Mistakes plague Pirates

One had to use both hands to count the standout plays made by Orange Coast College football players during the Pirates’ preseason scrimmage Thursday against visiting Long Beach City College.

But a lack of sure hands by OCC receivers, as well as Pirates passers throwing the ball into the hands of the opponent, proved to be a concern for the hosts, who open their season Sept. 3 at home against East Los Angeles.

OCC quarterbacks threw four interceptions and the Pirates also lost a fumbled snap.

There were three dropped passes, two of which would have produced long gains.

In addition, sophomore defensive end Preston Hendry, one of two returning starters on that side of the ball and the leading tackler among returning players who has already secured multiple scholarship offers from Division I schools, left the field with a left-hand injury. The injury, approximately an inch behind the knuckle on his middle finger located at the base of his hand, was severe enough that Hendry was fighting back tears on the sideline while receiving medical attention.

Included among OCC’s offensive highlights was some crisp passing by freshman quarterback James Harrelson, three receptions for 62 yards from sophomore receiver A’Brae Booker-Curin, and three more catches for 21 yards and the Pirates’ lone touchdown by freshman receiver Joey Cox.

Harrelson, who appears to have the edge over 2014 starter Kody Whitaker, who missed virtually all of 2015 with an injury, completed 13 of 28 passes for 156 yards and the aforementioned touchdown. He threw one interception.

Whitaker was five for 11 and was intercepted twice, while third-stringer Alek Barrera, a sophomore, was one for two with one interception.

OCC’s short passing game utilized 13 different receivers, only four of which caught more than one pass. No Pirate had more than three catches.

Defensively, Hendry, who ranked fourth on the team with 53 tackles, including 5.5 sacks last season, shared one sack and had one of two OCC fumble recoveries.

Safety Sharrod Paige, a sophomore from Florida, had two big hits, including one that forced a fumble that was recovered by freshman cornerback Josh Nelson.

Freshman tackle Anthony Kennison and freshman end Daniel Garcia were also credited with sacks (touching the quarterback, who was not permitted to be hit), while sophomore tackle Lorenzo Malacas shared a sack.

Freshman outside linebacker Michael Archer was in on two tackles for losses.

Both teams struggled on the ground, with OCC producing 37 yards on 19 attempts and the Vikings collecting just 45 yards on 22 carries. Long Beach, however, scored all three of its touchdowns on runs between the tackles, the longest from 12 yards out.

Long Beach passers threw for 320 yards, completing 29 of 39 without an interception.

The scrimmage included two 15-minute quarters, with traditional possession changes and punts. Those two quarters followed a controlled session in which both teams had three possessions, beginning from their own 35-yard line.

With two field goals, the Vikings produced a 27-7 advantage in scoring, including 20-0 in the two timed quarters.

A 40-yard field-goal attempt by OCC was partially blocked and fell short.

“I think we did a lot of good things,” third-year OCC coach Kevin Emerson said. “We had some drops on some big plays that were there that we didn’t capitalize on. That’s a problem we have to continue to work on.

“I liked the defense,” said Emerson, who last season guided the Pirates to a 7-4 record and the program’s first bowl game since 2006. “They stepped up and rallied after giving up a little bit in the beginning.

“It’s a good [Long Beach] team we played [10-2 last season], so it was a good scrimmage.”