Oceanside receiver Demario Coleman

Pirates make in-section debut tonight

With a 31-13 win at Reed (Sparks, Nev.) last Friday, Oceanside extended their unbeaten streak to 26 games. The Pirates play their first game in the section tonight – kicking off defense of their unprecedented five consecutive Division II section titles.

“We’re not even thinking about another championship,” said Oceanside receiver Jerry Whittaker. “We’re thinking about our next practice – we’re thinking about it step-by-step.”

Carroll said three things have allowed Oceanside to maintain a high level each year – talent, continuity through all levels of the program, and community support.

“If you put those three things together, you have a chance to be good,” Carroll said. “We’ve been able to do it five years in a row and an awful lot of years over the last 15 or 16 years.”

This season, Oceanside has the talent – five players that accepted scholarship offers to Division I schools. But Carroll said talent is not all about players that are moving on to the next level.

“You have to have a couple of good playmakers and guys that are good with the ball in their hands,” Carroll said. “You [also] have to have a strong supply of excellent middle of the road athletes that you get the most out of – guys that are not quite big enough, fast enough, strong enough but play the game the way the game is supposed to be played.”

Carroll said the Pirates have had continuity in staff and program during their string of five section titles in a row. That along with the running essentially the same offensive and defensive schemes creates what Carroll calls a “hierarchy of learning” within the program. It also creates expectations.

“Expectations matter,” Carroll said. “When you have high expectations, you’re going to, by choice, wind up willing to perform at a higher level. Certainly those expectations are high.”

With the Pirates a near unanimous section No. 1 entering the season, the expectations are as high as ever. Whittaker said he doesn’t pay too much attention to the rankings.

“We haven’t proved anything yet,” Whittaker said. “The rankings might say were high, but we want to take everything step-by-step and get better day in and day out.”

Against Reed on Sept. 4, Oceanside answered the question everyone was asking during the offseason, how the Pirates passing attack would fair without Jordan Wynn. Their answer: just fine.

In his first career start, Pirates junior quarterback Quentis Clark finished 18-for-28 for 272 yards and one touchdown. He also ran for a two-yard score.

“I think our quarterback is going to wind up surprising people with his accuracy and efficiency in leading the team,” Carroll said.

Other players Carroll expects to make an impact this season are senior linemen Markis Tokio and Kenny Galeai and senior wide receiver/safety Devin Taverna. Taverna caught two passes for 37 yards and had three tackles and an interception against Reed.

Oceanside (1-0) hosts El Camino tonight at 7 p.m. in the teams’ annual city rivalry. The Pirates have won the last two in the series.

In two weeks, the Pirates will play one of their biggest games in program history when they welcome Long Beach Poly – one of the most storied programs in the nation – to Simcox Field on Sept. 25. Whittaker, who is originally from Long Beach, said the Pirates will have no problem getting ready for the Jackrabbits.

“That means the world to the team,” Whittaker said. “We’re going to come out fired up for that game.”

Carroll said the Pirates success has made it tough to find local opponents. But he also admitted that scheduling Poly was not just a simple case of finding a school with open dates.

“It was an opportunity at an attempt to give this senior class some memories,” Carroll said.

The Pirates have had little trouble creating memories as of late.