Football: Bulldogs Thump Orange Coast in Season Opener

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - The Allan Hancock College football team opened the 2023 campaign with a dominating victory over Orange Coast College at the AHC Football Field on Saturday afternoon. | BOX SCORE

Hancock opened the first quarter with a 28-point frenzy, sparked by a pair of touchdown passes from Jackson Clavel to Maximo Soltero (13 yards) and Ferrari Busby (38 yards). JP Luketu used an eight-yard scramble to score before Adarius Odom returned a 56-yard interception with 48 seconds remaining on the clock.

Orange Coast struck first in the second frame after completing a 34-yard pass for a touchdown, but a two-yard rushing touchdown from Busby and a successful 42-yard field goal attempt by Arath Acosta lifted AHC to a 38-7 lead at the intermission. 

The Bulldogs scored twice after the halftime break with both tallies coming in the final five minutes of play. John Allen used a seven-yard scamper to score with 4:56 remaining in the third before Tyrrell Darby caught a 15-yard pass from Clavel just two minutes later.

The Pirates scored for the final time after returning an interception to open the fourth, but Malachi Eafon answered with a 60-yard scamper to the endzone on the next drive. Brian Ibarra used a 22-yard rush to score midway through the quarter before Jack Gentile closed the contest with a pick-six in the final two minutes of action. 

Hancock posted an impressive 517 yards of total offense while limiting OCC to just 290 yards. Clavel finished with an efficient 8-for-10 mark while recording 158 passing yards and three touchdowns. AJ Vele also appeared briefly in the pocket en route to a 1-for-3 finish that totaled 57 yards. 

Allen led a slew of runningbacks, a group that tallied 302 yards and five touchdowns, with 108 yards. He was followed by Eafon's 64 yards and 39 yards by Metuliki Tupou. Kollins Pettaway led the receiving core with 57 yards while Busby tallied 38 yards and Soltero finished with 30 yards on three catches. Acosta ended the day with a perfect 10-for-10 production on extra-point attempts along with one successful field goal on his lone try. 

Daron Lewis Jr. and Daelin Randle led Hancock's defense with five tackles apiece, followed by four each from Mike Mills and Dearion Prothro. Lewis, Prothro, and Reynold Uti were each credited with one sack that combined for a total loss of 19 yards. Keyshawn Pu'a secured one interception for 10 yards to go along with the returned interceptions by Odom and Gentile. 

The Bulldogs are set to return to action on Saturday, September 9th, for a non-conference showing on the road against East LA College.