Derrick back in place at OCC

Stefan Derrick’s voice and manner are as soft as his hands, which render him a mild but mighty force for the Orange Coast College football team.

But the eyes that peer over the sophomore receiver’s face mask often reveal a bolder certitude, intent on intimidation.

“I don’t think a defensive back has tried to [trash] talk to me yet,” Derrick said of the relative silence with which he conducts game-day business. “Maybe it’s something about my eyes. I look them in the eyes. I think they get scared.”

Derrick’s production has been nothing short of eye-popping this season, his first at OCC as a receiver, having tried playing cornerback last season as a freshman out of Long Beach Poly High.

The 6-foot, 185-pounder shares the state lead with 10 touchdown catches this season and his 36 receptions have produced 723 yards to help the Pirates (4-2, 2-0 in the Southern Conference) win four straight games. OCC, ranked No. 17 in the state, faces No. 11-ranked Saddleback (5-2, 3-0), Saturday at 1 p.m. at home in the biggest game the program has played in years.

Derrick’s touchdowns include those that have covered 71, 60, 54, 3, 34, 27 and 22 yards and he is averaging 20.1 yards per catch, despite increasing focus from opposing defenses. Steeped with knowledge from more than a decade playing the game, as well as a preference for physical play and a dogged determination, Derrick has been the Pirates’ most dangerous offensive weapon.

“I use the strength I have and the speed I have (between 4.5 and 4.6 seconds in the 40-yard dash), and my football IQ to get open,” said Derrick, who was the No. 3 receiver at Poly as a senior, after which he turned down scholarship offers from Division I-AA colleges in order pursue his Division I dream at OCC. “I use my moves to make guys think I’m going one way, when I’m going another. And when guys are close on me, I can give them a little nudge and get physical with them. When guys see my size, they may not think I’m as physical as I am. But they know when they get up close.”

Defenders are seldom close to Derrick for long enough to interrupt his connection with sophomore quarterback Mason Dossey, whose accuracy rarely requires Derrick to make the spectacular catches he says have been commonplace since his beginnings in youth leagues.

“I’ve been making one-handed catches since I was 9,” said Derrick, who learned much about the game from his father, also named Stefan Derrick. The elder Derrick was the 1980 CIF Southern Section Coastal Division Player of the Year as a senior quarterback at Poly, which he helped win the section championship.

The elder Derrick went on to play at the University of Washington and his son is creating his own opportunity to compete at a similar level.

“I’ve always had the confidence that I could do what I’ve been doing now,” the younger Derrick said. “I just needed the opportunity and I’m taking advantage of it.”

Derrick initially saw that opportunity coming on defense, on which he played sparingly in nickel packages last season. But soon, he realized that receiver, which he had played his entire career, was the position at which he could ultimately make his mark.

“I felt like I needed to do something different,” Derrick said of his short-lived transition to the secondary. “But It was frustrating not getting the ball in my hands and making plays. I wanted to switch back to receiver at midseason last year, but the team needed me on defense.”

With receiver Mark Munson moving on after a record-setting sophomore season in then-first-year coach Kevin Emerson’s no-huddle spread offense, Derrick wasted little time reverting to his familiar position immediately following the 2014 season.

“All the coaches knew I wanted to play offense this season,” Derrick said. “But playing defense definitely helped me become a better receiver. I learned what DBs are thinking about when they go against receivers.”

Derrick said he once again delights in making things difficult for members of the secondary, and even takes pleasure in tormenting opposing coaching staffs charged with devising a plan to contain him.

“If I make a big play, I like to look at the [opposing] coaches on the sideline,” Derrick said. “Sometimes I feel like they are thinking ‘Yeah, this guy is for real.’”

In addition to helping OCC pursue a conference championship and its first postseason bowl appearance since 2007, Derrick said he now has his eyes on topping Munson’s production from last season (68 catches for 989 yards and eight touchdowns).

“[Munson, now at Angelo State University in Texas] broke the school record for receptions last season,” Derrick said. “I am already beating him in touchdowns and I think I’m on track right now to beat him in yards. That’s my goal.”