Owls Roll In Win Over Harbor

Glendora, CA -- The Citrus College Football team picked up its largest margin of victory on Saturday afternoon when it hosted Los Angeles Harbor College. It took a while for them to get going, but once they did, the Owls rolled in a 40-13 victory.

Citrus' first score of the day wouldn't come until 30 seconds were left in the first quarter. The Owls would take advantage of a bad snap on a Harbor punt that sailed over the kickers head and gave Citrus the ball on the Seahawk 23. Four plays later sophomore DJ Gordon carried the ball into the end zone from two yards away to make it 6-0 after a botched snap on the ensuing extra point attempt.

Moments later, a mental lapse by LA Harbor on Citrus' kick-off gave the Owls the ball right back on the Harbor 28. One play into the second quarter sophomore quarterback Larry Cutbirth connected with sophomore Justin Martin from 29 yards away to make it 12-0 after Citrus' two-point conversion failed.

Citrus would fail to score on their next three possessions but got on the board before the first half ended. With another short field, Cutbirth passed for his second touchdown of the night, this time finding sophomore Errol Romney from 17 yards out to make it 19-0 going into the break.

In the second half, Citrus put the game away early with three scores in the first six minutes and four seconds of the third quarter. The Owls' first score would come via a four yard touchdown run by Cutbirth that capped off an eight play 70 yard drive put together by Citrus that ate up just over 3:30 of clock. Two plays into the Seahawks' next possession, sophomore defensive back Marquice O'Leary came up with an interception at the Harbor 34 yard line. Three plays later Cutbirth connected with Patrick Smith for a 21 yard strike that made it 33-0. A fumble by LA Harbor on the subsequent kick-off would give Citrus the ball right back, and Cutbirth and Smith hooked up again, this time from four yards away to make it 40-0 with 8:56 still left in the third quarter.

Harbor would score twice after the Owls put in the second stringers, but the Seahawks never really threatened as the Owls cruised to a 27 point win. Cutbirth finished his night 20 of 30 for 197 yards and 4 TD's, rushing for a fifth score. Freshman Robert Gonzalez had his best collegiate game to date, carrying the ball 11 times for 70 yards and a 6.4 yard per carry average. Romney caught the most balls on the afternoon, hauling in six passes for 96 yards and the score.

On the defensive side of the ball, O'Leary led the way with a team high eight tackles (six solo, two assisted), two pass break-ups, a pick, and a half a tackle for a loss. Sophomore Terrance Manderville added six tackles, while sophomore Dorrin Turner had five, two and a half which went for a loss.

With the win, Citrus improves to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in National Division Central League play. The Owls will be back at home on Saturday when they host Bakersfield College (1-4) in a non-league contest. Kick-off is set for 6:00 PM.