JC Football Preview: Orange Coast vs. Fullerton

Orange Coast (3-6, 1-4) vs. Fullerton (8-0, 4-0)

When/where: Saturday 6 p.m. at Orange Coast

Key Pirates: Fr. WR D.J. McFadden; So, LB Jason Kollock; So. S Shane Bauman; Fr. LB Paco Potter.

Key Hornets: So. QB Jose Escobar; So. LB Justin Owens; So. RB Lavorrie Jones; So. WR Eli Pleasant.

Breakdown: The Pirates are prohibitive underdogs against a Hornets squad ranked No. 1 in Southern California and No. 2 in the state … Fullerton ranks No. 4 in offense in the 37-team Southern California Football Assn., while OCC is No. 36 in defense … Fullerton is No. 3 in the SCFA in rushing (239.9 yards per game), while OCC ranks 33rd with 101.2 yards per contest … OCC needs 89 yards to reach 1,000 for the season as a team … McFadden has averaged 20.8 yards on his team-best 35 receptions, totaling 729 yards and eight touchdowns … Kollock has a team-best 67 tackles, followed by Bauman (63) and Potter (62) … Sophomore Jon Newsom leads three OCC quarterbacks who have played and started with 1,156 passing yards and 11 TDs … OCC has thrown 14 interceptions and lost 10 fumbles and is minus-13 in turnover ratio … Fullerton is minus-one in turnover ratio … Fullerton won last year’s meeting, 59-6 … Johnson leads the Hornets with 792 rushing yards, though sophomore Ryan Bird has 765 … Escobar has thrown for 2,088 yards and 18 TDs with eight interceptions … Pleasant leads the Hornets with 44 receptions for 626 yards and five TDs … Fullerton receiver Ryan Longoria has averaged 19.5 yards on his 31 receptions.

— Barry Faulkner