COC Remains Unbeaten in Conference With Take Down of Allan Hancock, 49-28

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – In a game that pitted two of the three teams tied for first place in the Western State Conference and included the state's rushing leader facing one of the toughest defenses in the conference, the Cougars reiterated the dominance they have shown all season long. The College of the Canyons convincingly won, 49-28, Saturday night as the team hosted Allan Hancock College behind a balanced offense that collected 700 yards of total offense (367 yards rushing and 333 yards passing). Canyons fell one yard short of the school record 368 yards rushing that has been in place since the Sept. 27, 2003 game versus Hancock.

The defense did its part to keep the Cougars in the game, holding the state's rushing leader, Hancock's Andre Cirino, to 88 yards on 14 carries, which included a 61-yard run. Cirino, before entering the game against Canyons, was averaging 143.3 yards a game. As a team, they held the Bulldogs to 76 yards rushing and 142 yards in the air for 218 yards of total offense.

Sophomore running back Raphael Reynolds started the evening off with a 94-yard return, the longest kickoff return of the year for the Cougars, for a touchdown in the opening kickoff. Kicker Paul Weinstein's extra point was good and COC was up 7-0. Weinstein would finish the night a perfect 7-for-7 on point after attempts.

Reynolds put six more points on the board to start the second quarter with a 10-yard run into the end zone with 14:20 left in the half, which widened the Cougar lead to 14.

Freshman running back Fred Winborn was the next player to get in on the scoring action as he scored a 3-yard rushing TD at 10:16. In the next possession, Hancock went three-and-out, and Winborn caught a 9-yard pass from quarterback Joey Frias, placing the Cougars on top 28-0.

Hancock finally scored at the 6:54 mark of the second on a 75-yard touchdown pass from Casey Cathcart to Ty Munnerlyn, as the Bulldogs posted their first seven points of the game.

Wide receiver Hayo Carpenter contributed the next two touchdowns of the evening. The first, a 44-yard pass from Frias with 2:06 left in the second quarter and then a 20-yard pass from Frias again at the 10:19 mark of the third.

With the Cougars up 42-7, Hancock scored on the ensuing kickoff as the Bulldogs returned the ball 95 yards for their own kickoff return touchdown to close in on the deficit, 42-14. Canyons responded with its own touchdown run – a 3-yard scamper in the end zone from Winborn, his third score of the night.

Hancock held COC scoreless in the fourth quarter and scored 14 unanswered points, but it was not enough to slip by the Cougars.

Frias had a phenomenal game as he finished the night going 15-of-21 for 324 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Reynolds had 14 carries for 146 yards and one touchdown plus two kickoff returns for 127 yards and one TD. Winborn recorded 15 rushes for 133 yards and two touchdowns and three receptions for 58 yards and one score. Winborn heads into the L.A. Harbor game with 956 yards, just 14 yards short of the school record of 970 set by Jason Parks in 1998. Carpenter led the receivers with seven catches for 183 yards and two touchdowns, which pushed him over the 1,000-yard mark for the season with a total of 1,053 yards.

Defensive lineman Clayton Byrd tallied six tackles, four unassisted, 2.5 tackles for a loss of 11 yards and one fumble recovery. Linebacker K.T. Thomas also had six tackles, three solo, and half a tackle for a loss of a yard. Defensive lineman Jason Pierre-Paul garnered four unassisted tackles, three tackles for a loss of nine yards, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

The Cougars improved to 7-1, 5-0, and are in a tie for first place with Bakersfield. Allan Hancock falls to 5-3, 4-1, and are in third place in the Western State Conference Mountain Division standings.

The Cougars return to action on Saturday, Nov. 3 as they host L.A. Harbor in the last regular season home game of the year. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Allan Hancock will not have much time to regroup as they play host to the top-ranked Renegades of Bakersfield College on Nov. 3.