Hancock Defense Forces Five Turnovers, Bulldogs Upset No. 11 Chaffey 24-13

(Santa Maria, CA) Malik Williams rushed for 92 yards and one touchdown, and the defense forced five turnovers, including two in the fourth quarter, as the Allan Hancock College football team upset the 11^th ranked team in the state, Chaffey, 24-13 on Saturday afternoon at Hancock Football Field.

The Bulldogs improved to 2-1 after knocking off Chaffey for the second straight year. Chaffey dropped to 2-1. Last year, Hancock defeated the Panthers, who were then ranked tenth in the state, 26-24 at Chaffey.

Chaffey took an early 7-0 lead as Brandon Mosely took a quick pass from Levi Plante 43 yards for a score on the third play of the game. The Bulldogs responded with a 10-play, 50-yard drive that ended with a 47-yard field goal by Jose Morales to make it a 7-3 game. The Bulldog defense held tight the rest of the half allowing Hancock's offense to find its groove.

Dondaycee Millbrook recovered a fumble at the Hancock 39 yard line to end a Chaffey drive in the second quarter. Linebacker Gregory Artis-Payne forced a fumble a few drives later that was recovered by sophomore Rafael Arellano. The Bulldogs cashed the second turnover into a touchdown to take the lead for good. Williams, who was playing his first game at tailback, took the carry and headed right before reversing his course for a 27-yard touchdown run to put Hancock ahead 10-7 with 4:02 to play in the half.

Hancock carried a 10-7 lead into halftime and received the ball to open the second half. The Bulldogs marched 65 yards down field on 10 plays to take a 17-7 lead. Quarterback Curry Parham connected with Chris Barganier in the left corner of the endzone for a 23-yard touchdown strike less than three minutes into the second half. Parham and Barganier played together at St. Joseph High School where they connected for seven touchdowns. The score in the third quarter was their first touchdown pass at the collegiate level.

The Hancock defense picked off two Plante passes in between a Chaffey touchdown. Bakari Davis intercepted a pass in the third quarter for Hancock to end one drive. Chaffey later scored on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Plante to Marquis Wimberly with 12 minutes to play in the game to cut the deficit to 17-13 after the point after attempt sailed wide right. Chaffey forced Hancock to punt, but Elijah Holt soared in front of a Chaffey receiver to pick off a Plante pass on the Panthers' next possession. It was Holt's second pick of the season.

Chaffey's defense responded on the next Hancock drive as Parham's pass into traffic was deflected and picked off by Bradley Kistner and returned to the Chaffey 28 yard line with 2:46 to play. The Panthers marched toward midfield, but Hancock linebacker Josh Hawes stripped the ball from Plante and recovered the ball with 1:18 to play in the game. The Bulldogs put the game on ice as Jericho Worrell sped down the right side of the field for an 18-yard run with less than a minute to play to give the Bulldogs a 24-13 advantage.

Worrell, who missed last week's game with an ankle injury, finished with 57 yards on 12 carries and one score. Williams rushed for 92 yards on 19 carries and one touchdown. The Bulldogs finished with 178 yards on the ground. 

Parham, who split quarterback duties with Matt Albright in the first two weeks, played the entire game under center. He threw for 105 yards on 13 for 23 passing.

Barganier led the Bulldogs with five catches for 55 yards, including one touchdown. Williams caught three passes for 17 yards, while Kelvin Marion had three receptions for 15 yards.

Defensively, DaMarion King and Artis-Payne led the Bulldogs with 10 tackles apiece. King broke up two passes, while Artis-Payne had one tackle for loss and recovered a fumble. Malik Pope had eight tackles, while Kevon Perry had eight stops, including 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack as time expired. Isaiah Hill finished with five tackles, including two for loss. Davis broke up three passes, intercepted one ball and tallied three tackles.

Plante completed 19 of his 38 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns to go with two interceptions. James Noble led the Panthers with 96 yards on 10 carries. Wimberly caught seven passes for 121 yards, including one touchdown.

Jared Emanuele led the Panthers with 15 tackles, including 1.5 for loss.

Statistically, Chaffey had more first downs, 19 to 14, and more yards of total offense, 382 to 283. The Bulldogs' defense and the five forced turnovers made the difference as Hancock held a 34:30 to 25:30 advantage in time of possession.

The Bulldogs open conference play next Saturday, Sept. 26, at Bakersfield. Kickoff will be at 6 p.m.