By Jesse Muñoz/COC Sports Information Director 

Buoyed by three straight wins to close out the first half of the season, College of the Canyons continues to climb the state’s Top-25 rankings.

Canyons (3-2, 2-0) is the No. 17 ranked team in the state according to both the JC Athletic Bureau Head Coaches poll and the California Community College Sports Information Association (CCCSIA) poll released Oct. 2.

The Cougars used a 20-point output in the third quarter to seize a 29-7 conference victory over Antelope Valley College last Saturday. Prior to that, COC picked up a 24-14 road win at No. 19 Santa Barbara City College in week four. That victory came on the heels of a 17-7 home result over No. 21 Palomar College.

COC started the season ranked No. 15 and No. 17, respectively, in the two polls. The Cougars briefly fell out of the Top-25 following back-to-back losses vs. Citrus and Fullerton College to begin the season, but re-entered the rankings a week ago.

This week, Riverside City College (5-0) took over the state’s top spot following a four-week reign from San Mateo College (4-1) which fell 30-28 to Butte College (4-1) last week. Both polls share an identical top-five ranking with Riverside City followed by No. 2 City College of San Francisco (5-0), No. 3 Mt. San Antonio (5-0), No. 4 Fullerton (5-0) and No. 5 Butte (4-1).

Canyons is currently on a week-six bye but will return to action Thursday, Oct. 12 with a conference contest at No. 10/9 El Camino College (4-1, 2-0).

Other ranked teams remaining on the Cougars’ schedule include No. 12/14 Ventura (3-2, 2-0) and No. 19/23 Bakersfield (3-2, 1-1).

COC, El Camino and Ventura will begin the second half of the season tied atop the SCFA National Division, Northern League standings.