Pirates lose again on late touchdown

Chris Yemma

SAN MARCOS -- With both teams’ offenses struggling all season, and

both teams entering the game at 1-6, it was no surprise the halftime

score Saturday was 0-0 in Orange Coast College’s Mission Conference

American Division football game against host Palomar.

But it was the former perennial powerhouse that got the upper

hand, as Orange Coast went down, 10-7, with 28 seconds remaining at

San Marcos’ Mission Hills High.

Palomar (2-6) was down, 7-3, with two minutes to go, and put

together an eight-play drive spanning 65 yards that was capped off

with a 5-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Josh Somerville to John

Mulchrone.

The touchdown seemed to suck the life out of the Coast sideline

and the Pirates (1-7) could not respond in the final 0:28 with a

miracle.

“It’s tough, but it’s no different than the other six losses we’ve

had,” Orange Coast Coach Mike Taylor said. “We were battling the

first half and went in 0-0, and after we came out and got that

touchdown, we just wanted to keep them out of the end zone.”

Coast’s only score came in the third quarter on a 10-yard pass

from quarterback Kyle Basanez to receiver Herb Martin. The Pirates’

defense had done a stand-up job all day, limiting the Comets’ Speedy

Anthony to just 56 yards on nine carries, and holding Palomar’s

rushing attack to 127 yards on 30 carries.

But when it counted most, the Pirates’ defense fell to the

jump-start Comet offense that hadn’t put a legitimate drive together

all day.

And following the touchdown, with 28 seconds left after the

ensuing kickoff went out of the end zone, Basanez came out and threw

an incomplete pass, ran for 17 yards, completed a 9-yard pass to Eric

Dietz, and then was sacked twice as time expired.

“After scoring that touchdown at the end of the game, they came

out fired up,” Basanez said. “And the wind was a factor if you threw

the ball up there, so there wasn’t much we could do. But our line

played a great game.”

The first half demonstrated two defenses that have seen much

playing time throughout this season. It was the same pattern through

the entire game, as each offense came out, ran a few plays, and then

sputtered.

There were 14 changes of possession in the first half, with Orange

Coast showcasing the longest drive -- 37 yards on 11 plays, but no points.

The second half also brought a defensive battle, just with more

points. With 5:41 remaining and the Comets threatening to score the

go-ahead touchdown, Coast’s Darryl Hawkins picked off a pass in the

end zone to give the Pirates the ball.

The game almost appeared over at that point, the hometown crowd

not expecting a sudden burst from its offense. But after Palomar’s

defense forced the Pirates to punt, the drive came alive.

“You don’t seal the game until you see those zeros up on the

scoreboard,” Taylor said. “I learned that a long time ago. You’ve got

to understand that it’s not over until it’s over.”