No. 6 Canyons Defeats No. 18 Hancock 42-24

College of the Canyons sprinted out of the gates to a 14-0 lead and never looked back in a 42-24 win at Allan Hancock College in a conference game on Saturday afternoon. The No. 18 Bulldogs dropped their third straight game to fall to 1-2 in National Northern League play and 3-4 overall. No. 6 Canyons improved to 3-0 in league and 6-1 for the season. 

The Cougars put together a 10-play, 85-yard drive that took 5:15 off the clock to open the game that ended with a three-yard touchdown run by Kenny Torrence to take a 7-0 lead. On Hancock's first drive of the game, Dy'Kari Hickey fumbled on the Bulldogs' second play and Canyons' Isaiah Foster recovered the loose ball at the Hancock 27-yard line. Four plays later, Chauncey Werah caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Devon Dunn to give the Cougars a 14-0 lead with 7:02 to play in the opening quarter.

The Bulldogs regained composure on their next drive as quarterback Curry Parham kept the ball and sprinted for a 58-yard gain on the first play. The sophomore's 58-yard run was the longest of the season by a Bulldog. Justin Banks ran into the endzone untouched on the next play for a 12-yard touchdown that put the Bulldogs on the board down 14-7 with 6:26 to play in the first quarter. Hancock's defense forced a punt and the offense turned it into three points as Jose Morales made a 34-yard field goal to pull Hancock to within 14-10 with 11 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Canyons outscored Hancock 14-0 in the second quarter as Dunn ran in for a pair of scores, one-yard and seven-yard touchdown runs to give Canyons a 28-10 lead at halftime.

The Cougars extended their lead to 35-10 with 8:12 to play in the third quarter as Dunn connected with Nicholas Jones for a 68-yard touchdown. Dunn finished with 305 passing yards and two touchdowns. He completed 18 of his 29 passes. He also rushed for a team-high 81 yards and two scores on 12 carries.

The Bulldogs inched close in the third quarter as Bakari Davis broke two tackles and sprinted for a 35-yard touchdown run to make it a 35-17 deficit. Parham added a seven-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring for Hancock. 

The Bulldogs were forced to play without injured starters Rafael Arellano, Malik Pope, Malik Williams, the state leader in all-purpose yards per game, and Sam Wellmaker.

Hancock finished with 256 rushing yards led by 68 from Parham on five carries and one score. Banks finished with 62 yards on 11 carries and one touchdown. Sophomore Jericho Worrell ran for 57 yards on 10 carries, while Davis added 41 yards on the ground on four carries and one touchdown, his fifth of the season.

Parham completed seven of his 13 passes for 64 yards. Freshman wide receiver Carwell Gardner, who was playing in his second game of the season, led Hancock with three catches for 41 yards. Freshman Chris Barganier added two receptions.

Defensively, sophomore defensive end Kevon Perry led Hancock with a game-high 13 tackles, including 2.5 for loss. Greg Artis-Payne made 10 stops, while Davis and sophomore Isaiah Hill had nine tackles apiece. Three of Hill's stops were behind the line of scrimmage for lost yardage.

Canyons controlled the clock and had the ball for 36:52 compared to 23:08 for the Bulldogs. The Cougars had 27 first downs, while Hancock had 13. 

The Cougars finished with 483 yards of total offense. Hancock had 320 yards of total offense. Torrence added 64 rushing yards on 18 carries and one touchdown for Canyons. Jones had eight catches for 177 yards and one score to lead the Cougars' receiving corps.

The Canyons special teams minimized Hancock's explosive return game by kicking the ball away from Elijah Holt. The sophomore had just two kick returns for 30 yards, while Banks had three kick returns for a total of three yards. 

The Bulldogs will look to get back on track next Saturday, October 31, at Pasadena City College. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. Pasadena is 0-3 in conference play and 1-6 overall after falling 62-31 at Ventura this weekend.