Following a shutout loss in the team’s season opener last week, College of the Canyons’ football head coach Ted Iacenda was looking for consistency from his Cougars in Saturday’s non-conference matchup against the No. 12-ranked El Camino College Warriors of Torrance.
Although the team scored its first points of the season and turned in over 300 total yards of offense, the Cougars ultimately fell at home, 43-24, and dropped to an 0-2 record on the season.
“We’ve got to be better on special teams. There’s no question about it,” Iacenda said. “It’s unacceptable, and it falls on me … can’t do it against good teams, and we’re playing good teams.”
Offensively, the Cougars performed better on Saturday than in the team’s season opener.
Last week, the Cougars were shut out and held to just 168 yards of total offense against the then-ranked No.16 Southwestern, according to 2026 JC Athletic Bureau / 3C2A Coaches Poll.
By the first half in Saturday’s matchup, the Cougars exceed that number in total yards on offense with 216 and River Warren tossing the first touchdown of the season to Julian Treadwell for an 18-yard connection.
While offensively it was a better afternoon for the Cougars, Iacenda spoke on the need to capitalize on opportunities.
Throughout the game, the Cougars’ defense forced three takeaways, including two interceptions on El Camino’s offense, but the Cougars didn’t capitalize as stalled drives followed College of the Canyons when they held the ball.
“We got to feed each other,” Iacenda said. “We got to lift each other when we’re down and pick each other up when we’re down.”
The COC offense tallied 356 total yards with Warren tossing two touchdowns and throwing for 141 yards.
As for the defense, Iacenda said his Cougars did all they could but will want to work on the special teams as a point of emphasis for him and the coaching staff to address in practice next week.
Although the Cougars held the Warriors to just nine points in the second half and forced multiple takeaways, El Camino’s offense dominated the first half with 34 points and totaled 173 yards on kickoff returns.
“We spotted them 21 points with special team plays and turnovers. So, did they score 40 points? On the scoreboard they did,” Iacenda said. “But you take away those possessions and at least make them earn it and I don’t know if they get that many.”
With the loss, the Cougars dropped to 0-2 to begin the season and will hit the road next week for the first time this year.
Next week, the Cougars travel to Riverside for a matchup against the No. 9 Riverside City College Tigers.
As the Cougars prepare for next week, Iacenda said after the game, he’s looking to keep it simple in practice: Clean up the mistakes and play better all-around football.
“We’ve got to continue to get better as a football team. We’re going to work on all phases,” he said. “We’re going to try to get our kickoff coverage fixed. We’re going to try to clean up our mistakes on offense. We going to tackle better on defense, work on some 3rd down pass coverage on defense. It’s not rocket science. It’s football. We got things we can work on.”
The Cougars will look to bounce back next week on the road at Riverside City College in a matchup against the Tigers with kickoff scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday.
