SANTA ANA - 

The Dons suffered their first loss of the season after dropping a non-conference game to visiting College of the Canyons 31-10. In the loss, the Dons (2-1) were plagued by penalties while Canyons (1-2) were able to capitalize on drives that were extended by penalties.

It was just less than a minute into the second quarter when the Cougars went up 14-0 over the Dons. The first touchdown came late in the first quarter on a four-yard touchdown run by Sean Bar before Tony Dawson scored on a three-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.

After Canyons carried that 14-0 lead into the half, the Dons got on the board with a quick drive to start the third quarter. The eight-play drive was capped off by a 14-yard touchdown pass from Shane Truelove to Malik Richards.

But Canyons would answer with a 39-yard touchdown pass from Dawson to Anthony Fowler to go up 21-7 before Erik Kreitz hit a 28-yard field goal before the third quarter was up, giving Canyons a 24-7 lead.

In the fourth quarter, Marshel Gleason connected on a 28-yard field goal to cut the lead to 24-10, but it was the Cougars final touchdown that summed up the game the best.

With the Dons punting, a Canyons defender ran into the punter on fourth-and-10, giving the Dons the ball back following the five-yard penalty. The Dons lined up to go for it on fourth-and-five, but were quickly whistled for a false start.

With the situation back at fourth-and-10, the Dons lined up to punt again. The ensuing punt was short and returned by Devin Brooks for a 42-yard touchdown to give Canyons the 31-10 lead.

In total, the Dons were flagged 11 times for 122 yards, with the majority of those infractions 15-yard penalties on personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct. Those penalty yards come in comparison of just 206 total yards on offense for SAC.