Turnover Proves Costly In Cougars First Conference Loss

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. - In a game that featured a combined six lead changes and five turnovers, a late College of the Canyons fumble made the difference as the No. 6 Cerritos Falcons defeated the No. 7 Cougars 31-24 Saturday in Cougar Stadium.

After Canyons took a 16-5 lead into the locker room at halftime, Cerritos came out firing, scoring 19 unanswered points in the third quarter, to give the Falcons a 24-16 lead going into the fourth quarter. 

On the following Cougar possession quarterback Justin Arias orchestrated an 8-play, 66-yard drive that was capped off by a 22-yard TD pass to running back Ryan Zirbel to even the score at 24-all with 12:21 left in the game.

The combination of a short 29-yard Cougar punt and a 19-yard punt return by Cerritos set up the Falcons with a short field and led to the go-ahead score for Cerritos. 

With the Falcons leading 31-24 and Canyons facing third-and-4 at the Cerritos 23, Falcon defensive back Chris Metcalf tackled COC receiver Alex Fagerstrom and forced a Canyons' fumble, which the Falcons recovered at the Cerritos' 16-yard line with 1:19 remaining in the game. 
            
Most of the offense for COC came through the air, with Arias going 23-of-36 for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Zirbel caught four passes for 45 yards and a touchdown, sophomore Cameron Bailey made four catches for 26 yards, and freshman Rickeem Jackson had three catches for 31 yards and one touchdown.

On the ground, Arias had 13 carries for 64 yards and freshman Emanuel Osuchukwu had three carries for 14 yards.

The scoring for Cerritos began early in the game with a wild COC punt snap that led to a Falcon safety and a 2-0 lead with 8:51 gone by in the first quarter.

On COC's next possession, the Cougars were stalled on the Cerritos 31-yard line and forced to kick the ball. Sophomore kicker Everett Goldberg took the field and hit a 49-yard field goal, his longest of the year to give COC a 3-2 lead with 1:08 left in the first stanza. 

Cerritos responded with its own field goal, a 29-yard kick, which gave the lead back to the Falcons 5-3. 

COC then closed out the first half with 13 unanswered points of its own, getting a 10-yard touchdown from Arias to lead by four at 9-5. On the ensuing Falcon possession, Canyons' defense held Cerritos 3-and-out giving the ball back to COC. 

Nine plays later, Arias found an open Jackson for a 14-yard touchdown pass to increase the Cougars lead to 16-5 at the end of the half. 

Sophomore safety Justin Cudworth led the Canyons defense with nine tackles, including one for loss, and half a sack. Sophomore free safety Antwan Smith had five tackles and two interceptions, for his first game of the season with multiple picks.

The Cougars (5-3, 2-1) will host their annual homecoming game Saturday, Nov. 6,  against Ventura College (5-3, 2-1). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.