Canyons Holds Off No. 19 East L.A. 27-21 in Dramatic Fashion

By Alexis Quevedo/COC Sports Information

College of the Canyons executed an emotion-filled 27-21 victory over No. 19 East L.A. College at Cougar Stadium on Saturday night, with the Cougars able to halt the Huskies on a dramatic goal line stop that is arguably the highlight of the season thus far.

COC defensive lineman Jackson Stein and defensive back Joshua Christopher were credited with the final tackle, but the stop — which came after East L.A. had moved down the field on a 19-play, 90-yard drive that chewed 6:21 off the clock — was a complete team effort.

ELAC (4-4, 1-2) earned a first and goal scenario with 1:13 remaining on the clock but could get no further. With a roaring crowd behind them, the Canyons defense flushed Huskies quarterback Terrance Gipson out of the pocket on back-to-back plays during that final drive, forcing a pair of incomplete passes to eventually bring up fourth-and-goal. 

The Huskies final offensive snap saw the ball thrown left side to Trejan Bridges who moved ahead five yards but was then met by a swarm of Cougars defenders, putting an end to any Huskies' hopes of a game-winning touchdown. 

Canyons (4-4, 2-1) took a knee for the final play of the game, finalizing its second conference victory in as many weeks.

The Cougars were slow to get started offensively and after a few miscues COC found itself facing a 3rd-and-23 on its own 44-yard line. That's when COC quarterback Chayden Peery found wide receiver Joshua Littleberry for a pitch and catch that turned into a 56-yard touchdown pass. Ty Morrison converted the PAT for a 7-0 Canyons lead.

On the Huskies' next drive East L.A. put itself in scoring position. ELAC quarterback Jahsiah Sheffie located wide receiver Tyson Schilling who found enough of an opening for a 16-yard touchdown that tied the score at 7-7 after the PAT.

Later in the first quarter Canyons clawed its way back into ELAC territory as Peery threw over the middle, finding an open Calvin Littles for a 69-yard pass completion deep into Huskies territory. From there, a 10-yard scoring run from Damon Banks brought the game to 14-7 after another Morrison PAT.

Following a Canyons quarterback change, sophomore signal caller Bryce Dickson was able to get loose on a 44-yard rush down to the Huskies' 24-yard line. Though the drive eventually stalled out the Cougars came away with a 41-yard field goal from Morrison that put the Cougars ahead 17-7 with 8:29 to go in the half.

After the Cougars' defense forced another Huskies punt, COC again worked its way into East L.A. territory with a combined 34 rushing yards coming from Damon Banks, Jakai Torres and Perry, who continued to rotate with Dickson throughout the game. However, after another stalled drive COC called on Morrison for a 41-yard field goal, his longest of the season, which brought the score to 20-7 with 3:46 to go in the half. 

Torres led the Cougars running backs with 45 yards on 10 carries, however Dickson led the team with his 72 yards coming on 10 attempts.

COC's Ja'mar Flippen started the second half with an impressive 41-yard kickoff return that set the Cougars up at the 50-yard line. However, four plays later a bad exchange between Perry and Banks resulted in a costly fumble. East L.A. defender Quincy Ivory was there to scoop up the fumble and return the ball 44 yards to the Cougars' 11-yard line. Armed with good field position, the Huskies were able to convert on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Gipson to Trejan Bridge, moving the score to 20-14 at the 12:57 mark in the third quarter.

The Huskies closed the gap even further after a Dixson fumble at the Canyons 48-yard line allowed ELAC's Ray Walters III to recover the ball and take it down to the Cougars' 31-yard line.

On the Huskies' next offensive play Gibson swung the ball to running back Kalani Washington who then threw a 31-yard pass down to Quintavius Workman for a 31-yard scoring strike that put the Huskies ahead 21-20 after the PAT, with 10 minutes to go in the quarter.

With both sides putting together a string of unsuccessful drives, ELAC's punt attempt off the foot of Daniel Barrales was partially blocked by COC's Jacob Montes who bypassed a Huskies defender to interrupt the kick. This resulted in the kick only traveling nine yards to the Huskies own 27-yard line.

After an eight-yard run from Torres and a 10-yard personal foul penalty against the Huskies, COC found itself on the two-yard line. From there Cole Bullock powered his way into the end zone on a short score, his second in as many weeks, to put the Cougars ahead 27-21 after another Morrison PAT, with 3:39 to go in the quarter.

From there, the COC defense went to work keeping the Huskies off the scoreboard and eventually setting up the goal line showdown that brought the game to an end.

Canyons was led by Will Maafu with five total tackles and Tylan Foster with four to go with two pass break ups. Bullock and Volk both recorded sacks in the game. Volk also had a pair of tackles for loss. COC limited East L.A. to just 248 yards of total offense with just 61 rushing yards.

Calvin Littles led the Canyons receiving corps with six catches for 97 yards. Littleberry ended his day with 71 yards and a touchdown on his two receptions.

Peery finished the game 7-of-10 for 155 yards and a score. Dickson was 4-of-8 for 18 yards and added 72 yards on the ground. 

Canyons continues conference play on Saturday, Nov. 5 at Ventura College. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Stay up to date on all this season's action by following the College of the Canyons Athletic department on social media at @COCathletics on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. 

—Photo by Dylan Stewart/1550 Sports