COC Taken Down By Defending State Champions

EL CAJON, Calif. - College of the Canyons (0-2) suffered another loss this time at the hands of defending state champions Grossmont College Griffins (1-1), 25-3, on Saturday afternoon, making the 2006 season the worst start to Cougar football since the program was reinstated in 1998.

The Cougars have never lost two games at the start of the season. COC did split the the first two games of the season in 1998, 2001 and 2002 with Antelope Valley, Santa Ana and Cerritos respectively. COC tied a team record with most consecutive losses, with two, which also occurred during the 1998 and 1999 season. The team also tied for the fewest points scored, a record held since Sept. 8, 2001 against Santa Ana College when the Cougars were defeated 27-3.

Looking to even their record, head coach Chuck Lyon and the Cougars struggled from the start of play as the team could not convert on third and three on the team's own 23-yard line, after a incomplete pass by Andrew Miramontes. On the next play, the Cougars went to punt the ball, but a bad snap was recovered by Grossmont's Andrew Lealofi and returned to COC's one-yard line to set the Griffins up for their first touchdown of the game with 10:02 left in the first.

Coming out of the halftime break, Grossmont led 8-0 and capitalized on their lead when Grossmont's quarterback Hunter Flynn connected with wide receiver Stephen Baughn for a 9-yard touchdown pass, putting the Griffins on top 15-0. The Cougars tried to recover on the next drive, but Miramontes, 14-of-28 for 77 yards on the afternoon, threw one of two interceptions in the game, allowing Grossmont to take control once again. On second and ten, Griffins' running back Kevin Smith ran the ball 12 yards for a second consecutive Grossmont touchdown and extending their lead to 22-0.

The beginning of the fourth quarter did not add any hope for COC as Grossmont added three more points on a 35-yard field goal, putting the Griffins up by 25. The Cougars were still scoreless.

The Cougars finally scored, putting three points on the board on a 32-yard field goal by Paul Weinstein with less than five minutes left in the game. Since football was reinstated in 1998, COC has never been shutout of a game.

COC will try and regroup this week as Western State Conference play begins on Saturday against Ventura College (1-1) at Cougar Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. College of the Canyons is 7-1 in conference openers, with its last conference defeat coming against Glendale in 1999, when the Cougars lost 33-28. COC's has also won 43 straight conference games; the last loss was in game seven of the 2000 season at Moorpark College.