Sophomore wide receiver Darrius Young caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Kevin Lubner with 1:11 left and the Long Beach City College defense turned away Orange Coast College on its final drive to secure a 42-38 season-ending win at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday night.
Long Beach closes the 2009 season with a 3-7 overall record and finishes fifth in the Southern Conference at 2-4.
Last season, the Vikings pulled out a wild 50-46 win over the Pirates at OCC and tonight’s contest just was just as entertaining.
The Vikings jumped out to a 14-3 first quarter lead after a freshman running back Daveon Barner’s one-yard TD and a 43-yard interception return for a touchdown by sophomore safety Genesis Fonoimoana.
But the second quarter belonged to OCC and running back Ray Holley. He scored two of his five touchdowns on the night to put the Pirates back in front 17-14 late in the second.
But on LBCC’s final drive of the half, Young caught a 32-yard TD from Lubner with 20 seconds left to send the Vikings to the locker room with a 21-17 advantage.
Holley’s third TD, a 12-yard run with 11:46 in the third briefly gave the Pirates a 24-21 lead before Long Beach freshman running back Ruben Laurente’s one-yard touchdown capped an eight-play, 78-yard drive and put LBCC back in command at 28-24.
Holley struck again to open the fourth quarter with a one-yard TD at 12:44 for a 31-28 OCC lead. But on the ensuing kickoff, Fonoimoana streaked for his second touchdown. Fonoimoana made a couple of impressive moves, including hurdling a potential tackler at OCC’s 45 yard line on his way to the 88-yard kickoff return and the Vikings regained the lead 35-31 with 12:24 left in the contest.
But Orange Coast would regain the lead one last time. Holley cruised in from 12 yards out for his fifth and final touchdown to give the Pirates a 38-35 advantage with 8:10 left in the game.
On the game winning drive, the Vikings went 84 yards over eight plays. Sophomore Brandon Joseph caught a 17-yard pass before Young hauled in consecutive 10 and 29-yard receptions.
On third down and 10 yards to go from the 22-yard line, Lubner lofted his pass to the left corner of the end zone. Young caught the ball in the air and was able to get a foot down in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.
Orange Coast had one last chance, starting its final drive with 1:03 left from its own 39-yard line. Quarterback Kyle Manning connected with Calvin Brister for a 20-yard pass to put the Pirates in LBCC territory. After a Holley five-yard run, OCC converted on fourth and five with a nine-yard catch by Kyle Burdett to put the Pirates at the Vikings’ 27 with 11 seconds left.
After an incomplete pass, OCC had one last shot with eight seconds left on the clock. Manning tossed his final pass to Cordell Simmons in the end zone, but Fonoimoana knocked the ball away as time expired to seal the Vikings’ win.
Fonoimoana totaled 12 tackles (9 solo) on the night to go with his two touchdown returns. Freshman defensive back Fred Rogers led the LBCC defense with 13 tackles (9 solo) and also had an interception.
Young had a big night for the Vikings, hauling in eight passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Lubner threw for 263 yards and two TDs on 18 of 33 passing with one interception.
For Orange Coast (5-5, 1-5 SC), Holley had a huge night rushing for 266 yards on 42 attempts to go with his five TDs.
Reports From LBCC’s Chris Ruiz
Photos From John Fajardo