The team was psyched. It was the Allan Hancock College football team’s first season in a new, tougher conference, and here they were in the playoffs. All across the practice field, there were looks of determination, easy confidence, and blue Mohawks. It was the eve of the Bulldogs’ playoff game against third-ranked Mt. San Antonio College.
The Bulldogs have played a great season and taken some spectacular wins. Quarterback Eric Anderwkavich, cornerback Lamar Allen, and defensive back Tim Ochoa spoke on the practice field about Hancock’s recent triple overtime win against Glendale.
The story goes like this: With 5 minutes left in the game, the Bulldogs were down by 14 points, when one of the Hancock tailbacks broke a long touchdown. They then managed to get the ball back with a minute and a half left, and drove 90 yards for the touchdown and tied the game with 16 seconds left.
Glendale scored first in overtime and the Bulldogs stopped their two-point attempt (turns out you can only kick for a point for two of the overtime periods, then the rules force each team to go for the two-point conversion), and then scored a touchdown and made their two-point conversion. That was the game.
According to these guys, that the team rushed the field is an understatement.
So what have they done differently this year to account for Hancock’s impressive season?
Coach Kris Dutra explained that, with his assistant coaches, he’s got a lot of experience on his staff, as well as a team full of players who really stepped up—defense in particular—to account for the improvement.
“You know, there’s a defense we run that’s real aggressive. … You call certain stunts, and you’re going after the quarterback a lot. It’s kind of a high pressure deal, where guys are moving around a lot,” Dutra said. “We have kids this year that can handle that a little bit better.”
In going up against a team like Mt. SAC—one of the biggest community colleges in the state and ranked 9-1 this season—were the Bulldogs intimidated?
Not at all, Dutra said.
“These guys don’t get intimidated,” he explained. “When we played Pasadena, you should have seen that team’s line: offensive tackles that were 6’ 7, 6’ 8, even one of their defensive backs was 6’ 4, 212 pounds. Then you look at us, we’re just not a big team, physically.”
And how did that game turn out?
“We beat ’em, 45-42.”
Sadly though, in the end, it just wasn’t meant to be. Facing a team with the No. 1 ranked passer in the nation and a roster that was almost double the size of theirs, the Bulldogs lost 52-14 on Nov. 22.
To be sure, there were moments of greatness for the Bulldogs: Tailback Diondre Bryant rushed for a total of 113 yards. And Quarterback Anderwkavich rushed for an impressive 97 yards.
“He was almost like another running back,” Dutra said.
With a score of 28-7 and 6:30 left in the first half, the Bulldogs had a chance to narrow the gap with the ball on Mt. SAC’s 5-yard line. Instead, the pass was picked off and run back 98 yards for a touchdown.
The loss came from a combination of factors that Saturday, not the least of which was Mt. SAC’s kickoff guy, who, according to Dutra, “could kick the ball on kickoff through the end zone.”
“Our [kickoff] guy got it to the 10 and they were returning it to midfield. We were returning it to the 20,” Dutra said. “You take those special teams and factor it in there, that’s a hard game for you to win.”
Still, the coach knows that his team will come away from this season with a fresh determination for the next one.
“The best thing is, the kids have been there now and understand the kind of teams we’re going to play next time,” he said. “When we play teams like College of the Canyons, we’re playing against the top teams in the country—you’d better be ready. They’ll be able to spread that message to the freshmen that come in next year.”
Just the fact that the Bulldogs made it as far as they did in this tougher division is testament to Coach Dutra, his staff, and the Bulldogs’ hard work and determination this season. All across campus, the mood has been less about the Bulldogs’ loss on Saturday and more about how much they’ve accomplished.
As coach Dutra put it: “They fought hard.”
Intern Nicholas Walter always fights hard. Push him back at intern@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Nov 26 – Dec 3, 2008.