Hancock Opens League Play and Renews Rivalry Saturday with Santa Barbara City College

Coming off a bye week, the Allan Hancock College football team will open its inaugural American Pacific League schedule at home on Saturday, October 15, against Santa Barbara City College. Kickoff is at 2 p.m. at Hancock Football Field. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 10 in the Southern California-American Division poll. The Vaqueros, who are 4-1, are ranked third this week.

Their last time out, the Bulldogs limited San Bernardino to 188 total yards of offense and won 16-6 on the road.  The Hancock defense held SBVCC to 42 yards rushing, recorded nine sacks and forced three turnovers. Freshman defensive end Osa Omokaro (Hillside HS) had 4.5 sacks and eight tackles to lead the Bulldogs. Freshman defensive lineman Connor Epley (Santa Ynez HS) added seven tackles, two sacks and broke up two passes. Freshman Anthony Miller (Navarre HS) added one sack, five sacks as well as forced and recovered a fumble.  Sophomore running back Shaq Autry (North Marion HS) led the team with 77 rushing yards on 21 carries. Jajuan Lankford (S.Pittsburg HS) added 62 yards and one touchdown on 15 carries. Sophomore receiver Chris Barganier (St. Joseph HS) caught a 9-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to give Hancock the lead. It was his third straight game with a touchdown catch.

Omokaro ranks third in the region and fifth in the state with 6.5 sacks. He is tied for second in Southern California and eighth in California with 10.5 tackles for loss. Sophomore quarterback Matt Albright (Nipomo HS) ranks 10^th in the region with nine touchdown passes.

Santa Barbara is off to a 4-1 start after a 47-18 win over College of the Desert. The Vaqueros are averaging 262.8 rushing yards, 190.6 passing yards and 44.8 points per game. Running back Demetrius Vinson, who is averaging 9.4 yards per carry, leads the squad with 443 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Perry Martin has run for 277 yards and seven touchdowns, including a record-tying four in a game, but he has missed the last two games due to an injury. Emmanuel Nwosu has also rushed for 321 yards and three scores, averaging 8.2 yards per carry.  SBCC has scored 20 rushing touchdowns in its first five games. Noah Holle and Joshua Lindman, both sophomores, split quarterback duties in four of the Vaqueros' five games. Holle has completed 57 percent of his passes for 499 yards. He has thrown six touchdown pass and four interceptions. Lindman completed 62 percent of his passes for 454 yards and three touchdowns. Jason-Matthew Sharsh is the team's top receiver with 24 catches for 419 yards and three touchdowns. Tight end Jacob Ortale has eight catches, three of which were for touchdowns. Linebacker Dallas Martin leads the team with 42 tackles to go with one interception. Tony Anderson has 40 tackles, two picks, and blocked three kicks. Defensive back Nakota Shepard-Creer leads the team with three interceptions and four pass breakups.

This will be the 56th meeting since 1956 between Hancock and SBCC. Santa Barbara has won the last three years. Hancock still leads the all-time series 31-23-1.