College of the Canyons Football
1998-Present
Click on the year to see game-by-game recaps

1998
College of the Canyons, under Coach Chuck Lyon, fielded a football program for the first time in 17 years. The reconstituted Cougar football team responded by finishing the season with a remarkable 7-3 record, which earned them an invitation to the McDonald’s Community College Bowl.

1999
With a combination of talented newcomers and a solid corps of returning players, the Cougars recaptured the magic of their first team and went on to another 7-3 regular season. For the second year in a row, the Cougars were invited to a bowl game—the Southern California Bowl.

2000
The COC football program took a leap forward in its third year under Coach Chuck Lyon. The Cougars were ranked No. 6 in the state in the final regular-season poll, posted a 9-1 regular-season record and tied with Hancock for the WSC Northern Division championship. They also hosted the Western State Conference Bowl, the third consecutive bowl invitation in the first three years of the program. It is a unique accomplishment that might be a first in the community college ranks.

2001
Not content with the tremendous success of the previous year, Chuck Lyon took the final step in developing the COC football program into a true league powerhouse. Following a season-opener loss to Santa Ana College, the Cougars roared to a school record nine straight wins and finished atop the WSC Northern Division at 9-1 with a perfect 7-0 conference record. The team showed no mercy, scoring more than 60 points in three of its victories, and showed no signs of give with fourth-quarter comebacks and overtime wins. The Cougars were ranked as high as 5th in the state and 11th in the nation. College of the Canyons hosted the Western State Conference Bowl – an unprecedented 4th straight appearance in a bowl game in the first four years of a football program – and took their first bowl win, beating Saddleback College in a thrilling 35-32 victory. Chuck Lyon was also named Division Coach of the Year for the second straight season.

2002
The College of the Canyons football program exploded into action in a season that saw the team set or break more than two dozen school records. The team’s 53.5 points per game was the highest in the nation and QB Kyle Bauer threw for more than 3,000 yards and 36 touchdowns. The Cougars faced Chaffey College in the Verizon Southern California Bowl Game and won in commanding form 52-27, claiming their Southern California Championship. The win earned the Cougars a trip to the State Championship game for the first time, but the team ended up on the losing side of a 35-15 contest with Reedley College.

2003
A perfect regular season record. 10-0. The first in school history. The Cougars of 2003 didn’t have the firepower of 2002, or the defense of years past, but that didn’t stop them from beating every team they faced, including Palomar in the WSC Bowl game, which brought their record to an incredible 11-0. The Cougars ran into a team with their own destiny in mind in Grossmont, though, who had an identical 11-0 record, and, in the end, it was College of the Canyons who took the loss, 14-10. Nineteen players transferred to Division I universities from the 2003 squad.

2004
The College of the Canyons football program achieves the incredible, capturing its first State and National titles during an unprecedented 14-0 season. The post-season showed the true heart of the team, as the Cougars defeated some of the State’s best programs in El Camino, Grossmont, Saddleback and perrenial power, City College of San Francisco. In the state title game, the Cougars post a 19-point lead and hang on against a furious fourth-quarter Ram attack to win 39-32. Quarterback Cory Miles is named game MVP after having a hand in five of the Cougars’ six touchdowns. Defensive lineman Tomi Halai is named Defensive MVP. In under a decade, the Cougars have grown from relative unknown, to being ranked in the 2005 pre-season as the top Community College football team in the country.

2005
As the defending National Champions, the College of the Canyons had to prove that they were still the team to beat. Continuing their 14-game winning streak from the 2004 season, COC did not disappoint as they finished the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record and a No. 1 seeding in the Southern California. In COC’s fifth appearance in the WSC bowl, the team defeated visiting Chaffey College’s hopes of advancing in the playoffs with a 37-10 win. The next opponent slated against the Cougars was WSC rival Bakersfield College. After a stinging one point win by Canyons during the regular season, the Renegades looked to hand the Cougars an early exit out of the playoffs to revenge the regular season loss. Falling behind by four points in the fourth, the Cougars punished the Renegades with four consecutive touchdowns for a final score of 48-26. For the first time in COC history, the school hosted the SoCal Championship against a familiar playoff foe, Grossmont College. Riding a 26-game win streak, College of the Canyons fell behind in the first quarter and never could get the offense up to full speed. A late surge in the fourth quarter did not provide the push the team needed, as the Cougars lost 24-19. Six members of the 2005 team received scholarships from Pac-10 schools and 16 overall transferred to four-year universities.

