Tough All Around
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
El Camino (2-2) | 3 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 23 |
|
Citrus (0-4) | 7 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
Glendora, CA -- It was a tough day all around for the Citrus College Football team when they played host to El Camino College during their National Division Central Conference opener on Saturday afternoon. The Owls mustered just 73 yards of total offense and picked up just 11 first downs during the game. Despite all of that the Owls were in Saturday's game with a chance to win later, but once again came up just shy in a 23-20 loss to the Warriors.
As has been the case nearly all season, Citrus came out of the gate looking good. A muffed punt by El Camino on what would have been their second possession of the game, gave Citrus the ball on the Warrior 1-yard line. One play later sophomore Steven Garcia crossed the goal line putting Citrus up 7-0.
El Camino would be next up on the board with a 35 yard field goal with 5:35 left in the first quarter, but the Owls soon extended their lead when they took advantage of a short field. Needing only 33 yards to find pay dirt, Citrus did just that when freshman quarterback Brian Meyette connected with freshman Denzel Mitchell for an 11-yard catch and run that made it 14-3. A possession later, Citrus went ahead and made it a full two touchdown lead when freshman Axl Mendoza drilled a 26-yarder to make it 17-7. That was more or less Citrus' last good possession of the game.
The Warriors would come back and score twice in the final 5:11 of the second quarter to send the game into halftime tied at 17-17. After a physical and defensive struggle in the third, the Owls would come out in the fourth quarter and briefly regain the lead after Mendoza hit a 25 yarder. The lead didn't last long though as El Camino came right back down the field and hit a 44 yarder to tie it back up at 20. One possession later, the Warriors won the game on a 48 yard field goal attempt, that they hit with 7:04 left on the clock.
In the loss, Citrus was led by sophomore linebacker Sal Velasquez who had a game high 13 tackles, including a fumble recovery, pass break-up, and quarterback hurry. Freshman Antonio Sparrow added eight tackles, an interception and a break-up.
With the loss, Citrus drops to 0-4 on the season. The Owls will try and find a way to right the ship next weekend when they travel to LA Harbor College for a 6:00 PM kick-off.
