OCC Football to make first bowl appearance since 2006

The Orange Coast College football team will face Ventura in the Beach Bowl on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Ventura College.

Coach Kevin Emerson’s Pirates finished the regular season 7-3 with a 5-1 record in the Southern Conference to place second. It’s the program’s first bowl appearance since 2006.

OCC, which won seven of its last eight games, including a 17-14 upset over rival Golden West, which was ranked No, 1 in the state at the time, were ranked No. 14 in the final state regular-season poll.

Ventura, ranked No. 10 in the final state poll, finished 7-3, 5-1 in the Northern Conference. It averages 42.7 points per game, which ranks No. 4 in the 37-school Southern California Football Assn.

Ventura, for which the mascot is also Pirates, scored at least 54 points four times this season and was held to fewer than 30 points just three times.

Ventura is on a four-game winning streak and won five of its last six games.

Ventura and OCC have played three common opponents. Ventura topped Fullerton, 31-0, while OCC beat the Hornets 31-23. Ventura lost to Cerritos, 44-28, while OCC was topped by the Falcons, 34-31. Ventura lost, 30-23, to Golden West.

OCC is paced offensively by sophomore quarterback Mason Dossey and sophomore receiver Stefan Derrick. Dossey has 2,185 passing yards, which ranks No. 3 all-time in school single-season annals, with 19 touchdown passes, only four interceptions and a 64.2% completion rate. He has thrown three touchdown passes in three games, including the regular-season-ending 52-21 triumph over Grossmont in which he also ran for a touchdown.

Derrick has 57 receptions for 1,016 yards and 14 touchdowns, the latter tied for second in the state.

OCC’s defense, which ranks No. 7 in the SCFA having allowed 22.4 points per game, ranks third in the SCFA with 18 interceptions and has a SoCal-leading six defensive touchdowns.

Sophomore middle linebacker Mark Cushing leads OCC with 85 tackles and has two interceptions. Freshman strong safety Brandon Worthy has five interceptions and 52 tackles.

— From staff reports