No. 5 Hancock Football Opens Conference Play at No. 7 Santa Barbara on Saturday

The Allan Hancock College football team will kick off its conference schedule against a familiar opponent on Saturday, October 14. The Bulldogs will open American Pacific Division play at Santa Barbara City College with kickoff set for 1 p.m. at La Playa Stadium. Both teams are coming off their bye weeks headed into their 57^th all-time meeting. Hancock leads the series 31-24-1, though SBCC has won the last four meetings, all by six points or less.

The Bulldogs are off to a 3-2 start and ranked No. 5 in the Southern California – American Division Coaches Poll. Hancock is coming off a 24-18 home loss to San Bernardino Valley. The Hancock defense allowed 415 passing yards, but limited the SBVC running game to -56 yards. Hancock committed four turnovers in the loss, including three interceptions thrown by quarterback Jimmy Kelleher (Nassau CC). Ryheem Skinner (Clinton HS) led the Bulldogs with 69 rushing yards, while Damon Whitmill, Jr.  (N. Kansas City HS) added 54 yards on eight carries. Sophomore Connor Epley (Santa Ynez HS) and Jquan Langley (Kendrick HS) recorded 2.5 sacks apiece.

Kelleher, a sophomore, averages 174.8 passing yards per game and has completed 49.3 percent of his passes for 874 yards. He has thrown three touchdowns and seven interceptions. Skinner leads the Hancock ground game with 244 rushing yards, or 81 yards per game, and two touchdowns. Sophomore receiver Nick Kimball (Nipomo HS) paces the Bulldogs with 23 receptions for 307 yards and one touchdown. Michael Ferraro (Nassau CC) has 16 catches for 215 yards. Defensively, sophomore linebacker Basiru Jobe (Nassau CC) leads the Southern California Football Association with 14 tackles for loss, and ranks second with 6.5 sacks and 50 total tackles. Sophomore Osa Omokaro (Hillside HS) has four sacks on the year. Hancock's Domanic Chapa (Grandview HS) leads the team with three interceptions five games into the season.

The Vaqueros enter 3-2 overall and ranked No. 7 in the Southern California – American Division Coaches Poll. They are coming off a 25-20 loss at College of the Desert. SBCC fell behind 16-0 and climbed to within two points in the fourth quarter.

SBCC utilizes multiple quarterbacks. Gerald Hickson has thrown for 483 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions. He threw for a career-high four touchdowns and 168 yards in the Vaqueros' 56-7 win at West Los Angeles. Joshua Evans has 288 passing yards and one touchdown. He completed 6 of his 18 passes against Desert. Sophomore running back Emmanuel Nwosu is the conference's leading rusher with 133.2 rushing yards per game and five touchdowns. He ran for 199 yards on just 14 carries in the team's 39-point win at LA Southwest. Sophomore receiver Donald Lambert has 15 receptions for 353 yards and five touchdowns to lead the SBCC receiving corps. Defensive lineman Chayvis Curry leads the team with 32 tackles in four games and 3.5 sacks.

Comparing numbers between the two teams, Hancock averages 26.4 points, 376.6 yards, 174.8 passing yards and 201.8 rushing yards per game. The Bulldogs have a +8 differential in turnovers by forcing 19 and committing 11. SBCC averages 36.2 points, 376.6 total yards, 191 passing yards and 185.6 rushing yards per game. The Vaqueros have committed 12 turnovers and recovered 14 on defense.