No. 17 Canyons Defeats No. 14 Orange Coast 42-19, Brown Scores Four Touchdowns

Led by a highlight-reel performance from freshman wide receiver/kick returner Marquise Brown, No. 17 ranked College of the Canyons found the win column for the second time in as many weeks on Saturday, as the Cougars handed No. 14 Orange Coast College a 42-19 loss at Cougar Stadium.

Canyons (2-0) scored early and often, with the Cougars racking up 445 yards of total offense while putting together six scoring drives.

If week one vs. Antelope Valley was a coming out party for the COC defense, then week two was definitely a showcase of what the Cougars offensive and special teams units are capable of.

Brown broke the game open for COC just three plays into the team's first drive with a 62-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback CJ Williams. The PAT by Neitzke was good and the Cougars led 7-0 with 7:53 to play in the first quarter.

Orange Coast (1-1) answered right back with 17-yard touchdown run by freshman tailback Derrick Hunt to make it a 7-7 ballgame. 

But on the ensuing kickoff Brown fielded the ball with a running start and promptly returned it 84-yards for another COC touchdown. The successful PAT attempt made it 14-7.

After trading possessions for most of the second quarter, COC freshman safety David Wilder picked off OCC quarterback Kody Whitaker to give the Cougars the ball with 47 seconds to play in the half.

Williams then orchestrated another scoring drive, this time set up by a 32-yard run by running back Leo Lambert III. With the clock ticking down and the Cougars venturing into Pirate territory, Williams found Brown in the back of the end zone for a dazzling 34-yard pitch-and-catch with just 14 seconds to play in the half.  

Neitzke's kick was good and the Cougars headed into the locker room leading 21-7. 

Williams finished the game 9-of-16 for 204 yards and three touchdowns. Lambert had 16 carries for 73 yards to lead the Cougars' ground attack.

OCC scored on its first possession of the second half after Whitaker found wide receiver Hal Walker for a 24-yard touchdown pass. The PAT attempt was no good, making the score 21-13 with 11:58 to play in the quarter.

The scoring settled down for a bit until COC freshman quarterback Louis Eusebi entered the game and promptly led Canyons on another scoring drive. In fact, it was Eusebi's legs that did most of the damage as the young quarterback was able to rush for 69 yards on the drive, including a 62-yard scamper to put COC at the Pirate 14-yard line.

Four plays later, on 4th and 20, Eusebi hooked up with Brown on a 24-yard scoring strike. Nietzke, who finished the game 5-of-5 on PAT attempts, converted once again and COC led 28-13 with 4:24 to play in the quarter.

Brown's big night included 5 catches for 151 yards and three touchdowns, and three kick returns for 139 yards and a touchdown. He also added another 24 yards on punt returns.

The Pirates scored again early in the fourth quarter on a one-yard touchdown run to make it 28-19 after a failed two-point conversion. But from there it was all Cougars.

On COC's next possession Williams reentered the game at quarterback and led a four-play 57-yard scoring drive that ended with a 37-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Wes Fitzpatrick.

Canyons capped its big offensive night with a 55-yard touchdown run by Tylan McBride that put the exclamation point on a 42-19 COC victory.

Defensively, the Cougars also recorded interceptions by Hayden Wright and DeAndre Henderson.

Safety Tyree White and linebacker Austin Davenport led the way with 10 tackles apiece, while Alonso Reeves, Tobenna Okunna and Brandon Shook each recorded sacks.

Noel Iwuchukwu, and Andrew Karatepeyan also combined for a quarterback takedown. As team, the Cougars had 10 tackles for loss and forced two fumbles.

Video highlights of Saturday's game can be seen here.

Canyons will next travel to face Fullerton College at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17.

—Jesse Munoz/COC Sports Information

— Photos by Jim Bloomfield/COC Sports Information

— Video footage courtesy of COC Cougar News