Orange Coast vs. Saddleback

Where/when: 6 p.m. Saturday at Saddleback

Key Pirates: Fr. QB Alex Cappellini; Fr. TB Domenic Betts; Fr. TB Dylan Chynoweth; So. DL Ross Pitsenberger; So. CB Evan Law.

Key Gauchos: So. RB Donnell Dickerson (753 rushing yards, nine TDs last season); So. WR Rodney Woodland (43 receptions for 488 yards and five TDs last season).

Breakdown: The Pirates are coming off a 2-8 season, while the Gauchos, ranked No. 5 in California and No. 10 in one national preseason poll, were 8-3 a year ago … Cappallini beat out two other freshmen to earn the nod at quarterback for OCC, for which Andrew Young and Dalton Gervais are also expected to see action … Also debuting for the Pirates is first-year offensive coordinator Jack Wigmore, who guides the newly installed spread offense … Betts, a scat back with impressive credentials at Banning High of Banning, gets his first game action since his senior prep season in 2008 … Saddleback has won four straight in the series and outscored OCC, 89-20, the last two seasons … Law and Pitsenberger are the only two starters returning from an OCC defense that ranked third against the run and ninth overall among 37 schools in the Southern California Football Assn. in 2010.

— Barry Faulkner