Regional football notes: DaRon Bland, ARC, Angus McClure, Alex Cook, DJ Johnson’s future

Bouncing around the football regions: Bland in Dallas, ARC washed out, McClure back in Reno, Cook sizzles in Seattle, DJ done in Eugene and off to the NFL ...

DaRon in Dallas: DaRon Bland had himself a game Sunday for the Dallas Cowboys. The rookie fifth-round draft choice out of Fresno State, who grew up in Modesto and played three seasons at Sacramento State, had two interceptions and eight tackles in a 54-19 drubbing of the Colts.

Bland was an All-Big Sky Conference pick for Sacramento State as a junior, helping the program win its first Big Sky championship. He started 10 games at cornerback for the Hornets in 2018. Bland transferred to Fresno State, started at corneback and later clocked a 4.42-second 40-yard dash during Fresno State’s Pro Day.

CSM drowns ARC: The weather was ideal for ducks and monster mudder trucks, and football only if you were on the winning side. American River College’s season ended in the fog and drizzle with a road loss to College of San Mateo, 30-5 in the CCCAA Northern California championship game.

ARC led 5-0 and trailed 6-5 at the half before the Bulldogs prevailed, and now they will host Saturday’s state title game against state No. 1 Riverside, which moved to 12-0 after defeating Fullerton 31-17 in the Southern California final. ARC finished 8-4, including an early-season loss to San Mateo, which is 11-1 and led by quarterback Richie Watts of Rocklin High School.

Angus back in Reno: Nevada has brought Angus McClure back for a third coaching stint to lead the offensive line. McClure played on the offensive line at Sacramento State from 1987-91 and coached with the Hornets from 1997-2003. He was most recently at Cal for three seasons as offensive line coach before he and offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave were fired after Cal suffered a six-game losing streak.

McClure kept his home in Nevada. The Wolf Pack went 2-10 this season, averaging just 18.3 points, which ranked 120th out of 131 FBS schools.

Cooking in Seattle: Washington Huskies senior safety and team captain Alex Cook of Sheldon High School fame picked up four awards at his school’s annual banquet, the biggest being the 108th Guy Flaherty Award that recognizes the program’s most inspirational player. Cook also earned the program’s Defensive Player of the Year honor, the Starving Dawg Award, for exhibiting strong work ethic in the weight room, and the Chuck Niemi Award for delivering the team’s biggest hit.

No. 12 Washington plays Texas in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 29.

DJ Johnson done at UO: DJ Johnson has played his last game with the Oregon Ducks, but his career isn’t over by any means as the Burbank High product prepares for the NFL Draft. Johnson led Oregon in sacks and has accepted an invitation to play in the Senior Bowl on Feb. 4 in Alabama.

Johnson’s last game was against rival Oregon State, where the sixth-year pass rusher had an altercation with a fan at Reser Stadium in Corvallis. Oregon coach Dan Lanning said Johnson would not suit up for Oregon’s season finale in the Holiday Bowl. He told media last week, “Taking a deeper dive into that situation, doing some investigating on our end and really on the other side through a few avenues, you realize that DJ was in a moment there that he certainly wishes he would’ve acted different. But something was said that was pretty extreme to him that some people might act in a similar fashion. Certainly not condoning the behavior. I know DJ wishes he could have that moment back. It was an intense situation. But those things happen at times and I know that he would handle it differently given the opportunity.

Lanning added, “Right now, he’s a guy that has the opportunity to compete and move on in the NFL draft and has put himself in the position to do that. I think he’s going to take a chance to go to the Senior Bowl. I think right now he’s in preparation for the draft.”