Bulldogs Drop Third Straight, Fall 37-20 at Canyons

Despite impressive individual numbers from Curry Parham, Breon Briggs, Willie Iribarren and Lauina Futi, the Allan Hancock College football team fell 37-20 at College of the Canyons in a league game on Saturday.

The Bulldogs, who never led in the contest, dropped their third in a row to fall to 1-2 in Northern League play and 2-5 overall. Canyons, the defending league champion, improved to 2-1 in conference and 3-4 for the season.

Parham finished with a career-high 244 passing yards with one touchdown. The freshman completed 20 of his 37 passes with no interceptions. The St. Joseph High School graduate's previous career-best was 221 passing yards against Chaffey. Briggs, a sophomore receiver, caught a career-high nine passes for 120 yards, both set career-highs. He also had a 42-yard reception. His previous game-highs were five catches for 66 yards. Freshman receiver Zak Karsh added five catches for 78 yards for Hancock.

Futi reached the 100-yard mark for the second game in a row. The freshman running back ran for 105 yards on 17 carries. He rushed for 106 yards last weekend. Jaylin Amerson added 40 yards on seven carries.

Iribarren tallied 11 solo tackles to finish the game with 17 total tackles. He also forced one fumble. It marked the fourth game this season the sophomore linebacker recorded 10 or more tackles. Sophomore Logan Sprouse added nine tackles, including one pass breakup. Kevon Perry finished with eight tackles, including three for lost yardage.

The Cougars scored on the opening drive of the game on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Tony Dawson to Tim White to take a 7-0 lead just 54 seconds into the game. The game remained 7-0 until early in the second quarter when Hancock kicker Jose Morales converted a 29-yard field goal with 13:01 to play in the first half. The Cougars responded with a nine-yard touchdown pass from Devon Dunn to Earl Johnson to take a 13-3 lead with 8:37 to play in the first half after the PAT failed.

The Bulldogs closed the gap to 13-10 when Parham scored on an eight-yard run to cap an eight play, 65-yard drive with 5:32 to play in the half. The Cougars took a 20-10 lead into halftime after Dunn scored on a nine-yard run with nearly one minute to go before intermission.

Hancock started with the ball in the second half, but Michael Johnson fumbled the ball at Canyons recovered at the Hancock 28. The Cougars converted that into three points on a 21-yard field goal to make it 23-10.

Morales converted a 34-yard field goal on Hancock's next possession to bring Hancock to within 10 and 23-13. The freshman and Lompoc High School graduate improved to 11 for 13 on field goal attempts this season.

After Dawson ran in for a seven-yard score early in the fourth quarter to give Canyons a 30-13 lead, Parham connected with Codie Corbin for a 15-yard touchdown pass to make it a 30-20 game. Corbin, a Pioneer Valley High School graduate who missed the start of the season with an injury, finished with two catches for 22 yards, and his first touchdown.

Canyons capped the scoring with a three-yard run from Johnson with 3:50 to go in the game.

Statistically, Hancock held the edge in first downs (27-22) and total yards (442-385). The Bulldogs were called for eight penalties for 67 yards, while Canyons committed one penalty for 10 yards. Both teams committed one turnover apiece. The Bulldogs also held the advantage in time of possession (32:49 to 27:11).

Daweson and Johnson finished with 82 yards rushing apiece and one touchdown. Dawson also threw for 74 yards and one score on 6 for 12 passing. Dunn completed nine of his 13 passes for 95 yards and one touchdown. White led the Cougars with seven receptions for 76 yards and one score.

The Bulldogs return home to host Pasadena next Saturday, November 1, at Righetti High School with kickoff set for 4 p.m. Pasadena lost 23-17 in overtime to Moorpark this week.