OCC pondering the possibilities

BRYCE ALDERTON

The end of the spring semester at Orange Coast College signals the

start of summer is not far behind. But that isn’t all it symbolizes.

It also means football season will rear its head in no time.

The Pirates wrapped up 16 weeks of spring practice on Wednesday,

hoping to improve on last year’s 4-6 record.

Spring workouts, which consisted of weight training coupled with

special teams drills and on-field instruction, gave the OCC coaching

staff an opportunity to evaluate the players who could walk onto to

the field for Coast’s opener Sept. 4 against Glendale.

Head coach Mike Taylor sounded upbeat when asked for an early

assessment of the 2004 Pirates.

“We are better on the offensive line, better at receiver and

better at running back,” said Taylor, who will begin his sixth season

guiding OCC this fall. “Defensively, we lost [safeties Una Latu and

Nick Dominelli], but we hope Chuckie Linman will be healthy and we

have Bubba Reynolds.”

Dominelli led the team with 110 tackles a year ago and was the

first Coast player in three years named to the JC Grid-Wire

All-American squad.

Latu earned second-team All-Mission Conference recognition after

helping lead a Coast pass defense that finished tops in the

conference. OCC ranked first in conference total defense for more

than half of 2002, finishing the season third.

Both Linman (defensive back) and Reynolds (linebacker) were

members on Edison High’s CIF Southern Section Division I finalist in

2001 and each was named to the South squad for the annual Orange

County Prep All-Star football game in 2002 and 2003, respectively.

Sophomore defensive end Justin Williams, who led the team with 10

1/2 sacks and earned first-team all-conference laurels, along with

tackle Ryan Davis, both return. They figure to lead a line that held

up valiantly last season despite the early-season loss of Jesse

Mahelona, an all-state selection as a freshman. Mahelona broke the

fifth metatarsal in his right foot in Coast’s 2003 opener, virtually

wiping out his entire sophomore season.

Coaches at the University of Tennessee weren’t deterred by the

injury and Mahelona signed a letter of intent last December to attend

the school. He finished the Volunteers’ spring practices last week,

Taylor said.

Coast’s offense really has nowhere to go but up after finishing

last in the conference a year ago.

Sophomore quarterback Beau Budde is recovering from surgery to

repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee suffered

in Coast’s third game last season. He has shown strong signs this

spring that he is ready to regain the starting job.

Budde, who starred at San Clemente, is the son of former NFL

offensive lineman Brad Budde.

“He still can’t run 100%, but he is throwing way better and he

understands the offense,” Taylor said.

Competition for the starting job could come from Steve Gorman, a

former Newport Harbor quarterback, and Kyle Basenez, a transfer from

Fordham University who is the brother of Northwestern starting

quarterback Brett Basenez. The depth chart at quarterback might grow

as the season inches ever closer.

“Budde is the returning guy, but I think it is wide open,” Taylor

said. “It will be interesting to see how he comes off the injury and

how he responds, mentally, in a game situation versus a controlled

scenario.”

Luke Sapolu, a senior center on the Costa Mesa High line last

fall, could be the one snapping to those quarterbacks this season, if

he doesn’t leave the mainland and enroll at the University of Hawaii.

Sapolu’s father Jesse, a former All-Pro with the San Francisco 49ers,

played at Hawaii.

Taylor said Sapolu hasn’t committed either way while Junior

Epenesa, a teammate of Sapolu’s at Mesa, has shown strong interest in

OCC.

Both Sapolu and Epenesa, a tailback and linebacker at Mesa, earned

Newport-Mesa Dream Team accolades last fall. Sapolu has also been

chose to represent the South in the Orange County All-Star game, July

16 at the Santa Ana Bowl.

Newport Harbor senior Matt Encinias, who finished second in

Newport-Mesa with 1,308 rushing yards last season and scored nine

touchdowns while starting at running back for the first time since

his freshman year, is also expected to add to Coast’s running attack.

Encinias is also a South All-Star.

The word “could” is necessary because this list of players might

change significantly by September, or even July.

“You never know until they show,” Taylor said.

Taylor said one of the biggest obstacles he faces is getting

commitments from potential players, making sure they enroll in

classes and keeping track of their studies so they remain eligible.

Construction to LeBard Stadium has also altered the Pirates’

practice landscape.

Work is underway to replace the natural grass with FieldTurf, a

synthetic surface that is more pliable than its evil twin, or

Astroturf.

Other stadium improvements include updating ramps to comply with

disability laws and repairing some bleachers.

The Pirates conducted spring workouts on their practice field,

located adjacent to the softball field. Taylor, however, said they

may have to move during different phases of campus construction,

which also includes adding the synthetic surface to the soccer field.

The practice field doesn’t have goalposts, making it difficult to

for kickers to hone their skills.

“Maybe we can walk across the street to Costa Mesa and kick,”

Taylor said.

Taylor remained optimistic about hosting the Sept. 4 opener at

LeBard Stadium, but fields at Ocean View, Huntington Beach and even

Sage Hill should all be ready to cater to community college football

if need be.

And, how many times does construction finish on or ahead of

schedule?

If all else fails and no fields in the immediate area are

available that night, there is always the beach.

“We’ll find a place to play,” Taylor said. “We’ll go down to the

beach and draw chalk lines.

“We are trying to be positive with the kids, telling them not to

worry much about that stuff.”