Canyons Gets Defensive in Dominant WSC Effort

That was quite a number the College of the Canyons defense pulled on Hancock in a 21-14 Western State Conference Northern Division victory on Saturday.

The Cougars (4-0, 2-0) sacked Ryan Canfield seven times, including three by middle linebacker Reggie Everett, who finished with 11 tackles.

“We basically played to the outside and went after them,” Coach Chuck Lyon said.

Canyons, ranked No. 9 in the state last week but sure to move up when the rankings are released today, limited the No. 5-ranked Bulldogs (3-1, 1-1) to 162 yards. Hancock had been averaging 261.0 yards.

End John Harrison had 11 tackles. Six were for losses, including one sack. Safety Josh Brandon made 15 tackles.

“We are very fast on defense,” Lyon said. “[Hancock] had to double team [lineman] Isaac [Sopoaga] all night. When they did that, that opened up other guys.”

*

Talk about a pain in the neck.

Moorpark fullback Edward Casillas, who had sat out much of the season because of a pinched nerve in his neck, was a full-blown headache for Ventura on Saturday.

Casillas, a 6-foot-3, 235-pound freshman from Thousand Oaks High, rushed for 119 yards in 21 carries to help the Raiders (3-1, 2-0) defeat Ventura, 16-6.

“We’ve found an inside running game,” Coach Jim Bittner said. “[Casillas] gave us some ball control, which we haven’t had. The other games we’ve won, we won with big plays.”

Casillas hurt his neck in a scrimmage against El Camino in early September.

“We had him come back gradually,” Bittner said.