JC PREVIEW: CANYONS LOOKING FOR PERFECT ENDING.Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - Each Monday during the season, College of the Canyons College of the Canyons is one of the fastest-growing community colleges in the state. According to the National Junior College Research Association, College of the Canyons consistently ranks in the top 50 community colleges in the nation. football coach Chuck Lyon offers his players a brief history lesson before practice. This week's topic: Perfect Seasons 10-0. The only thing was, there wasn't much left for Lyon to say. The 2003 Cougars have known for months that with a victory tonight they can do something no other team has done in Canyons' 18 years of football. As one of only eight undefeated junior college teams in the nation, all the Cougars (9-0, 6-0 Western State Conference) have to do is win at Moorpark at 7 tonight to complete the first perfect season in program history. ``You can't top that,'' sophomore defensive end Domata Peko Domata Peko [DOE-mah-tah "PECK-o] (born November 27, 1984) is a professional football player and defensive tackle selected by the Cincinnati Bengals as the 123rd pick in the 2006 NFL Draft out of Michigan State University. He is from Pago Pago, American Samoa. said. ``You may be able to tie that, but you can't ever top it.'' Sophomore quarterback Jason Beck added: ``We've talked about it a lot with each other. We've taken it week by week and just tried to win every game. Now there's this great opportunity for us.'' How rare are perfect seasons for a program? Consider that Canyons would be first area team to go 10-0 since Valley in 1995. And though the Cougars have had only one losing season in history, they never have gone undefeated. ``It doesn't happen; period,'' said Lyon, who played on an undefeated team his senior year at Sylmar High. ``It's exciting for the program. It's exciting to get a shot at it. I do not think it is going to be easy.'' The chance to go 10-0 will come from a game in which Canyons has both nothing and everything to play for. The Cougars already have clinched the conference title and will open the Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, playoffs at home Nov. 22 as the No. 3 seed. The only thing up in the air is which team Canyons will play - either Mt. San Antonio San Antonio (săn ăntō`nēō, əntōn`), city (1990 pop. 935,933), seat of Bexar co., S central Tex., at the source of the San Antonio River; inc. 1837. or Palomar - and whether the Cougars can complete their perfect season. ``It'd be nice to be part of a team that made history,'' freshman offensive tackle James Paulk said. The perfect season seems almost logical in the progression for the Cougars' program in Lyon's six years as coach. This would be their third consecutive 10-win season and come a year after Canyons won the Southern California championship. But this season has been anything but a cakewalk for the Cougars. Canyons played the most demanding schedule in its history, opening with games against Mission Conference heavyweights Pasadena and Palomar, and closing against three ranked WSC WSC Winter Symposium on Chemometrics WSC Winter Simulation Conference WSC Wayne State College WSC Westfield State College (Westfield, MA) WSC Western State College (Colorado) teams. They lost their top two returning players (cornerback cor·ner·back also corner back n. Football Either of two defensive halfbacks stationed a short distance behind the linebackers and relatively near the sidelines. Noun 1. Marte'a Johnson and wide receiver Tyrell Smith) to academic ineligibility INELIGIBILITY. The incapacity to be lawfully elected. 2. This incapacity arises from various, causes, and a person may be incapable of being elected to one office who may, be elected to another; the incapacity may also be perpetual or temporary. before the season. Canyons also had to find replacements for star quarterback Kyle Bauer and running back J.J. Arrington from last year. But the Cougars started winning the first week in September - and haven't stopped. Canyons spent three weeks ranked as the No. 1 team in the nation and has been ranked No. 1 in Southern California since Week 3. Both are milestones for the college, which dropped its football program in 1982 only to bring it back in 1998. ``We've had that `X' on our chests from the start of the season,'' Lyon said. ``And every team has brought its A game against us and we've responded.'' No one on the Cougars wants the perfect season more than sophomore wide receiver Trevor Brackett, who has spent three years commuting to Canyons from his home in South Los Angeles South Los Angeles is the official name for a large geographic and cultural area lying to the southwest and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. The area was formerly called South Central Los Angeles, and is still sometimes called South Central. . It all stems from the 0-10 season Brackett endured while playing at Hollywood High
``I've been on the reverse,'' Brackett said. ``I never was on a winning team before I came here. ... If we do it, nobody can say we didn't earn it.'' The Cougars first will have to get by a Moorpark team (4-5, 4-2) wracked by a week of controversy. Moorpark had hoped to enter tonight's game undefeated in the WSC but had to forfeit To lose to another person or to the state some privilege, right, or property due to the commission of an error, an offense, or a crime, a breach of contract, or a neglect of duty; to subject property to confiscation; or to become liable for the payment of a penalty, as the result of a its 40-0 victory Oct. 27 over Ventura for using an ineligible in·el·i·gi·ble adj. 1. Disqualified by law, rule, or provision: ineligible to run for office; ineligible for health benefits. 2. player. Moorpark then was routed 42-14 by Hancock last Saturday. But Lyon knows how dangerous the Raiders can be. In 2000, Canyons was 7-0 but lost 31-26 when Moorpark's Ray Carmel returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown with five minutes left. ``We've spoiled it for them before,'' said defensive end Martin Miller, part of a Moorpark defense ranked No. 3 in the state. ``We're going to try to do it again.'' Even if Canyons wins tonight, the time for celebration will be short. Playoff play·off also play-off n. Sports 1. A final game or series of games played to break a tie. 2. A series of games played to determine a championship. Noun 1. pairings come out Sunday and the prospect of playing four more games looms. There will be another history lesson Monday afternoon. ``I told them this week there was no way I thought we'd be 9-0 going into this game,'' Lyon said. ``We've come a long way in six years.'' Ross Siler, (818) 713-3610 ross.siler(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): box Box: UNDEFEATED JUNIOR COLLEGES |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion