2010 SEASON

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GAME 1
College of the Canyons 35
@ Antelope Valley 7
Complete Box Score
The College of the Canyons football team piled up 625 yards of offense, while allowing just 130 yards on defense on the way to a 35-7 win at Antelope Valley College in the Cougars' season opener. Freshman starting quarterback Justin Arias finished the night going 32-of-51 for 358 yards and two touchdowns, and then also churned out 66 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown on the ground. Freshman wide receiver Chris Rivas added 137 yards and one touchdown, while the defense recorded three interceptions for 64 yards and a touchdown. After a nervous set of plays from both teams, the COC defense stopped the scoring stalemate. Sophomore free safety Antwan Smith notched an interception on the AVC 28-yard line and ran it in for a score. The Cougars continued to pound the Marauders in the first quarter to lead 21-0 while holding the Marauders to zero first downs. COC allowed AVC to put points up on the board in the second quarter, when they finally could gather its first first down of the game. Sloppy play continued to plague both teams before the halftime break. After the Cougars had trouble moving the ball deep into Antelope Valley's territory, punter Christian Nastos punted the ball away, only for AVC to botch the catch and COC linebacker Justin Stevens recovered the ball on the AVC 23-yard line. With great field position Arias capped off a 3-play march with an 8-yard carry that he took in on his own into the end zone to take a 28-7 lead before halftime. After an uninspiring third quarter, Arias returned to lead COC to a score in the fourth, courtesy of a 20-yard pass to Rivas. The Cougars had a chance to add more points to the already 35-7 score at the end of the game, but finished the game with the ball on the AVC 5-yard line. The defense was led by linebacker Vincent Holder who had four tackles, two solo, and linebacker Gary Johnson who also turned in five tackles, one solo. Three Cougars added interceptions including Smith, Marcus Reed and Khalil Bass.

GAME 2
College of the Canyons 19
@ Mt. San Antonio 34
Complete Box Score
College of the Canyons was held to four yards rushing as the defending national and state champion Mt. SAC football team defeated the Cougars 34-19 in Hilmer Lodge Stadium. In the second meeting between the two state powers, the Cougars gave up two touchdowns in 13 seconds, relinquishing their 19-14 lead in the middle of the third quarter. The 7-6 lead held for the Mounties until the second quarter, but COC took the lead again when Arias led the Cougars 64 yards down the field and Emanuel Osuchukwu scored on an 11-yard carry. COC tried to make up for the missed extra point from the first quarter by going for two, but an incomplete pass kept the score at 12-7 in favor of the Cougars. COC gave up two consecutive safeties in the game, both in the second quarter, cutting into the Cougars' lead 12-11. Mt. SAC would retake the lead, 14-12, before the break by adding a 23-yard field goal. COC scored one more time after the break. The College of the Canyons special teams blocked the Mounties punt to set up a quick score for COC. On 1st and 10 on the Mountie's 34-yard line, Arias connected with Bailey for a 34-yard touchdown pass that gave COC a 19-14 advantage. Mt. SAC went ahead 27-19 during a 13-second explosion that included a touchdown and an interception return for a score. Mt. SAC scored one more time to in the fourth quarter to finish off the Cougars 34-19.

GAME 3
Citrus 24
@ College of the Canyons 38
Complete Box Score
The College of the Canyons football team withstood a second half run by visiting Citrus College in COC's home opener, in a 38-24 win for the Cougars. After the Cougars built up a 24-0 lead in the first quarter of the game against the Owls, COC fell flat and allowed the Fighting Owls to outscore College of the Canyons 21-7 in the second half. The run fell short in the final period, but put the Cougars in a position to have to struggle for the win. COC's Chris Rivas scored on a 13-yard pass from quarterback Justin Arias in the closing minutes of the third quarter, which was enough to hold off Citrus, despite one more touchdown from the Owls in the fourth quarter. Arias finished with 251 yards on 16 for 26 passing with three TDs and no interceptions. Rivas added a career-high 196 yards receiving and three scores. It was his second game of the season with more than 100 yards receiving. He had 137 yards on nine catches against Antelope Valley College in the first game of the year. Linebacker Khalil Bass had another amazing night on defense, notching six tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, a pass break up and a sack.

