ECC football team extends win streak to three with win over Orange Coast College

By David Rondthaler|September 29, 2019

El Camino College football team wide receiver Isaiah Jones stiff arms an Orange Coast defender in the third quarter of the game against Orange Coast College on Saturday, Sept. 28 at Murdock Stadium. Jones finished he game with three receptions for 39 yards. Kealoha Noguchi/The Union

With the second quarter winding down and the El Camino College Warriors football team up 7-0, Orange Coast College quarterback Adam Carr looked to give his team momentum going into halftime with a touchdown.

After a pair of penalties on ECC and successful drive that would put the OCC offense inside the five-yard line, Carr was ready to go for it. But, as he attempted to sneak his way into the end zone, he was brought down at the one-yard line by the Warriors’ defense.

“It was a huge stop, those are the types of plays we talk about making,” Gifford Lindheim, ECC football head coach, said. “Those are the types of plays the top teams make, we need to make more plays like that.”

The Warriors extended their win streak to three games, with a 21-3 victory against OCC on Saturday, Sept. 28, at Murdock Stadium.

In what turned out to be a low-scoring affair, the Warriors (3-1) defense racked up a total of eight sacks forcing two turnovers and holding the OCC Pirates (1-3) to under 200 yards for the game.

“We did a good job making plays,” ECC Warriors linebacker Aaron Hatfield said. “We need to make turnovers and give the offense good position.”

Going into the second half, the Warriors’ defense would continue to wreak havoc on OCC, recovering a muffed punt in the third quarter that would eventually lead to a touchdown by ECC running back Keyshawn Dupree.

El Camino College football team wide receiver Cory Payne cuts through Orange Coast defenders for a 23-yard touchdown in the first quarter of the game against Orange Coast College on Saturday, Sept. 28 at Murdock Stadium. Payne finished the game with three catches for 56 yards. Kealoha Noguchi/The Union

“Special teams are very important to our team and they did a great job of making plays,” Lindheim said.

On the next drive OCC would get on the scoreboard with a field goal to make the score 14-3.

However, with just under 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Warriors’ defensive lineman Keith Conley Jr. forced a fumble from Carr while Hatfield recovered the ball.

“We have a lot of veterans guys, they know not to give up the big play and that’s what they did today,” Lindheim said.

Three plays later, Dupree would go on to score his second touchdown of the game, making it 21-3 and putting the game out of reach for OCC.

“We feel good right now, we are building chemistry, and special teams are playing well. We have a lot of momentum going into the next opponent,” Hatfield said.