Community college football: This Means War

Steve Virgen

COSTA MESA - There is a definite battle among the running backs of

the Orange Coast College football team. And no one is backing down.

Eight tailbacks are in contention for the starting role and as many as

three fullbacks, including Newport Harbor High product Travis Trimble,

are vying for the first spot on the depth chart as the Pirates began the

‘01 season with an intersquad scrimmage Saturday at OCC.

After the scrimmage, both starting positions are uncertain as just

about every runner displayed what they had to offer.

Tailbacks Leonard De Roche, Niles Mittasch, Jared Kemp, Brandon

Harris, Randy Gaither and Dan Hawkey certainly brought their share to the

table.

“We have four or five good players,” OCC Coach Mike Taylor said. “Kemp

stepped it up and looked pretty good today. Hawkey looked really good. We

just need to get better and stay hungry and go through our season week by

week.”

Offensive coordinator and running backs coach Sean Ponder told the

backs that the tailback and fullback positions are still open, but the

depth chart will be decided after the scrimmage with Santa Monica, Aug.

31.

De Roche, 5-foot-10, 210 pounds, ran with the first team Saturday and

broke off a big-gainer on his second carry. He is a downhill-type runner

who has fullback experience and uses that to his advantage. Two years

ago, he played at Victor Valley College, where he suffered a concussion

and endured an 0-10 season.

“We all add a little something to the game,” De Roche said of the

tailbacks. “Randy Gaither, he is is a quick guy and smooth guy. Me and

Brandon (Harris) have the same kind of style ... I don’t know. It’s going

to be a close battle. I think the Santa Monica scrimmage is going to

bring the show in us out.”

Harris, a short, stocky runner (5-7, 195 pounds), pounded his way to a

two-yard touchdown early in the scrimmage.

Hawkey, who is 5-11 182 pounds, displayed hard runs toward the end of

the scrimmage. He continued to pump his legs and spin out of tackles even

after the whistle was blown.

Mittasch, an all-state running back from Oregon is perhaps the

darkhorse in the mix. He says he is still learning the plays and did what

he could on Saturday. Mittasch, just as the other backs, is planning to

work toward the Santa Monica scrimmage to serve as a coming out.

“There is a lot of competition out there,” said Mittasch, a 6-foot,

195-pound speedster who scored 42 touchdowns in 13 games for Churchill

High last year. “About three of them will be competing. That’s good for

me because I never really had competition in the backfield. It will make

me play a lot better, make me keep my game on pace. Today, I just did

what I could. I ran up the hole strong. That’s all I could do. (But) when

I see a hole, I know what to do.”

Meanwhile, the defense put some intensity into Saturday’s scrimmage.

Defensive linemen Dan Stringer and Greg Smith led the defensive charge.

Smith recovered a fumble and continued to provide a strong rush to the

quarterback. Stringer, more vocal on the field than most defenders,

maintained game speed throughout the scrimmage.

“We depend a lot more on our D-line this year,” said Stringer, a

returning sophomore. “Last year, we had big guys, guys who were Division

I players with (Justin) Blackard, Martin (Janzon) and (Dustin) Davis. We

have some talent back there, but they’re all pretty much unproven. So our

safeties and defensive line have to step up. We did better than I thought

we would today.”

The hit of the day came from cornerback David Nettles, a 5-11,

195-pound defensive back from Las Vegas, who broke up a pass with a

bone-crushing hit on a running back in the flat.

“That got me pumped up,” Nettles said. “It re-energized me. I kept

going, I was out there for a while. It felt really good. It got the team

up and that’s what we needed.”

The offense seems to have picked up where it left off last year, and

then some. Quarterback Nick Higgs connected on most of his passes,

including a 60-yard bomb that hit Jonathan Jackson in stride for a

touchdown.

“Our offense is better this year,” Taylor said. “We have better backs

and a lot better offensive line. I thought it was fun to get down here

and go at each other a little bit. It was fun to have officials blowing

whistles and for us to get a lot of game-time situations in. Another week

of practice and I think we are way ahead offensively than we were a year

ago.”

Martin Janzon update: Janzon, a star linebacker for the Pirates last

year, completed his first week of practice with the USC Trojans. Janzon

was cleared by the NCAA to practice last week. He remains hopeful in his

quest to be reinstated for the season and regain his scholarship.

“It all depends on the NCAA,” said Janzon, who expects to have word on

the NCAA’s decision next week. “I’m just waiting for the NCAA. Of course

I think about it. These past days, I’ve had other things on my mind. I’ve

been focusing on football.”

Janzon said he was running with the first team kickoff unit and he

plays as the third-string linebacker.

“I got in late,” he added. “I’m still learning the plays. It’s

intense. Everybody is good. It’s just so different. There are no gaps

between the players. In JC you have good players and bad players. It’s a

little bit faster here. On defense, it’s pretty much up to me. My main

problem is just learning the playbook.”