No. 15 Canyons to host No. 1 Fullerton in 2017 home opener

College of the Canyons will take the field for its 2017 home opener vs. defending state champion Fullerton College at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, at Cougar Stadium.

The game will also be live streamed to fans through a broadcast partnership with SoCalCollegeSports.com, with longtime Cougar football play-by-play man Joe Soriano on the call.

Saturday's livestream broadcast can be accessed here.

In addition, all first responders — Fire Department, EMT, Sheriff's Dept., Police, Highway Patrol etc — have been invited to attend Saturday's COC football home opener at Cougar Stadium free of charge.

General admission tickets are $5. Kids 10 and under are free.

Canyons (2-0) comes into this non-conference contest on the heels of a 30-14 road win at Orange Coast College (0-2), that saw the Cougars amass 651 yards of total offense (324 passing/327 rushing).

COC quarterbacks Andrew Brito and Darryn Blackshere both saw time under center, while running back Keland White led the team with 119 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. KJ Latu also contributed with two short yardage rushing scores. Wide receiver Desean Holmes finished the game with five catches for 127 yards.

Defensively, the Cougars limited Orange Coast to 301 yards of offense and just two first quarter touchdowns. Latu led the team in takedowns with six tackles and a sack. Alonso Reeves registered five stops, including one for loss, and recovered a Fullerton fumble.

The two teams played to a 14-14 tie after the first quarter, with Canyons eventually taking a 17-14 lead into the locker room.

After the break, Canyons linebacker Kjell Perry was able to recover a Pirate fumble deep in Orange Coast territory which set up a four-play 31-yard drive capped by Latu's one-yard touchdown plunge.

Later in the quarter, White broke off a 46-yard touchdown run and the ensuing PAT by Louis Eusebi put the Cougars ahead 30-14.

No. 1 ranked Fullerton (2-0) defeated Cerritos College (0-2) 45-9 last Saturday to tighten its hold on the top spot in the polls.

The Hornets ended the game with 511 yards of total offense, including 336 yards through the air.

Sophomore quarterback Kane Wilson was 13-of-17 for 176 and two touchdowns in leading Fullerton to victory. The Hornets, who featured three signal callers, also rushed for 175 yards, led by 71 yards from quarterback Ladarius Skelton. Wide receiver Markus Grossman hauled in 10 passes for 96 yards to lead the team.

Canyons and Fullerton last met in 2016, with the Hornets coming out ahead in a 59-14 final score.

Stay up-to-date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

— Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information