COC Beats Hancock In Overtime

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - After the College of the Canyons defense held Allan Hancock to a field goal on the first possession of overtime, Cougar quarterback Justin Arias hit wide receiver Rickeem Jackson inthe end zone from the 11-yard line for the game-winning score, as College of the Canyon (5-2, 2-0) beat Allan Hancock (3-4, 0-2) 30-27 Saturday at Righetti High School.

After ending regulation tied 24-24, the Cougar defense stalled the Bulldogs at the 20-yard line, which results in a field goal, in the extra period before orchestrating a four-play, 25-yard drive on offense that led to the game-winning score.

The victory brought Canyons' overtime record to 1-0 this season, and to 6-2 all-time.

Trailing 24-16 with two minutes to play, Allan Hancock tied the game on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Seth Tripod to Jovan Davis. Still down by one point, the Bulldogs were forced to go for two and converted with 1:14 left in regulation.

Canyons and Hancock were tied 7-7 at halftime, but COC scored the first 10 points of the second half and held the Bulldogs to a 33-yard field goal to take a 24-10 lead into the fourth quarter.

On its first possession of the third quarter, the Cougars got the ball on their own 25-yard line. Canyons moved the ball down to the Hancock 8-yard line and settled for a 25-yard Everett Goldberg field goal to break the tie and put the Cougars up 10-7 with 9:08 left in the third quarter. 

Two possessions later, COC's Cameron Coon recovered a fumbled punt and started the drive at its 49-yard line. The Cougars needed two plays, capping the scoring drive with a 56-yard strike from Arias to wide receiver Cameron Bailey and put Canyons up 17-7.

Canyons racked up 432 yards of total offense, 293 of which came through the air, led by Jackson, who caught the ball 10 times for 96 yards and three touchdowns, both season highs for the young wide-out.

Arias was 28-of-47 for 293 yards and four touchdowns. On the defense, Dashawn Cassell led with eight tackles and 1.5 sacks, while Josh Irvin had seven stops. 

This was the second consecutive year that the match up between the Cougars and Bulldogs has gone into overtime. Last year, COC was on the losing end, falling 19-16, by a similar storyline to this year's game. Hancock held COC off in the extra period as the Cougars were limited to a 30-yard field goal. Hancock would go on to score on a one-yard touchdown run for the win. 

The Cougars will return home on Saturday, Oct. 30, to face Cerritos. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.