FOOTBALL DROPS THRILLER IN SEASON OPENER

MISSION VIEJO-- The Allan Hancock College football team opened the 2005 campaign with a well played, heartbreaking loss to perennial powerhouse Saddleback College, 21-14.

Hancock (0-1) fell one pass short of a tie, when quarterback Jonathon Dally could not find a receiver in the end zone as time expired. A ferocious pass rush by Saddleback made it impossible for Dally to find an open receiver. Dally (Fr., Righetti) gave the Bulldogs a chance to tie by leading two brilliant drives late in the fourth quarter, after AHC fell behind 21-7.

Saddleback scored in their first and last drives of the first half to take a 14-0 lead into the break. There was no scoring in the third quarter. Dally had replaced starting QB Matt Hanson (Fr., Cabrillo) in the middle of the second quarter, but neither signal caller had much success before the break.

In the third quarter the Bulldog offense began to put some sustained drives together, but was not able to get on the scoreboard. That finally changed early in the fourth when Dally connected on a 14 yard touchdown pass to Derek Sedin (So., Righetti) with 13:25 left in the game.

Late in the fourth quarter, behind the rushing of Gaucho running back Daniel Dixon, Saddleback put together a long, time-consuming drive that ended with a touchdown, making the score, 21-7. But the Bulldogs would not say die. Dalley made key completions to Sedin and running back Drew Williams (So., Bayside, NY) in a drive that ended with a 35-yard TD pass to Sedin.

After the Gauchos went three and out, the punter sent the ball to the Hancock three. With barely a minute left and no time-outs, Dally almost pulled out the miracle, and drove AHC to the Saddleback nine. That is where the game ended.

Dally ended the night completing 13 of 23 passes for 242 yards, 157 of those to Sedin who ended with five receptions and two touchdowns. Vaughn Davis (Fr., Queens, NY) had four receptions for 45 yards, Peter Pisani (So., Las Vegas, NV) caught two passes for 25 yards, and coming out of the backfield, Williams had two for a big 14 yards. Williams led all running backs with 71 yards on 13 carries.

Defensively, the Bulldogs were led by Lafe Viker (So., Righetti) with 14 tackles and Luke Deras (So., Righetti) with 12. Hancock had 11 tackles that resulted in losses. Punter Billy Vinnedge (So., Arroyo Grande) had seven punts for an average of 35.7, however, four of those punts were placed inside the opponents 20 yard line.

Hancock opens their home schedule next Saturday, Sept. 10, at 7:00 p.m. The Bulldogs will host West Hills at Righetti High School. It will be Refrigerator Magnet Night. The first 1,500 fans will receive a refrigerator magnet with the 2005 football schedule. The event is being sponsored by Community Bank of Santa Maria and Iverson Motors.