The Saddleback football team will be back in action when they host College of the Canyons on Saturday night at 6:00 PM.  The game can be seen live via streaming video on the Gaucho Sports Network.

Saddleback is riding a three-game winning streak but will have a difficult task on Saturday when it hosts one of the hottest programs in the state.  Canyons is 5-0 and rated #10 in the nation in the latest JCGridiron.com Dirty 30 Rankings.  The Gauchos have moved up to #35 in the rankings after their recent win over Santa Ana College.

Canyons has been flawless on the scoreboard so far, scoring wins over Mt. San Antonio (30-6), Citrus (33-20), Santa Ana (28-21), Pasadena City (28-24) and Bakersfield (20-14).  The Cougar defense is ranked #7 in the state in points allowed (17.0), recording 19 sacks and 10 interceptions for the season.  The linebacker quartet of Austin Davenport, Garrett Updegraft, Paul Puebla and Anthony Costleigh has been dominant, accounting for 101 tackles, nine tackles-for-loss, four sacks and three interceptions on the season.  Nine of the top 11 tacklers for Canyons are sophomores, making for an experienced unit that has made things difficult for opponents thus far.

Saddleback has been equally tough in recent weeks, scoring wins over El Camino (42-17), Palomar (30-13) and Santa Ana (37-14).  The Gauchos have allowed 17 points-or-less in all three games, something they did only one time for the entire 2014 campaign.  In addition to being stingy on defense, Saddleback ranks #14 in the state in total offense, averaging 440 yards-per-game.  The Gauchos rank #17 in passing offense (275.4) and #19 in rush offense (165.0), making for a difficult challenge for defenses.

Historically speaking, Canyons holds a 4-3 advantage in the lifetime series dating back to 2001.  Saddleback, however, has won three of the past four meetings, including a 44-26 win last season in Santa Clarita.

Team Leaders

Passing
Johnny Stanton, Saddleback (111-of-181, 1,257 yards, 10 touchdowns, 7 interceptions)
Devon Dunn, Canyons (84-of-161, 1,201 yards, 7 touchdowns, 7 interceptions)

Rushing
Johnny Stanton, Saddleback (70 rushes, 311 yards, 6 touchdowns)
Kenny Torrence, Canyons (65 rushes, 288 yards, 2 touchdowns)

Receiving
Zach Davis, Saddleback (27 receptions, 334 yards, 0 touchdowns
Dominic Collins, Saddleback (23 receptions, 388 yards, 4 touchdowns)
Nicholas Jones, Canyons (29receptions, 619 yards, 4 touchdowns)
Vincent Strange, Canyons (19 receptions, 311 yards, 2 touchdowns)

Tackles
Zachary Wade, Saddleback (44 tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss, 1 Interception)
Marcus Meredith, Saddleback (26 tackles, 5 pass break-ups)
Austin Davenport, Canyons (34 tackles, 3.5 tackles-for-loss, 1 interception)
Isaiah Foster, Canyons (25 tackles, 2 interceptions)

Saddleback versus Canyons can be seen live on the Gaucho Sports Network for a fee of $9.95, starting at approximately 5:55 PM.  All proceeds from the broadcast go directly back into the athletics department to help promote the athletes and teams.

Click HERE to view the game.