2008 Southern California Football Association
National Northern Conference Champions (10-0)
Cougar Football Collects More Post-Season Awards
Celina Baguiao, COC (1/9)
Five Cougars from the 2008 National Division, Northern Conference Champion College of the Canyons football team were honored with 2008 All-America awards, and seven were named All-State, including All-State Defensive Player of the Year for defensive lineman Marquis Jackson.
Sophomore wide receiver Hayo Carpenter, sophomore offensive lineman Joe Evinger, sophomore running back Fred Winborn, freshman defensive lineman Marquis Jackson and sophomore linebacker Eric Wells were named to the 2008 All-America team, which is voted on by the California Community College Football Coaches Association.
Along with the All-America honors, all five student-athletes were named All-State as well as sophomore quarterback Brad McClellan and sophomore offensive lineman Shawn Johnson. Jackson becomes the second All-State Defensive Player of the Year for College of the Canyons since the program was reinstated in 1998 and the first freshman to earn the honor.
Defensive lineman and now San Francisco 49er Isaac Sopoaga, earned the same award as a sophomore in 2000. The Birmingham graduate was the conference division defensive player of the year after completing his first season with 60 tackles, 39 solo, one interception, seven pass breakups and a fumble recovery. He is the only freshman on the 2008 COC football squad that earned All-State and All-America honors.
Carpenter, also the conference division Offensive Player of the Year, finished his career as a Cougar with 3,079 yards receiving on 173 catches and holds all but one Cougar receiving record. The University of Minnesota bound receiver was second in the state for receptions per game (7.9) and receiving yards per game (135.4) during the 10 games of the 2008 regular season.
Evinger, a Brazil, Ind., native, played a major role in helping the Cougars have the top total offensive yards per game (499.9), total yards per play (7.4), rushing yards per carry (6.1) and the most points scored per game (45.9) in the state during the regular season. Evinger was a second-team all-conference honoree his freshman year and was a unanimous first-team pick in 2008.
Perhaps the most prolific running back to ever play at College of the Canyons, Winborn holds every Canyons rushing record and partially or outright has every COC scoring record. The Grant High School alum was second in the state during the regular season in points scored per game (13.8) and rushing touchdowns (17). He led the team with 225 carries for 1,634 yards and 21 touchdowns during the 2008 season.
Wells, an Agoura Hills graduate, led the team in tackles with 83, 46 solo, and had 23 more tackles than the second-best tackler on the team. He also added five sacks for a loss of 25 yards and four pass breakups. The outside linebacker earned first-team all-conference honors this season.
Celina Baguiao, COC (11/21)
Carpenter and Jackson Lead COC All-Conference Honors
College of the Canyons football nabbed 15 all-conference awards following the Cougar’s perfect 10-0 season as well as a sweep of the conference’s top-three honors in Coach of the Year for Garett Tujague, Offensive Player of the Year for sophomore wide receiver Hayo Carpenter and Defensive Player of the Year for freshman defensive lineman Marquis Jackson, for a total of 18 awards for the 2008 season.
Tujague, in just his second season as College of the Canyons’ head coach, led his team to a perfect 10-0 (6-0) record that saw the Cougars lead the conference in both total offense and total defense. Sophomore wide receiver Hayo Carpenter (Burroughs-Ridgecrest), who has already given a verbal commitment to the University of Minnesota, has shattered most of the receiving records at College of the Canyons with 79 receptions for 1,354 yards and 13 touchdowns through 10 games. Freshman defensive lineman Marquis Jackson (Birmingham) has been a terror on the field defensively, leading the Cougars in sacks (10.5) and tackles for loss (15.5-64), and is second on the team in tackles (46) and pass break-ups (5).
Carpenter and Jackson become the seventh and eighth COC players to be named the conference players of the year and Jackson is just the second COC freshman to earn the honor following then freshman in 2007, Fred Winborn.
The Cougars now have had 210 players earn all-conference honors since football returned to college in 1998.
In addition to the three top honors, 15 more Cougars were named all-conference, including:
First Team Offense:
Sophomore Kicker Ricky Drake (Valencia) – 7-13 FG, 45-50 XP, 21 punts, 37.6 avg. *
Sophomore Offensive Lineman Joe Evinger (Northview, Ind.) *
Sophomore Offensive Lineman Shawn Johnson (Thousand Oaks) *
Sophomore Wide Receiver Jovan Leacock (Bayside, N.Y.) – 25 receptions, 431 yards, 3 TDs
Sophomore Quarterback Brad McClellan (Deerfield, Fla.) – 104-161-4, 1,629 yards, 12 tds, 75 carries, 472 yards, 4 TDs *
Sophomore Running Back Fred Winborn (Birmingham) – 143 carries, 1061 yards, 17 TDs *
Second Team Offense:
Sophomore Wide Receiver Nate Jones (L.A. Baptist) – 13 receptions, 318 yards, 3 TDs
Sophomore Offensive Lineman Joe Thompson (Ravenwood, Tenn.)
Sophomore Running Back Sean Quinn (Franklin, Texas) – 13 carries, 86 yards, 4 TDs
First Team Defense:
Freshman Defensive Back Aaron Fisher (West Orange, Fla.) – 18 tackles, 10 pass break-ups
Sophomore Linebacker Joey Guarascio (Canyons) – 20 tackles, 1.5 sacks *
Sophomore Defensive Lineman Jonathan Hollins (Redemptorist, La.) – 39 tackles, 3.5 sacks *
Sophomore Linebacker Eric Wells (Agoura Hills) – 62 tackles, 3 sacks, 4 pass break-ups *
Second Team Defense:
Sophomore Safety Nick Tepea (Kailua, Hawaii.) – 32 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss
Sophomore Defensive Lineman Dejuan Yates (Thousand Oaks) – 12 tackles, 0.5 sack
*Unanimous Decision
