Hancock (4-0) held a 21-17 halftime lead, leaving Glendale (0-4) with hope that it might be in line for a possible upset. Less than five minutes into the third quarter, those hopes faded.
Hancock defender Masson Blow intercepted Hunter's pass at the Glendale 40-yard line and returned it to the 15, where he collided with Hunter, a Burbank High graduate, near the sideline with 6:40 remaining in the quarter.
Hunter, a sophomore, was removed from the game and was being treated by the training staff when Hancock standout running back Cameron Artis-Payne scored on a six-yard run to give the Bulldogs, who came into the game ranked No. 7 in the latest California Community College state poll, a 27-17 lead with 5:19 left.
"We had a lot of confidence going [into that possession] with the way we had played earlier," said Rome, who added it wasn't clear if Hunter, who completed 14 of 23 passes for 140 yards and one touchdown, would return for the Vaqueros' Pacific Conference American Division opener against host L.A. Valley College at 6 p.m. Saturday. "We then lose Kevin, who is our go-to guy, our leader."
The Vaqueros tried to rally without Hunter in the lineup and appeared to catch a break when Glendale's Miguel Enciso recovered a muffed punt at the Glendale 48-yard line on the ensuing possession with 3:15 remaining. However, Glendale fumbled at the Hancock 44 on the following play, setting the stage for another Hancock touchdown when quarterback Brandon Jeffries tossed a 36-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Shane Henderson (six catches for 154 yards and three touchdowns) to extend the lead to 33-17 with 2:42 remaining.
