Owls Stay Hot at Desert

Palm Desert, CA (Football) -- A week after hanging 54 on Chaffey College, the Citrus College Football team stayed hot at College of the Desert on Saturday night. The Owls scored another half a century, in a convincing 50-17 win over the host Roadrunners.

Citrus got on the board rather quickly. After driving 80 yards in seven plays on their first possession of the game, Citrus had to settle for a 18 yard field goal from sophomore Isaiah Kepley. The defense would get the next score for Citrus, as sophomore Simon Pruitt's sack of the Desert QB forced a fumble that freshman Kenyatta Johnson picked up and took to the end zone from 32 yards out.

Desert would strike next getting a field goal with just over three minutes to go in the third, but the Owls came back quickly and got another field goal of their own, this one from 32 yards out to make it 12-3. In the second quarter Citrus got on the board again when freshman quarterback Bernard Porter connected with sophomore Michael Ball for a 51 yard touchdown catch and run to make it 19-3.

The Owls would score twice more before the half, when Porter hit freshman Donovan Holmes from 23 yards out, and then just before the end of the half when Kepley drilled his third field goal of the half, this one from 31 yards away that put Citrus up 29-3 at the break.

In the second half, Desert came out first with a score, but a later third quarter score from Porter to Ball, this time from nine yards back made it 36-10. The Roadrunners scored again to start the fourth, but the Owls closed out the contest with 14 unanswered, when Kepley caught a 39 yard pass from Porter for a score and then sophomore Andre Holmes closed it out with a one yard touchdown plunge that made it 50-17.

Porter would finish the day 25 of 44 for 399 yards and four touchdowns. Porter was intercepted for the first time all year in the game as well. Sophomore JoJo Curiel caught a team high seven passes for 65 yards, while Kepley hauled in six for a game high 169 yards.

On the other side of the ball, freshman Dorrin Tuner paced the Owls with a team high eight tackles. Sophomore Rodney Mathews matched the eight tackles and added a pick. Pruitt meanwhile got credit for four tackles, a sack, two tackles for a loss, a forced fumble, and pass break-up.

With the win, the Owls improve to 5-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play. Citrus will get another stiff test on Saturday when they take on Riverside City College, ranked #3 in Southern California, in Citrus Stadium. Kick-off is set for 1:00 PM.