Cougars Beat Citrus

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - The College of the Canyons (1-2, 2-4) football team finally put together a solid performance on both sides of the ball Saturday night, which led to five different Cougars posting points on the board, in a 43-14 win over the Citrus College Owls (3-0, 3-3).

Canyons' defense picked off four passes, including three from defensive back Amyene Williams and an interception return for a touchdown by Justin Price. The Owls were held to 37 yards rushing and 106 total offensive yardage. Leonard Mason, the lead rusher in the conference, was held to only 28 yards on eight carries.

 On offense, the usually pass savvy Cougars relied heavily on their rushing game. As a team, COC racked up 299 rushing yards and 483 total offensive yards.

The Cougar win broke a two-game losing streak for COC and broke Citrus' three-game winning streak.

COC had trouble getting into the end zone to start the game, which led to three consecutive field goals by kicker Paul Weinstein of 19, 18 and 33 yards.

Up 9-0 in the second quarter, COC extended its lead when Williams picked off Citrus quarterback Bryan Waggener's pass and returned the ball 22 yards to Citrus' 43-yard line. Two plays later, Ryan Whitcomb found an open Terence Scott for a 31-yard touchdown pass with 5:56 left in the half, but a missed two-point attempt put the score at 15-0.

Citrus closed in on COC on the next drive. Waggener hit Charles Lewis with a 41-yard touchdown pass. The extra point by Kirk Cabana was good and Citrus was down 15-7.

That was as close as the Cougars would allow the Owls to get. Citrus could not get the chains moving and on fourth and two on COC's 35-yard line, Canyons took over on downs. The turnover setup another Cougar touchdown and a trick play. Andrew Miramontes passed the ball back to Scott behind the line of scrimmage. Scott handed the ball to Whitcomb, who gave it back to Miramontes. Miramontes then threw a 36-yard pass to freshman Jovonne Augustus for a touchdown. The kick by Weinstein was good, and COC went into halftime with a comfortable 22-7 lead over the Owls.

Citrus' defense held off College of the Canyons in the first drive of the second half. COC had to punt the ball away, the first and only time kicker Chris Chalmers had to punt during the game, but the Cougars regained control with another interception by Williams, this time for a 31-yard return.

COC felt the defensive presence of the Owls as they marched to Citrus' 31-yard line, only to see the ball intercepted by defensive back Christopher Johnson at the 1-yard line. Citrus could only move the ball to the 16-yard line before COC's defensive back Price grabbed the ball on another Waggener pass and returned it 24-yards for a touchdown and a 29-7 lead. 

With Citrus desperate for some points, Mason made it to the end zone on a 17-yard run with 5:17 left in the third and down 29-14.

COC held off anymore Citrus thoughts of scoring in the fourth, and scored two more touchdowns of their own. With 14:48 left in the game, Miramontes hit Augustus again for a 12-yard touchdown. Running back Brian Stuart added the last touchdown of the night on a 30-yard run to put the Cougars up 43-14.

The game ended with another Williams interception, shutting down any idea of a comeback for the Owls.

Stuart finished with 16 carries for 110 yards and one touchdown. Thomas Kyle added 97 rushing yards. Quarterback Whitcomb went 8-of-14 for 62 yards and one touchdown, while Miramontes was 7-of-12 for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Augustus led all receivers with six catches for 92 yards and two touchdowns and Scott had three receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown.

Linebacker Wallace Bates led the defense with five tackles, four unassisted, and a sack for a loss of 11 yards. K.T. Thomas had three tackles, two unassisted, and two sacks for a loss of 13 yards.

COC returns to action next Saturday as they travel to Pierce College. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.