SANTA MARIA, Calif. – College of the Canyons sophomore quarterback Joey Frias threw for two touchdowns and ran in another on Saturday night to help lift the Cougars past Allan Hancock College, 42-21.
COC racked up 23 first downs to the Bulldogs' 13 and the defense held Hancock to 237 total yards (134 yards rushing and 103 yards passing). COC stifled Hancock in the first and a majority of the second quarter holding the team to three-and-outs until about six minutes before the end of the half when the Bulldogs got their first first down.
The Cougars scored on their first drive of the evening when quarterback Brad McClellan connected with sophomore receiver Jovan Leacock on a 20-yard pass. The extra point by kicker Ricky Drake, who was a perfect 6-of-6 on the night, was good and the visiting Cougars took a 7-0 lead.
It only took a few seconds for COC to get the ball back as Hancock had problems moving the chains. Eight plays and 44 yards later, sophomore running back Brandon McDonald ran in three yards and a 14-0 lead.
The defense held off Hancock for two more possessions and the offense put up seven more points from a six-yard Frias scamper into the end zone for a 21-0 advantage.
The start of the second quarter equaled 14 more points for Canyons, which included an 80-yard pass from Frias to sophomore wide receiver Nate Jones and another 35-yard pass from the signal caller to sophomore wide receiver Hayo Carpenter.
Allan Hancock earned its first first down in the middle of the second quarter. The Bulldogs marched the ball all the way down to the COC six-yard line but COC's secondary defended the pass on fourth and two.
For the first time of the night, COC couldn't manage to get a first down and Drake had to punt the ball away from his own four-yard line, which ended in a short field for the Bulldogs.
On the Cougar's 31-yard line, Allan Hancock rushed for a TD to put up its first points of the game, 35-7.
Both teams came out shaky in the second half, as both teams committed turnovers. The Cougars got it back together though when the Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs again, setting COC up for a score on the Hancock 12-yard line. A nine-yard rush from McClellan combined with a short 3-yard Sean Quinn carry gave the Cougars a 42-7 lead.
The Bulldogs would add 14 more points in their column before the end of the game, but it didn't end up enough to beat COC.
Running back BJ Iverson finished the evening with 103 yards on 13 carries and wide receiver Jones had two catches for 114 yards and one touchdown. Frias completed 5-of-11 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns and McClellan was 7-of-18 for 149 yards and one touchdown. Each quarterback threw one interception.
Freshman defensive back Josh Gibbs recorded 11 tackles, six solo, and defensive lineman Will Kanongata'a and Jonathon Hollins had 10 tackles each. Kanongata'a also had 2.5 sacks and Hollins had half a sack for the night.
College of the Canyons remains perfect at 5-0, 1-0 in the National Division, Northern Conference, and Hancock drops to 3-2, 0-1 in conference, at the mid-point mark of the season for both teams.
The Cougars will play host to Moorpark College on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. at Cougar Stadium.
