COC Scores 66 Points On Way To Third Win

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – Quarterback Joey Frias threw for five touchdowns and ran for another on Saturday night as the College of the Canyons handled L.A. Valley College 66-7 in the Cougar's homecoming game.

The Cougars scored nine touchdowns in the game, tying a school record that has been in place since 2001. Kicker Ricky Drake also tied a school record with nine extra points on the night, which is held by Tommy Gargliano and Jason Thompkins. Wide receiver Hayo Carpenter broke a school record after catching 15 passes, surpassing former Cougar and now Oregon Duck receiver Terence Scott's 2006 record of 14 receptions in a game.

The Monarchs struck first with a quick 4-play set that moved the team 59 yards in 1:43 and into the end zone for the first points of the night. Those seven points would be the final points for Valley and kept the COC's scoring defense right under its average of allowing 10.0 ppg.

The Cougars were not fazed by Valley's first touchdown, as they turned around in the next minute and quickly made their way up the field. With 12:04 left in the first quarter, Frias connected with sophomore wide receiver Nate Jones on a 33-yard touchdown pass for Jones' first score of the season.

On the next Valley possession, COC held them to only 17 yards as LAVC was forced to punt the ball. Standing in the backfield was Carpenter who returned the 54-yard punt 70 yards to the Valley 10-yard line.

COC would quickly lose the ball despite the short field when Frias fumbled the ball on the 4-yard line. Valley wasn't able to score on the turnover drive, handing the ball over to COC again.

This time around, Frias held onto the ball and ran in 1-yard for his own touchdown and put COC up 14-7.

COC added seven more points as the clock winded down in the first quarter on a 2-yard Frias pass to tight end Courtney Pittman.

It was more COC in the second quarter when Sean Quinn had a 1-yard rushing touchdown and Carpenter scored his first TD of the night on a 13-yard pass from Frias, giving the Cougars a 35-7 lead at the half.

The third quarter was the lowest scoring quarter of the night for COC, who managed to put up 10 points with a 24-yard Drake field goal and a 7-yard pass between Frias and Carpenter for their second connection of the night.

With a 45-7 advantage, the reserves had a chance to get some playing time. Wide receiver Justin Stone added a 14-yard scamper into the end zone and carries of 4 yards and 8 yards by quarterback Eric Brown to earn the final Cougar points of the night.

The COC defense held Valley to 190 yards (206 yards passing and -16 yards rushing), 10 yards under its 201.0 yards a game that it had been giving up before the meeting. They also added five sacks, including 3.5 by freshman defensive lineman Marquis Jackson.

Linebacker Justin Hardy had six tackles on the night and freshman defensive back Kenny Brown had five solo tackles and one assisted tackle, a forced fumble and a pass breakup.

Carpenter had his third consecutive game with at least 150+ yards receiving and two scores. He caught 15 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns, while collecting 271 yards on kick and punt returns. Frias was 23-of-32 for 282 yards and five touchdowns, while throwing two interceptions. The signal caller was also the second-leading rusher for the night with 13 carries for 103 yards and one touchdown. B.J. Iverson led all rushers with 11 carries for 104 yards.

College of the Canyons remains perfect on the season with a 3-0 record and L.A. Valley falls to 1-2.

COC heads on the road next Saturday, Sept. 27 as they take on Fullerton, a team that beat the Cougars 32-31 in the second game of the 2007 season. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Fullerton Union High School.