COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Dons Do It Their Way, Rout OCC

Rancho Santiago’s 47-14 victory over Orange Coast Saturday was all about streaks.

Most of the good ones went the Dons’ way and they won their fifth consecutive game. The bad ones seemed to haunt Orange Coast, winless still after its sixth game.

The Mission Conference Central Division game, played in front of 1,500 at OCC, was close for only a few moments, in the middle of the second quarter.

Soon enough, Rancho Santiago (5-1, 3-0) cranked up its rushing attack and ground OCC to bits.

Leading, 21-14, with 9 minutes 35 seconds left in the half, Rancho Santiago scored 26 consecutive points and turned the game into a rout by the third quarter.

“The kids get better and better every week,” Rancho Santiago Coach Dave Ogas said.

Where to begin listing the Dons’ heroes Saturday?

The backfield was tough for OCC (0-6, 0-2) to handle. Quarterback Simon Fuentes passed for 186 yards. Running back Ace Riggins rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns in 10 carries. And Kevin Pola rushed for 77 yards and two touchdowns in 16 carries.

The Don defense always seemed to be chasing OCC quarterback Matt Sauk and managed to hold running back Jeff Clayton to 77 yards in 17 carries.

Clayton slipped away only once, for a 39-yard run that pushed him past the 2,000-yard mark in his career at OCC. The school’s career rushing leader, Clayton has 2,061 yards in 17 games for the Pirates.

OCC, down, 21-0, less than a minute into the second quarter, made a brief run at Rancho Santiago after Ogas’ call for an on-sides kick proved to be a big mistake. Ogas admitted his gaffe at game’s end, acknowledging the move probably angered the Pirates.

On the first play after recovering the kick at midfield, Sauk found tight end Chris Quinn uncovered along the sideline for a 50-yard touchdown pass.

Then, one play after Clayton’s 39-yard sprint to the Rancho Santiago one, Sauk scored on a keeper with 9:35 left in the half. Suddenly, a blowout looked like a real challenge for the Dons.

“The on-sides kick backfired a little bit,” Ogas said. “It inspired them. I don’t blame them. It would have ticked me off, too.”

But Rancho Santiago seized the momentum from OCC, running and passing with little difficulty the rest of the way.

In other Mission Conference football games:

Fullerton 21, Riverside 13--John Ledieff scored on a 16-yard fumble recovery in the third quarter, giving Fullerton (3-2-1, 2-0) a 14-10 lead. Elphamous Malbrue scored on a four-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to seal the victory for the Hornets (3-2-1, 2-0).

Riverside (2-4, 1-2) led 10-0 at halftime. Fullerton didn’t score until the third quarter, when Jason Nevadamsky returned a fumble 19 yards for a touchdown.

El Camino 31, Saddleback 28--El Camino’s Steve Sarkisian completed 24 of 45 passes for 468 yards and four touchdowns, as the host Warriors (6-0) scored 28 consecutive points to overcome a 14-0 deficit.

Saddleback quarterback Pat Wood threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Devin Pohl, and ran for a five-yard run as the Gauchos scored on their first two possessions. But they didn’t score again until the 5:15 mark of the third quarter.

In the championship of the Saddleback water polo tournament:

El Camino 8, Saddleback 6--Lyan Price scored six goals for El Camino. Eric Tiettmeyer scored two goals for Saddleback (12-13).

In the championship of the Cypress tournament:

Golden West 8, Long Beach 6--Ryk Wormgoor scored four goals and Jason Stanton had seven saves for Golden West (23-1) in the round-robin game. The Rustlers won the tournament by finishing 4-0 in round robin games. In an earlier game, John Chomin scored four goals and Matt Braun had three in a 10-7 win over Grossmont.

In the semifinal of the Santa Barbara volleyball tournament:

Golden West 3, Orange Coast 0--Michelle Wineke had 15 kills for Golden West (12-0), which won, 15-8, 15-3, 15-2. Golden West, ranked first in the state, plays No. 3 Cerritos in the final today.

At the Inner City cross-country invitational:

Orange Coast’s Tajbakhsh, Pelayo win--Ryan Tajbakhsh won the men’s race in 20:50, and Elizabeth Pelayo won the women’s race for OCC in 18:50.