No. 2 COC Welcomes No. 20 Ventura
Complete Game Notes
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – Tonight, the College of the Canyons plays host to No. 20 Ventura College in a National Division, Northern Conference match up. College of the Canyons remains in the No. 2 spot in the Southern California Regional Football Poll, behind No. 1 Mt. SAC (6-0). Ventura College enters as the 20th-ranked team in the region. The regional poll will be used for the selection of post-season and bowl game participants at the end of the regular season.
Last Saturday, College of the Canyons broke a first half 14-all tie with Glendale College as quarterback Brad McClellan exploded for three passing touchdowns and one rushing TD in the second half, to lead the Cougars past the Vaqueros, 43-23. The Cougars took an early first quarter 14-0 lead before being silenced in the second quarter as Glendale put up 14 points of its own. McClellan quickly went to work after the break and ran in a score and then connected with wide receiver Hayo Carpenter for one TD and twice with wide receiver Jovan Leacock. McClellan, who earned SCFA Northern Conference, National Division All-Purpose Player of the Week honors, passed for 346 yards on 18-of-22 passing and three touchdowns. He also ran for 40 yards on 15 carries and one touchdown against Glendale. Running back Fred Winborn had 14 carries for 101 yards and one touchdown. Winborn’s one touchdown broke the school record for rushing touchdowns in a career with 30 TDs during the past two seasons. Leacock had a career-high 169 yards on seven catches. Carpenter had 10 catches and 175 yards and one touchdown. Carpenter’s 175 yards pushed him over the school record for career receiving yards in a career. Carpenter has accumulated 2,417 yards in the past two seasons, breaking Tyrell Smith’s record of 2,318 yards from 2002 and 2004. Defensive back Josh Gibbs tallied seven tackles, four solo, an interception and two pass breakups. He was named the conference defensive player of the week for his efforts.
Ventura College comes off a bye week and last saw action against Pasadena City College on Oct. 11. The Pirates gave up three touchdowns in the final five minutes of the game to lose a four-point fourth-quarter lead and their third consecutive game, 38-21. The Pirates could only muster 17 yards of rushing and quarterback Lee Mondol had four of his passes intercepted in the game, making matters worse for the Pirate offense. Running back Semaj Washington was held to 13 yards on six carries and one touchdown and wide receiver Patrick Hebert had eight catches for 98 yards and one touchdown. Mondol went 26-of-47 for 277 yards and two touchdowns.
Tonight’s game will match up the No. 1 scoring offense of Canyons and the No. 1 scoring defense of Ventura in the Northern conference. The Cougars have scored 343 points in seven games for an average of 49.0 ppg. Over the course of six games, Ventura has given up 13.8 ppg, but may struggle against the COC offense that has scored at least 34 points in every game this season.
The Cougars will focus on stopping the Pirate’s passing game. VC is a pass-savy team with the conference-leading quarterback Lee Mondol. He is averaging 231.8 ypg, but also leads the Northern Conference in interceptions with eight. COC’s pass defense has been holding teams to 151.6 ypg. Lee will look for his favorite target on the field, wide receiver Tim Pope. Pope is the third-leading scorer in the conference, behind No. 1 Fred Winborn and No. 2 Hayo Carpenter, with eight touchdowns.
As the COC football team moves closer to the end of the season and is now three games away from a unblemished record, Cougar fans are reminded of seasons past. Cougar football is no stranger to unbeaten regular season records. From 2001-2005, COC went 8-0 in the Western State Conference, including a perfect 14-0 2004 season when Canyons won the State and mythical National Championship. COC was the first and only team to ever accomplish a 14-0 record in community college football history.