College Of The Canyons Football Named Top Team In Nation In Street & Smith's Sporting News

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – The College of the Canyons football team has received the Street & Smith’s Sporting News College Football 2008 Yearbook’s top nod with the No. 1 ranking among community college football programs across the nation. The annual preseason publication includes division I, II and III, and NAIA rankings and has a national circulation of 160,000. Other California teams included in the top-10 were No. 2 City College of San Francisco, No. 8 Bakersfield College, No. 9 El Camino College and No. 10 Mt. San Antonio College.

COC is in its second season under head coach Garett Tujague, who led the team to a 9-3 record in his first season. With Tujague at the helm of the program, he helped the Cougars reach the second round of the playoffs, after missing the post season in 2006. This year’s squad is led by a pair of sophomores – running back Fred Winborn and wide receiver Hayo Carpenter, who both topped the conference in their respective categories. The Cougars return 36 members of the 2007 squad, including 16 starters.