Canyons Knocks Off No. 1 Mt. SAC in Season Opener

The College of the Canyons football team shook up both the national and state ranking by defeating defending CCCAA State Champs and No. 1 ranked Mt. SAC 30-6 on Saturday at Walnut High School.

The Cougars opened up a 13-6 halftime lead and never looked back thanks to a combination of stifling defense and an electric rhythm between sophomore QB Devon Dunn and his corps of receivers.

Dunn finished the game 17-of-35 for 364 yards and three touchdowns, including a long scoring strike to freshman Nicholas Jones and a pair of scoring tosses to sophomore Vincent Strange.

Meanwhile the Cougar defense posted three sacks and four interceptions, while keeping Mt. SAC — which some media outlets had ranked as high as No. 2 nationally — out of the end zone the entire evening.

The Mounties were the first to get on the scoreboard after a 22-yd field goal put them ahead 3-0 with 7:12 to go in the first quarter.

But roughly five minutes later Dunn connected with Jones on a 33-yard touchdown pass to cap a 12-play, 85-yard scoring drive with 2:16 to play in the quarter. The PAT from Alec Chadwick made it a 7-3 COC advantage.

Jones finished the game with four catches for 170 yards, including a long gain of 69 yards.

Mt. SAC kept it close with a second field goal to make a 7-6 game.

After that Canyons took control.

Moments later Dunn and company were at it again, this time scoring on a 38-yard pitch and catch to Strange.

A failed extra point kept the Cougar lead at 13-6, and an interception by freshman linebacker Cody Shoemaker help preserve the COC lead heading into halftime.

Canyons was able to effectively move the ball down the field to open the first drive of the second half, but eventually settled for a 37-yard field goal from Chadwick that pushed the lead to 16-6.

If the Cougar offense found its stride offensively in the first half, the COC defense definitely followed suit in the second half.

Led by a stable of linebackers that included Shoemaker, Will Pretty III, Anthony Costleigh, Paul Puebla, Austin Davenport and Garrett Updegraft, the Cougars were able to disrupt Mountie quarterback Eban Jackson, while at the same time containing Mt. SAC's multi-faceted rushing attack.

The Mounties had 11 players register a carry on Saturday night, combining for 139 rushing yards.

Updegraft led the team with seven tackles, but received lots of help from the secondary as well. Sophomore cornerback Rawson Redick finished with six tackles.

Meanwhile, fellow sophomore cornerback Triston Brown had five tackles and sophomore safety Isaiah Foster, playing in his first game in nearly two years, had four.

Canyons finally put its own run game to work in the third quarter, as head coach Ted Iacenda looked to his offensive line to maintain control of the lead.

Freshman running back Kenny Torrence led the Cougars will 36 yards on the ground, capped off by a two-yard touchdown plunge late in the third quarter that pushed COC's advantage to 23-6 after the extra point.

In the final period, COC's defensive attack was too much to overcome as the Mounties were forced into throwing three interceptions — one by Pretty and two by Foster.

The final takeaway, which occurred with just 3:38 to play, effectively ended all hopes of a Mt. SAC comeback.

Thirty-five seconds later Dunn looked to Strange over the middle of the field for a 60-yard pass that went the distance, capping off the COC victory.

Strange's eight catches and 172 receiving yards led the team in both categories.

As a result of its win Canyons has vaulted into the statewide rankings, and currently sits at No. 8 in the state according to the most recent Junior College Athletic Bureau statewide coaches poll.

The Cougars will next host Citrus College at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, at Cougar Stadium.