GAME 4
College of the Canyons 33
@ East L.A. 6
Complete Box Score
College of the Canyons safety Josh Irvin pulled down two interceptions, one for a score, as the Cougars rolled over East Los Angeles College 33-6. On a night when the offense wasn't at its best, the Cougars defense and kicker Everett Goldberg helped make sure that the Huskies never gained any confidence against COC. The defense allowed only four yards rushing and collected four turnovers. Cougar kicker Goldberg, who was 1-for-6 in field goal attempts before Saturday's game , put two kicks through the uprights from 20 and 40 yards out in the second and fourth quarters to contribute to Canyons' lead. Quarterback Justin Arias completed 5-of-12 passes for 28 yards, and was replaced by Chris Rini in the second half. Rini finished the night going 6-of-8 for 54 yards. The Cougars jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead on the game's opening drive. A 46-yard kickoff return put Canyons on the Huskies' 39-yard line, and from there Arias and running back Zirbel orchestrated a march to the end zone that was capped off by a 14-yard completion between Arias and Chris Rivas. After starting the second quarter with a Goldberg field goal, Irvin intercepted another pass that set up the Cougars for a 1-yard carry into the end zone by Emanuel Osuchukwu.As in the first half, Canyons scored on their first possession in the second half. Rini took the offense 72 yards on 11 plays, which finished with an 8-yard pass to Zirbel. With a 30-6 lead, the Cougars would punctuate their lead in the fourth quarter with a 40-yard field goal from Goldberg.

GAME 5
Grossmont 36
@ College of the Canyons 18
Complete Box Score
College of the Canyons was held to just two touchdowns and a field goal as Grossmont College dominated College of the Canyons 36-18, handing the Cougars the most lopsided loss of head coach Garett Tujague's four seasons at COC and the worst loss for the program since the 2006 season. In the eighth matchup in the history of these two football powerhouses, COC had lost the last two contests and this last defeat made it three. The Griffins darted to an early 23-7 lead in the second quarter, behind two passes from Grossmont's quarterback and from a long run by their running back. The Cougars chipped the lead down to 23-10, after kicker Everett Goldberg converted on a field goal. In the second half, Grossmont went to work on the ground and scored two touchdowns with its running game. COC would add a touchdown of its own in the final period, as back-up quarterback Justin Morales connected with wide receiver Chris Rivas for a 9-yard score. Ryan Zirbel carried the ball 10 times for 109 yards, and Ross Bacon returned a kickoff 61 yards in the Cougars second possession of the game. Against a Griffin defense that held COC to 249 yards of total offense, the Cougars couldn't get into the end zone enough and committed five turnovers. The Cougar defense that held East L.A. to 221 yards of total offense last weekend, gave up 434 yards to Grossmont, the most any team has tallied against Canyons in five games this season. Emanuel Koleosho led the defense with eight tackles and Torri Zeno had four tackles and an interception.

GAME 6
El Camino 9
@ College of the Canyons 26
Complete Box Score
Led by a tough defensive effort, the College of the Canyons football team recovered six turnovers to produce a convincing 26-9 upset over the El Camino Warriors at Cougar Stadium. The Cougars surprised El Camino by forcing three fumbles and pulling down three interceptions. In the first possession of the game, COC marched 77 yards on 13 plays, capped off by a six-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Justin Arias to wide receiver Mychal Prieto. Five possessions later, COC cornerback Torri Zeno picked El Camino quarterback Omar Herrera's pass at the 45-yard line and returned the ball for a touchdown to put the Cougars up 13-0. El Camino eventually got on the board in the second quarter with a 37-yard Juan Sanchez field goal to cut the COC lead to 13-3. College of the Canyons would strike again to start the second half with an 8-play, 61-yard march that culminated with a 22-yard Arias touchdown pass to wide receiver Cameron Bailey. El Camino added a score with two minutes left in the third quarter to pull within 10 points, 19-9, of the Cougars. But it would be to no avail, as Arias took the ball into the end zone on his own on a one-yard carry to close out the Cougars' scoring. Finally, a fourth quarter interception by COC safety Antwan Smith on the COC 1-yard line, which shut the door on the chances for an El Camino comeback. Cornerback Cassius Sendish, linebacker Khalil Bass and safety Justin Cudworth led COC with six tackles apiece. In addition to the three interceptions, the Cougar defense had 11 pass break ups.

