No. 11 Canyons Takes On No. 13 Ventura in Thursday Night Matchup
The Cougars (4-1) and Pirates (3-2) will kickoff SCFA National Conference, Northern League play at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
No. 11 College of the Canyons will travel to face No. 13 Ventura College on Thursday, Oct. 12, in a special edition of Southern California Football Association (SCFA) Thursday Night Football at the VC Sportsplex.
Gates are scheduled to open at 5:30 p.m. with kickoff slated for 7 p.m.
The game will also be live streamed to fans via SoCalCollegeSports.com. Thurday's livestream broadcast can be accessed here.
Canyons (4-1) will enter Thursday night's National Conference, Northern League opener as winners of back-to-back games after a thrilling 29-28 road win over Grossmont College in week five. COC's lone loss came vs. No. 1 Fullerton College back in week three.
The Cougars are averaging more than 492 yards of total offense and 36 points per game, having scored no less than 28 points in any contest this season.
Ventura (3-2) was a 44-34 winner over Saddleback College in week five. Prior to that, the Pirates dropped road games to Mt. SAC in week two and Riverside City College in week four.
However, the Pirates have also found offensive success, averaging 487 yards of total offense and more than 40 points per game.
Both programs also feature a handful of SCFA Northern League statistics leaders.
COC freshman quarterback Andrew Brito has enjoyed an impressive season thus far, and leads all Northern League signal callers with 14 touchdowns and an average of 248 yards per game. Ranking right behind Brito in both categories is Ventura quarterback Jake Constantine who has tossed 13 touchdowns and is averaging more than 207 yards per game through the air.
Constantine's favorite target has been wide receiver Kendric Mallory who tops the leaderboard with an average of 93.8 yards per game to go with six receiving touchdowns. Those numbers place Mallory just ahead of COC sophomores Desean Holmes (83.4 yards per game and four touchdowns) and RB Marlow (four touchdowns).
COC sophomore running back Keland White continues to be a bright spot for the Cougars with his six rushing touchdowns. White, who earned week four Northern League Offensive Player of the Week honors, has rushed for 436 yards on 49 carries, good for an average of 8.9 yards per carry.
For the Pirates, freshman Thomas Duckett has led the backfield with 68 carries for 475 yards and four touchdowns.
Defensively, the Cougars are allowing an average of 31.2 points each time out. Comparatively, Ventura has allowed its opponents to score at a rate of 29.4 points per game.
COC sophomore Dorian Gerald leads the Northern League, and ranks third in the SCFA, with 5.5 sacks in four games. Meanwhile, Ventura defensive lineman Jesse Lemonaire has tallied 43 total tackles to rank eighth in the SCFA.
Both teams will be taking the field after a week six bye on the schedule.
In 2016, Ventura was able to defeat COC by a 48-25 margin at Cougar Stadium. The Pirates also own a three-game win streak vs. Canyons, with the Cougars last defeating Ventura back in 2013.
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