2006
The 2006 season was a year of many firsts for the program. The team finished with a 5-5 record for a fourth-place finish and was the first team to not have a winning record since the program was reinstated in 1998. The Cougars also did not make it to the playoffs or get invited to a bowl game, making it the shortest season to date. Also, the cornerstone of the program since 1998, Chuck Lyon, retired following the 2006 campaign. Despite all the changes and rough season, the Cougars transferred 26 student-athletes to four-year universities, a school record.

2007
Eight points seperated the Cougars from a 12-0 season and a possible chance for a trip to the state championship game. Under the direction of first-year head coach Garett Tujague, the Cougars made their return to the playoffs and finished the season with a 9-3 record and a 6-1 conference record. But, COC’s three losses, which came at the hands of Fullerton College and two defeats from Bakersfield College, were losses that only added up to eight points. The first defeat of the year came in the second game of the year against Fullerton Hornets. The Hornets squeaked out a one-point lead, 32-31, as the Cougars saw an 18-point third quarter advantage disappear. COC lost the final game of the regular season and the conference title to Bakersfield, 41-45, after a last minute pass was picked off by the Renegades. In the Southern California Semifinals COC returned back to Bakersfield College in a classic showdown between two great teams. The Renegades forced overtime in the last minute of regulation. The game came down to the second extra period and COC was held to a field goal and the Renegades scored a touchdown, bringing the score to 48-45 in favor of Bakersfield.

2008
In the first season of a new conference realingment, the Cougars joined the National Division, Northern Conference and had a dominating performance from a team that returned 16 starters from the 2007 squad. COC won every game of the regular season, including an overtime game with Pasadena that decided the conference championship, for a perfect 10-0 season. The real season started for COC in the playoffs as the team ran through Antelope Valley, 41-17, in the first round and dismissed El Camino, 36-27, in the second round. No. 2 Mt. SAC was the team that the Cougars met in the Southern California Championship in an evenly matched game. The College of the Canyons football team goal of playing in the state championship game was cut short though as the visiting Mt. SAC Mounties scored two touchdowns in the final 10 seconds of the Southern California Championship game to win, 51-44, and move on to the state title game.

2009
The 2009 squad struggled throughout the season. The trouble started with the second game of the year when the Cougars, who had not lost to Santa Barbara College in 10 previous match-ups, fell to the Vaqueros. Things continued to get worse for the defending conference champions as they dropped two more regular season home games and did not earn a bid in the playoffs for the first time since 2006. The offense had problems scoring in 2009 and they recorded the lowest point total since the football program was reinstated in 1998. Despite all of the lackluster record, COC had 10 players earn Division I scholarships.

2010
The 2010 season marked the first year that the Southern California Football Coaches Association created a tiered conference system with the Cougars in the top group. COC had its first test of the season in the second week of competition when they visited defending state champion Mt. SAC. Despite sticking with the Mounties for the a half, COC gave up two touchdowns in 13 seconds and COC was never able to recover. The football team had trouble with the end of the season, losing three of its last four games. COC, Cerritos and Bakersfield College entered the final conference game of the season with identical 3-1 records, and COC set to play at Bakersfield. The winner of the COC/Bakersfield matchup would earn a spot in the four-team playoffs, which ended in the favor of Bakersfield. Despite losing to Bakersfield College, the Cougars did get invited to the Golden Empire Bowl game against Fullerton. In a game that featured 133 points between the two teams, COC didn't have enough steam to keep up with Fullerton and fell 64-49.