GAME 7
College of the Canyons 30
@ Allan Hancock 27
Complete Box Score
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 in the end zone from the 11-yard line for the game-winning score, as College of the Canyon beat Allan Hancock 30-27. After ending regulation tied 24-24, the Cougar defense stalled the Bulldogs at the 20-yard line, which resulted 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. 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 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.

GAME 8
Cerritos 31
@ College of the Canyons 24
Complete Box Score
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 Cerritos Falcons defeated the Cougars 31-24. 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.

GAME 9
Ventura 24
@ College of the Canyons 37
Complete Box Score
Sophomore linebacker Justin Stevens intercepted Ventura quarterback Antavius Sim's pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown with 1:37 left in the game and the College of the Canyons football team defeated Ventura College 37-24 in its annual homecoming game. The INT by Stevens', his first of the year, was the dagger that put the game out of reach for the Pirates after COC held a 30-24 lead with 5:55 remaining in regulation. COC jumped out to a 30-24 lead in the fourth quarter, which was preceded by a Ventura fumble that COC recovered on the Ventura 13-yard line. Four plays later, Ryan Zirbel carried the ball into the end zone for a four-yard touchdown. With the Pirates looking to score with 2:18 left in regulation, Sims threw his second pick of the half, which was returned for a TD by Stevens, ending the Pirates' hope for a comeback. Arias finished the night 14-of-29 for 178 yards with two interceptions. Frankie Madero had three catches for 60 yards and Zirbel carried the ball 13 times for 86 yards and a score. Justin Cudworth led the defense with nine stops, including 3.5 for a loss and 2.5 sacks.

GAME 10
College of the Canyons 14
@ Bakersfield 41
Complete Box Score
In its last regular season home game, College of the Canyons was held to 25 yards rushing and allowed Bakersfield's Julian Dean-Johnson score three of its five touchdowns on the ground as the Bakersfield Renegades picked up a 41-14 win over the College of the Canyons football team at Memorial Stadium. The Renegades scored on their first drive of the game, getting a 35-yard field goal from Josh Gallington in the first quarter. After taking a 3-0 lead after the first quarter, Bakersfield added on 28 points in the second quarter, while holding the Cougars scoreless for the half. Things got tougher for Canyons in the third quarter as COC couldn't get anything going offensively and could hardly move the ball out of its own territory. College of the Canyons scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late and COC suffered the loss. Quarterback Justin Arias was 17-of-36 for 194 yards and one touchdown, but he threw two interceptions. Linebacker Justin Cudworth led the defense with 11 stops, seven solo, a pass break up and one sack and linebacker Vincent Holder added two sacks for a loss of 18 yards and a forced fumble.

GAME 11 (Golden Empire Bowl)
College of the Canyons 49
@ Fullerton 64 (held at Bakersfield College)
Complete Box Score
In a game that featured 103 points between the two teams, the College of the Canyons was outscored 20-13 by Fullerton College in the fourth quarter and the Cougars dropped the Golden Empire Bowl 64-49. COC was keeping pace with the Hornets, despite a scoreless first quarter, after the team erupted for 29 points in the third quarter. Only trailing by eight points headed into the final quarter, 44-36, Fullerton quickly scored two touchdowns in the first two minutes of the quarter and COC would not recover. Emanuel Koleosho and Josh Irvin led the defense with eight stops each and Irvin and Khalil Bass recorded interceptions for the Cougars. Canyons gained more offensive yardage than Fullerton. COC had 512 yards, 441 in the air, and Fullerton garnered 478 yards, 281 in the air.