Defense Swarms Pirates Quarterbacks in Road Victory

COSTA MESA, Calif. – El Camino College wreaked havoc defensively en route to a 42-24 road victory over Orange Coast College Saturday night at LeBard Stadium.

The Warriors (2-2) recorded their second straight win thanks to a solid effort on defense as they recorded 12 sacks on the night and also returned their lone interception of the game for a touchdown.

Justin Martz led the defense with seven tackles and was one of 11 different Warriors to record a sack on the night. He finished with 1.5 sacks for a loss of 10 yards. Christion Johnson led the team with two sacks on the night, making three tackles overall.

Isaiah Lemos notched three tackles on the night but his biggest play came as the first half was winding down. With 2:09 left in the second quarter, Pirates (1-3) quarterback Pete Mitchell overthrew his receiver to the left side, going off the hands and landing in the chest of Lemos, who returned it 29 yards the other way for a touchdown to give ECC a 28-14 lead at the break.

The touchdown capped off 21 unanswered points from the Warriors after trailing 14-7 with 14:16 left in the second quarter. The Warriors' lead would never get below seven points the rest of the way.

While the defense put forth a solid effort, the offense also came up with big plays. Trevon Clark was outstanding, making four catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns, hauling in scores of 67 and 51 yards. He also got to show off his arm, tossing a 20-yard touchdown pass to Kameron Spencer with 2:21 left in the first half that broke a 14-14 tie and put the Warriors up for good.

The Warriors put up 356 yards of total offense on a night where the other team had possession for 42:17 while ECC had it for 20:24.

With the win, the Warriors are now 2-2 on the season and will return home to wrap up non-conference action against Moorpark on Sept. 29. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Murdock Stadium.