By Ryan Menzie

Signal Sports Writer

After 18 months of practice and preparation, College of the Canyon Cougars quarterback Colton Doyle’s first touchdown, a 50-yard hail mary to wide receiver Tim Wiggins, was erased by an illegal chop block.

His second touchdown pass came moments later.

Two plays after the 50-yard touchdown was called back, Doyle connected with wide receiver Tiquan Gilmore on a 66-yard touchdown, part of a four-catch, 147-yard, two-touchdown night in a 47-7 win for COC at home against Antelope Valley College.

All was going right Saturday for the Cougars offensively and defensively, with a first half that concluded with 377 total yards of offense, while leaving the Antelopes scoreless.

“That’s winning football right there — no question,” said Cougars head coach Ted Iacenda, referring to how his team controlled the matchup. “I suspected for a while we have some good speed on defense. We showed flashes of it tonight and, no question the wide receiver group is special, but you can’t say enough about the offensive line and how much time they gave us to make plays.”

The defense also made plays and scored points for the Cougars, forcing a fumble on the first kickoff return for the Antelopes. While AVC recovered, COC defensive back Jovan Camacho made an interception a few plays later. Defensive back Dre Hall would come up with a pick-six to stop any momentum for the Antelopes in the fourth quarter. On the next drive, defensive lineman Reggie Jones would come up with a fumble recovery.

But the Cougars’ offense didn’t need any help against the Antelopes.

Doyle and Wiggins made up for the big play got called back by connecting on a 43-yard touchdown at the end of the first quarter. Doyle would cap off his impressive first half with a nine-yard rushing touchdown to finish with four total touchdowns through two quarters.

College of the Canyons quarterback Colton Doyle (4) keeps his feet inbounds as he scores at the end of the second quarter against Antelope Valley College at COC on Saturday, 090421. Dan Watson/The Signal
“We executed our game plan, we came out and played hard,” said Doyle. “Our line did very well, our receivers always make great plays. (Goodman) is a really special athlete. The stats tell it for themselves. He played good for us last year and we knew he would be a weapon for us coming in. He always makes big plays.”

The story of the second half was continued frustration for the Antelopes thanks in part to their own mistakes. On back-to-back plays, Antelopes defensive lineman Dylan Hall was called for unsportsmanlike conducts, both of them for late unnecessary hits on Doyle and was immediately ejected from the game. The second hit was enough to injure Doyle’s wrist, causing him to leave the game after throwing for 368 passing yards.

Doyle had an icepack on his wrist, but appeared to be fine on the sideline.

Cougars backup quarterback Quinn Stamps was able to find Gilmore for another touchdown, this time for 43 yards. That touchdown would cap off the big night for Gilmore and keep him sidelined for the rest of the game.

“Our offensive line gave us time, our receivers made good blocks, our quarterbacks made good reads,” Gilmore said, talking about how prepared the team was for Saturday. “Everyone played a part in making the team great. (Doyle) is amazing. … He is the definition of a true team player.”

The Cougars’ next game is 6:00 p.m. Saturday at Southwestern.

College of the Canyons quarterback Colton Doyle (4) keeps his feet inbounds as he scores at the end of the second quarter against Antelope Valley College at COC on Saturday, 090421. Dan Watson/The Signal