Sanchez, Martz Highlight Defensive Dominance in Win over Orange Coast

TORRANCE, Calif. – Justin Sanchez and Justin Martz each recorded double-digit tackles for No. 14 El Camino College in a 21-3 victory over Orange Coast Saturday afternoon at Murdock Stadium.

Martz and Sanchez each recorded 10 tackles for the Warriors (3-1) as the defense kept the Pirates (1-3) out of the endzone on the day. Sanchez led the team with three tackles for a loss to go along with one sack while Martz had a pair of sacks and 2.5 tackles for a loss.

Overall, the Warriors recorded eight sacks from six different players and tallied 15 tackles for a loss of 63 yards. The Warriors also forced four fumbles on the day and recovered two of them.

The victory came for ECC despite the Pirates hoarding possession of the football. The Pirates had the ball for 38:48 of game time and ran 17 more plays than the Warriors.

But the ECC defense held the Pirates to just 2.8 yards per play and 198 yards of total offense. The Warriors scores came on a 23-yard scoring reception for Cory Payne in the first quarter, the only points of the half.

Keyshawn Dupree would add a pair of 1-yard TD runs, his only carries of the game.

The pivotal series came at the end of the first half as the Pirates took over at the ECC 40-yard line with 2:40 left in the half. They marched down to the 1-yard line and called their last timeout of the half with eight seconds left.

With 2nd-Down-and-Goal at the 1-yard line, the Pirates ran a quarterback keeper to the right side but Martz stood up OCC quarterback Adam Carr and kept him out of the end zone. Time expired in the half as the Pirates came away empty handed and they would never get that close to scoring a touchdown the rest of the way.

The Warriors will hit the road and wrap up non-conference play next week as they take on Moorpark. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.