SANTA MARIA -- It started out like just another day at the office for the workman-like College of the Canyons football team as the Cougars methodically hammered away at Allan Hancock College to take a commanding, four-touchdown halftime lead.

To the Bulldogs' credit, they made a game of it in the second half by taking advantage of numerous Cougar miscues before succumbing to COC 42-21 in the National Division, Northern Conference opener on a chilly, breezy Saturday night at Righetti High of Santa Maria.

"I don't want to make any excuses -- we still have to execute," said Canyons head coach Garett Tujague. "Three-and-a-half-hour bus ride, a little banged up, those things may factor in. But it's still no excuse. We've got to find a way, and we kind of did a little bit of that (Saturday night)."

The victory surely would have been a good deal more lopsided if not for the throng of errors committed by COC (5-0, 1-0), including three quarterback fumbles, a pair of interceptions that snuffed out long Cougar drives and several dropped passes by the normally sure-handed Cougar wide receivers.

Despite the mistakes, Canyons managed to pile up 518 total yards, while its defense, led by Josh Gibbs' 8.5 tackles, held AHC (3-2, 0-1) to just 99 yards on the ground.

Festivities began with the Cougars posting three first-quarter touchdowns, the first coming on 20-yard screen pass from quarterback Brad McClellan to wide receiver Jovan Leacock.

That was followed by Brandon McDonald's 3-yard blast over left tackle and a 6-yard jaunt by backup quarterback Joey Frias to give COC an early 21-0 advantage.

Frias threw a pair of touchdown passes in a 14-second span to open the second quarter, connecting with Nate Jones for 80 yards before hitting Hayo Carpenter for 35.

Jones took his pass at midfield, evaded a tackler and sprinted home untouched down the right sideline.

After COC recovered a Bulldog fumble on the ensuing kickoff, Frias found Carpenter in a crowd in the corner of the end zone, and the sophomore made a circus catch for his ninth touchdown of the season.

Hancock quarterback Eric Anderwkavich's 31-yard keeper made it a 35-7 ballgame heading into the break.

Sean Quinn's 3-yard, third-quarter touchdown run was the only Cougar tally in the second half.

Hancock reached the end zone twice in the fourth quarter on sophomore running back Diondre Bryant's 1-yard sweep and an 8-yard scoring strike from Anderwkavich to tight end Dorson Boyce.

Conference play continues Saturday when the Cougars host Moorpark College at 7 p.m. Hancock travels to Bakersfield.