MC quarterback Cocio breaks TD record in rout of Yuba

Quarterback Frank Cocio threw four touchdown passes, breaking a 41-year-old school record in the process, and Hanisi Lotulelei rushed for 160 yards as Merced College dominated Yuba College 37-7 in a non-conference matchup Saturday afternoon at Stadium ’76.

Cocio, a sophomore making his last regular-season home start, broke the record for most touchdown passes in a season. He now has 27 for the year, eclipsing the mark of 26 set by Chris Schaefer in 1976.

“This was not an individual award,” said Cocio, who completed 17 of 27 passes for 224 yards and leads the Golden Coast Conference with 1,982 yards. “I got it because of my receivers, my linemen, my coaches. It was a team accomplishment and I’m happy for my guys.”

Cocio’s first touchdown pass of the contest was a short 3-yarder to Nick Cook for Cook’s 16th touchdown catch of the season. Cook moved to within one score of Imani Percoats’ school record for receiving TDs in a season of 17 .

Cocio then hit Marc Aristide for a 28-yard scoring strike. After a 36-yard TD run by Lotulelei, Cocio found Eren Jenkins from 5, and Aristide again, this time from 33.

Kicker Joseph Lema got the scoring started with a 24-yard field goal just over four minutes into the contest.

Lotulelei went over the 1,000-yard mark for the season, settling at 1,017. He trails conference leader Terrence Smith of Cabrillo by just 37 yards. The running backs will get to settle the issue on Saturday when the Blue Devils travel to Aptos to take on Cabrillo College in the regular-season finale. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m.

“We kind of got away from running the ball at times this season and definitely kept us off balance offensively,” said head coach Bob Casey. “We’ve definitely had a commitment to run the ball the past two weeks and it definitely helped today.”

Merced dominated Yuba in every aspect, outgaining the 49ers 454-328 – including a 230-78 advantage on the ground – and holding nearly a 10-minute advantage in time of possession (34:45 to 25:15).

“I’m just glad it ended with a win,” said Cocio of what could be his final game at Don Odishoo Field, though the Blue Devils are likely to gain a berth in the Stadium ’76 Bowl. “What a season it’s been.”

This story was originally published November 5, 2017 at 8:03 AM with the headline "MC quarterback Cocio breaks TD record in rout of Yuba."