Football Wins Western State Bowl Over Saddleback, 34-24

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – The College of the Canyons Cougar football team saw four different players score five touchdowns, including one by defensive lineman Jason Pierre-Paul in the third quarter, as COC posted its first post-season win against Saddleback College, 34-24, on Saturday night.

The Cougars, who did not make post-season appearance last year for the first time in the history of the program since it was reinstated in 1998, will travel to No. 1 Bakersfield College on Saturday, Nov. 24 for the Southern California Semifinals at 4 p.m.

COC made the first strike of the night from a Saddleback turnover. Cougar kicker Ken Shigley Jr. punted the ball 45 yards to the Saddleback 20-yard line, but the Gaucho's Rico Russo fumbled the ball and was recovered by COC's Taiino Herrera on Saddleback's 19. On the next play, quarterback Bradford McClellan hit Hayo Carpenter on a 19-yard throw with 7:04 left in the first quarter. The point after attempt from kicker Paul Weinstein, who was 4-of-4 on the night, was good and the Cougars went up 7-0.

The Gauchos responded at the 1:20 mark of the first quarter with their own touchdown to even the score at 7-all, but the tie wouldn't last long. With 39 seconds left in the first, freshman running back Fred Winborn broke away for a 50-yard touchdown run, to go up 13-7.

Sophomore running back Raphael Reynolds received his chance for big yardage in the second quarter when he scored on a 66-yard carry. The two-point pass attempt from Nate Jones was incomplete, but increased COC's lead 13 points, 20-7.

Saddleback kicker Eric Carr closed the half with a 31-yard field goal to narrow the Cougar lead, 20-10.

The Gauchos came out of the break with determination and put up some quick points to be behind, 20-17. The Cougars couldn't score on the next possession, but got some help from the defense when Pierre-Paul intercepted a Saddleback ball on the Gaucho's 20-yard line and returned it to the end zone with 8:58 left in the third.

As the Cougars took a 27-17 lead, Saddleback strung together 10 plays to go 80 yards that ended with a 30-yard pass from quarterback Sebastian Trujillo to Maurice Clark. Once again the Gauchos had sneaked right behind COC and only trailed 27-24.

A turnover in the fourth quarter would seal the win for College of the Canyons. Trujillo fumbled the ball on the Cougar 36-yard line and it was recovered by defensive lineman Jonathon Hollins, setting COC up for its final score. McClellan found Winborn for a 45-yard catch and then Carpenter for a 28-yard touchdown reception at the 10:29 mark, to widen the Cougars lead and give COC the eventual win.

As a team the Cougars only produced 334 yards of total offense (167 rushing and 167 passing) compared to the 493 yards the team was averaging before entering Saturday's matchup. COC was also held to only 12 first downs to Saddleback's 20, and Canyons was 2-of-12 on third down conversions.

Carpenter had six catches for 99 yards and two touchdowns. The Burroughs-Ridgecrest alums season total of 1,287 yards broke a COC record for yards in a season. The former record holder was Tyrell Smith who tallied 1,219 yards in the 2004.

Reynolds led the running backs with 94 yards on 10 carries and one touchdown. Winborn was shut down on the ground in the second half by Saddleback's defense but found ways to collect yards in the air with three catches for 56 yards, while garnering 69 yards rushing on 13 carries and one touchdown. McClellan completed his first game as a starter going 11-of-20 for 167 yards, zero interceptions and two touchdowns.

Pierre-Paul had seven solo tackles, three for a loss of 20 yards, three sacks and one interception for 20 yards and a touchdown. Linebacker Matt Brown had a season-high 17 tackles, 8 unassisted.

The Cougars travel to Bakersfield on Saturday, Nov. 24 for a 4 p.m. kick off. This will be the second meeting between the two teams. College of the Canyons lost the first game, 45-41, on Nov. 10 at Memorial Stadium. This will be the second time since football was reinstated that the Cougars and Renegades have met twice in one season. It also occurred in 2005 when COC won both contests.