe with them and just battle."

The Pirate defense showed improvements as the game went on, including a shutout effort in the fourth quarter. "It was hot ... they were tired and their bodies were sore, but there was no quit in any of them," Gonzalez said of that final-quarter effort. "They just kept grinding and they had some pride in who they are and they did everything they could to keep them out of the end zone at the end, which is what they were able to do."

Sophomore Jayden Niumata led the way with 14 tackles (six solo), while A.J. Leonard added 11 tackles (four solo). "Jayden was a main player for us last year and he's just going to fly around and make plays for us," Gonzalez said. "A.J. is a rookie and for him to come in and be such a solid contributor -- especially against team with that type of offense -- and match up physically shows the potential and the ability of our linebackers." 

Kicker Talan Samosky had himself a solid OCC debut, going 2-for-3 on field goals, hitting from 33 yards and 38 yards out, and was solid on kickoffs (66.6 average) as well as punts (31 yard average). "There's a reason why he was picked team game captain for us last week," Gonzalez said of Samosky. "We had confidence in him. He's not just a great kicker, he's a great person and an outstanding student. He was able to provide that extra dimension of the game, that we haven't always had in the past. Talon's leg can definitely impact us in a positive way."

As for the Jaguars, they are coming up to LeBard Stadium flying high after last week's come-from-behind 26-24 home win over College of the Canyons. Jaguar quarterback Brayten Silbor, who threw for 287 yards and three touchdowns on 27-of-38 passing, slammed into the end zone on a 1-yard sneak with 1:27 left in the game to give the Jags the comeback win over the Cougars. 

Running backs Jamarei Ashby-Phan and Caleb Blocker combined for 158 rushing yards on 18 carries, with Ashby-Phan leading the way with 80 receiving yards on four receptions as well.

"They're coming off a big win ... I'm sure they were viewed as the 'underdogs' against an established team like Canyons, but they managed to pull out a win." Gonzalez said of the Jaguars. "It shows us the type of caliber of team we will be facing and I know they'll feel like they have something to prove and we have something we want to prove. Now it'll come down to who wants to prove it more. We will need to make sure we do a good job of containing their quarterback and defensively, they're going to play good, sound, fundamental football, so I think this is a great matchup for both teams. For us, we need to continue to improve. This week has been about fixing our mistakes from last week and making sure defensively, we make life on their quarterback rough on his throws and looks so he doesn't pick us apart.

"Which team will execute their gameplan the best? That's what it'll come down to. I expect Southwestern to be ready to battle and for my team, the guys will be ready for this week's challenge and I'm looking forward to see them bounce back from last week."