COC NOTEBOOK: COC BECOMES A STREAK BUSTER.

Byline: Erik Boal Special to the Daily News

For the College of the Canyons football team, the festivities didn't stop Saturday in Visalia.

The Cougars have been in a celebratory mood after winning the first state championship in program history with a 39-32 victory against City College of San Francisco and returning to the Santa Clarita Valley.

Not only did COC snap CCSF's 24-game winning streak, but the Cougars also handed the Rams their first loss in a state final since 1998.

That was also the last time a team from Southern California, Palomar College, won the state title. CCSF captured championships in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003, and Reedley College defeated COC 35-15 in 2002.

The recognition didn't end there for coach Chuck Lyon's team, which was crowned national champion by JC Grid-Wire and co-national champion with Pearl River (Miss.) by the JUCO Football Network.

COC became the first junior college football team ever to win 14 games as the Cougars and Pearl River (12-0) finished the season as two of the only three unbeaten teams in the country.

Sierra College, located in Rocklin, Calif., finished 11-0 but didn't qualify for the Hawaiian Punch Bowl - the Northern California championship game - because it was the No. 3 seed in Northern California behind CCSF and Fresno City (8-3).

Sierra defeated Chabot 31-16 in the Capital Shrine Bowl to cap its undefeated season.

COC, which finished one spot ahead of Pearl River in JC Grid-Wire's final national top 25 poll, entered the postseason as one of six undefeated teams in the nation.

Pearl River posted a 35-14 victory against Kansas' Butler Community College (11-1), which previously held the top spot in the JUCO Football Network national rankings, in the Dalton Defenders Bowl in Coffeyville, Kan.

The Cougars then knocked Grossmont and CCSF from the ranks of the unbeaten, leaving just them, Pearl River and Sierra. With its win against Chabot, Sierra extended its nation-leading winning streak to 29 games.

Sierra's mark is also No. 2 all-time in state history behind CCSF's national record 42-game streak from 1999 to 2002 - and fifth all-time nationally.

Pearl River's winning streak is at 19, and COC's is at 14.

``Winning the state title and a national championship is important because of the amount of time and energy you invest along the way,'' said Lyon, who improved his record to 68-14 in seven seasons. ``And it's not just me, it's the coaching staff, the players, our trainers, the people in the athletic department, the president, it's everybody.

``For this community, it's a great thing because there's so many people involved in helping us reach this goal.''

--Important stretch:Another COC team that could be in the hunt for a state title at the end of its season is the Cougars women's basketball team.

Coach Greg Herrick will find out how his team matches up with three of the elite programs in the state in the next week, beginning with a showdown at 7 tonight against Ventura (7-5), ranked No. 11 by the California Community College Women's Basketball Coaches Association.

No. 10 COC will then play host to No. 6 Mount San Antonio College (9-4) at 7 p.m. Saturday before closing out its four-game homestand against No. 2 Riverside (10-2) at 5 p.m. Wednesday.