Game Notes: COS vs. Delta
GAME NOTES . . .
College of the Sequoias vs. San Joaquin Delta College
Saturday, October 24, 2015—Mineral King Bowl
RECORDS: After a 4-0 start, Sequoias has dropped its last two and is 4-2 overall. Delta is 2-4. Each team lost its conference opener last week.
LAST GAME: COS fell behind in the first 9 seconds of the game and eventually lost to Modesto 56-0 on the road. Giants gained 239 yards and allowed 539, and committed 5 turnovers. Delta lost to Chabot 56-20 at home.
SERIES: COS leads 23-13. The first game was in 1954. The teams played every year from 1962-79 in the old Valley Conference, and have played each year in the current VC since 2002. Delta won last year's meeting 50-43 in overtime game last year in Stockton. Sequoias won two years ago in Stockton 46-45.
RANKINGS: COS dropped from 13th to 20th in the state this week in the official state rankings of the JC Athletic Bureau. It is No. 9 in NorCal. Delta is ranked 33rd in the state and 18th in NorCal. The Giants are still ranked nationally, 55th by the JC Gridiron.
COACHES: COS coach Irv Pankey is now in his 18th season on the Giants' staff and his third 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 11-15. Delta coach Gary Barlow, along with Fresno's Tony Caviglia, is the dean of conference coaches. Barlow is now in his 15th year with a career record of 87-69. Barlow is from Tracy and played at Delta in 1987, also playing college football at Wyoming and University of the Pacific. He was a Mustang assistant in 1990-91 and also coached at Los Angeles Valley College before returning to Delta in 1999 as offensive coordinator. He became head coach in 2001. Under Barlow, Delta appeared in post-season bowl games 11 of his first 12 seasons. He has won three championships. Following the 8-3 club in 2012, Delta suffered 2-8 and 1-9 seasons.
MUSTANGS: Delta's passing-based offense is led by returning all-conference QB Phillip Kimble. He has completed 58.5 percent of his throws, for 1436 yards with 11 TDs and 7 interceptions. Kimble's best two games were against Siskiyous (337 yards) and Butte (303). Sophomore Evan Owens is the leading rusher and one of the better backs in the conference. He has 599 yards and 5 TDs. Owens, who rushed for 115 last week, had 188 yards in the win over San Mateo. The leading receivers are sophomores Jaxon Wagner with 27 and Alec Von Alvensleben with 26. Owens has 19 catches. Delta has averaged 246.3 yards a game passing. Despite the presence of two returning all-conference linebackers, Benjamin Jones and Curtis Young, the Mustang defense has allowed 36 points and 432.3 yards per game and has recorded only 7 sacks in 6 games. Delta punter Craig Perkins has averaged 35.8 yards, and kicker Joel Chavez is 7-10 in field goals and 15-20 in extra points.
GIANTS: It's been a long three weeks for the Giants, who started the season by winning four games followed by back-to-back lopsided losses. Modesto turned all 4 turnovers into scores, including a fumble recovery in the end zone for a score and an interception return. The Giants could not run the ball, finishing with minus 3 yards. The offense will be bolstered by the return of linemen Bronson Espinoza (concussion) and Maleek Brown this week. Kelsey Dawson was an offensive standout with 6 receptions for 82 yards. On defense, Ryan Leasure (9 tackles, 1 tackle for loss) and Mark Meynisse played well. COS has to find a way to sustain drives, as it has punted 10 times in each of its last two games.
NOTES: COS will play a rare Friday night game next week at Laney College, and then return home for its final home game November 7 against Chabot…comparative scores mean little this week. Delta owns wins over No. 9 ranked Santa Rosa, a team that beat COS 44-0 and No. 10 San Mateo, but lost to Siskiyous—a team COS defeated on the road…Modesto is the top-ranked in the conference nationally as it comes in 15th. Others include Chabot (50th) and Fresno (51st).
TEAM LOGS:
Delta (2-4)
Santa Rosa W 27-17
Siskiyous L 23-36
American River L 24-44
San Mateo W 43-30
Butte L 19-34
Chabot L 20-56
COS (4-2)
Foothill W 33-16
Feather River W 53-21
Siskiyous W 36-29
DeAnza W 28- 6
Santa Rosa L 0-44
Modesto L 0-56
VALLEY CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Season
W-L W-L PS PA
Chabot 1-0 4-2 195 140
Fresno 1-0 4-2 193 168
Modesto 1-0 4-2 231 156
COS 0-1 4-2 150 172
Laney 0-1 3-3 127 148
Delta 0-1 2-4 156 217
GAMES SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24
Modesto @ Laney (Friday)
Fresno @ Chabot, 6:30 pm
San Joaquin Delta @ COS, 7 pm
GAMES SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31
COS @ Laney, 7 pm (Friday, Oct. 30)
San Joaquin Delta @ Fresno, 1 pm
Modesto @ Chabot, 6:30 pm