Dominant Second Half Leads Bulldogs to 52-14 Win Over Pasadena

(Santa Maria, CA) Shaq Autry scored three touchdowns in a breakout game and the Bulldogs outscored Pasadena 35-0 in a dominant second half as the Allan Hancock College football team snapped a three-game losing skid with a 52-14 victory at Righetti High School Saturday night.

The Bulldogs evened their Northern Conference record at 2-2 and improved to 3-5 overall. The Lancers dropped to 1-3 in league and 2-7 for the season.

The 52 points marked the Bulldogs' highest-scoring output since a 59-11 win over L.A. Harbor in the Western States Bowl Game in November 2011.

The second half scoring barrage started with a  20-yard interception return for a touchdown by sophomore linebacker Willie Iribarren to give Hancock a 24-14 lead early in the third quarter. The Lompoc High School graduate finished with 10 tackles in the game. The pick-six energized the Bulldogs who never looked back. 

Hancock continued its scoring barrage with a two-yard touchdown run by Autry to cap a 38-yard drive and give Hancock a 31-14 advantage with 6:29 to play in the third. The Bulldog defense continued to shine and kept Pasadena offense out of the endzone. Hancock's offense rolled on with a 10 play, 76-yard drive that finished with a two-yard scoring run by Autry, the third touchdown of the game by the freshman put Hancock ahead 38-14.

The Bulldogs added its first special team's touchdown of the season when Shakeer Williams fielded a Pasadena punt off a high bounce at the Hancock 30-yard line and returned it 70-yards for a score and a 45-14 advantage with 5:12 to play in the game.  The return was the team's first return returned for a touchdown since Douglas Webb's 54-yard TD return in October 2011. 

The Bulldogs capped their scoring with a brilliant 75-yard touchdown run by Jaylin Amerson to make it 52-14. It marked the team's longest rushing play of the season.  Amerson, a sophomore, rushed for a career-high 135 yards on just 11 carries. 

Lauina Futi, who was coming off back-to-back 100+ yard games, finished with 60 yards on 14 carries and a two-yard touchdown. Autry finished with 59 yards on nine carries and his first three collegiate touchdowns. Bakari Davis added 42 yards and Wesley Williams ran for 23 more. As a team, Hancock finished with a season-high 352 rushing yards on 52 carries for an average of 6.8 yards per carry. It marked the first time Hancock rushed for 300+ yards since Cameron Artis-Payne's final game with the Bulldogs when the squad rushed for 448 yards in a loss to College of the Canyons to end the 2012 season. 

The Bulldogs outgained the Lancers with 458 total yards to Pasadena's 278 yards. The Lancers had 87 rushing yards.

Hancock built an early 14-0 lead in the first half. The Bulldogs opened the game with a brilliant seven play, 83-yard drive that finished with a two-yard touchdown run by Futi with 2:19 off the clock. The defense forced Pasadena to punt on its first two possessions before blocking a 52-yard field goal try. Freshman Colter Swafford ended another Lancer drive with his first career interception late in the first quarter. 

The Bulldogs found the endzone again early in the second quarter on Autry's first touchdown of the game, a six-yard run. The Lancers finally got their offense going and tied it with a 22-yard touchdown from Trevor Hampton to Ahmad Springer and a 36-yard touchdown pass from Hampton to Ricky Blair to tie it at 14-14 with 3:21 to go in the half. The Bulldogs regained momentum into halftime with a  37-yard field goal by Jose Morales to give Hancock the lead for good 17-14 into intermission. The field goal started a 38-0 run by the Bulldogs in the final 32 minutes of play.

Both teams were plagued by penalties as the Lancers committed 11 for 118 yards, while the Bulldogs were flagged eight times for 77 yards.

Hancock lost three fumbles on offense, but defensive lineman Ethan Allen recovered one fumble for the Bulldogs. Hancock also picked off three Hampton passes, including Iribarren's, as well as picks by Deonte Barnes and Swafford. 

Jonathon General led the Bulldogs with 11 tackles, including one for a four-yard loss. Isaiah Hill had six tackles, including 1.5 sacks and two quarterback hurries. Seth Kena applied constant pressure on Hampton in the second half and finished with 1.5 sacks, two pass breakups and one hurry. Tim McCullough and Alo Maumausolo were both credited with half a sack.  The Hancock defense limited Pasadena's offense to just three for 17 on third downs. Hampton threw for 191 yards, two TD passes and three interceptions on 18 for 52 passing. Timothy Jones led the Lancers with 94 rushing yards on 18 carries. 

Due to the success of the offensive line and running game, the Bulldogs did not need to rely on their passing game. Quarterback Curry Parham completed eight of his 20 passes for 106 yards.  Breon Briggs had three catches for 60 yards, while Ryan Mediano added three receptions for 24 yards. 

Hancock returns to action Saturday, November 8, at Ventura with a conference game that kicks off at 6 p.m.