September 22, 2016

COS vs. Sierra: Game Notes

GAME NOTES . . .

College of the Sequoias (2-1) vs. Sierra College (1-2)

Saturday, September 24, 2016—Mineral King Bowl

RECORDS: Sierra dropped its first two games in lopsided losses to Fresno and San Mateo, and last week jumped out to a 28-0 lead in beating Contra Costa 35-20. COS won its first two, beating Contra Costa and Feather River, before falling on the road last week to Diablo Valley 44-28. The Giants had an early 14-10 lead, and were within 34-28 in the early fourth quarter before DVC scored the last two touchdowns.

SERIES: Sierra leads 7-5-1. The first two games were when the school was called Placer College, in 1947 and 1949. Sierra was in the Valley Conference from 2006-13 and won 6 of the 8 games. The last game was in 2013, a 41-28 Wolverine victory. COS' highest score ever in a football game, came against Sierra in 2011 when the Giants won 84-34.

RANKINGS: COS is ranked 27^th in the state and 13^th in Northern California in this week's official poll of the JC Athletic Bureau. Sierra is unranked.

COACHES: COS coach Irv Pankey is now in his 19th season on the Giants' staff and his fourth year as head coach. Pankey has played football at the highest levels, earning second team all-American honors as a senior at Penn State and then playing 13 seasons in the National Football League as an offensive lineman, with the Los Angeles Rams and Indianapolis Colts. He was originally hired at COS in 1998 as a physical education instructor and assistant football coach. Pankey's career record with the Giants is now 13-20. Sierra coach Ben Noonan is now in his fourth year, with a record of 16-19. Noonan, who played at Santa Rosa Jr. College, coached at West Texas

A&M, Baylor and Alabama State before spending three years as the Offensive Coordinator at Citrus College. His first team at Sierra (2013) was the school's first winning season 4 years, and his first two seasons guided the Wolverines to post-season bowl games.

WOLVERINES: Sierra's offense features returning starters Pat Nevin, Matt Nunez (RG), William Young (C), Andrew Lackowski (RB), Romello Bentley (WR) and Isaiah Bailey (WR). Lackowski rushed for 107 yards last week and has caught 8 passes in each of the last two games. Bentley had 7 receptions for 112 yards last week and Bailey 7 for 102 vs. San Mateo. Freshman QB Adam Besana was a state Player of the Week for his performance against Contra Costa. The 6-5, 235 pound freshman was 34-54 for 356 yards and 3 TDs. Top freshman players on offense are linemen Lain Asher and Carlos Barraza. The veteran defensive unit includes returning starters Johnathan Fletcher at corner, safeties Jahmar Sexton and Kyron Basped, linebackers Kris Sutton and Ryan Gray, and defensive end Ronell Deo, called the "heart of the defense" by Noonan. Transfer Tyrell Anderson has been a standout, as has freshman safety Felipe Chambers and tackle Zakary Mahannah. The Wolverines have rushed only 22 times per game this season. In their last two games they have thrown 59 and 54 passes. Lackowski has been a very effective punter thus far, averaging 40.6 yards for one of the top marks in the state.

GIANTS: COS opened the season with a huge offensive performance, did a little less in its second game and digressed further last week. The Giants ran just 55 plays and after the opening play, gained just 200 yards the rest of the way, putting the defense on the field more than necessary. Elijah Porchia was a state Player of the Week after gaining 178 yards and 3 TDs vs. Contra Costa. He has 321 yards and 4 scores for the year and 3 more touchdowns receiving. Leading receivers are Sylvester Augustyn with 9 and Jewison Dawkins with 8. QB Thomas Wilson was only 11-27 last week but threw 3 touchdowns, and has 7 for the season. Defensive standouts thus far include end Darren Hambrick, linebacker Mark Meynisse and back Logan Pierce. Sophomore Ron LaForce has been the top player so far. He has averaged 9.3 tackles per game, has 2 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. He also leads the state in interceptions with three, one in each game. Kicker Cesar Murillo is 1-2 in field goals and has nailed all 14 extra point attempts.

NOTES: Former COS track and cross country coach Jerry Angove, who was at the college in the 1960s, later went on to become President of Sierra College from 1975-93…five teams from the Valley Conference are ranked in the state's top 30, including Fresno (11^th), Modesto (13^th), Laney (14^th) and San Joaquin Delta (28^th). Next week's opponents, Sacramento, is ranked 19^th…the Giants are one of four teams in the conference with a 2-1 record. Delta is 1-2 and perennial power Chabot a surprising 0-3. Laney and Fresno look to be the best teams thus far...in two of the first three games, Porchia has scored a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage.

SEASON LOGS:

Sierra (1-2)

Fresno L 19-45

San Mateo L 20-69

Contra Costa W 35-20

COS (2-1)

Contraq Costa W 55-47

Feather River W 28-21

Diablo Valley L 28-4

VALLEY CONFERENCE STANDINGS (non-conference games)

W-L PS PA

COS 2-1 111 112