Owls Fall to Fullerton in Close Game

Fullerton, CA -- The Citrus College Football team closed out their 2012 season on Saturday evening in the Western State Bowl against host Fullerton College. The Owls and Hornets played a close contest throughout, but ultimately it was Fullerton who prevailed.

Fullerton struck first opening up the second quarter with a 39 yard passing touchdown. The Owls answered on their very next drive when sophomore running back Phillip Sainz capped off a nine play 67 yard drive with a four yard touchdown run.

The Owls would get another good chance right before the end of the half, but three straight incomplete passes in the end zone and a missed 31 yard field goal attempt kept the score at 7-7 headed into the break.

In the second half, Fullerton came out with 14 unanswered points to go up 21-7. The Owls answered with two scores of their own getting a 16 yard touchdown reception from freshman quarterback Bernard Porter to sophomore wide receiver Michael Ball, and then a 31 yard field goal from sophomore Isaiah Kepley to cut the Hornet lead to four at 21-17.

Fullerton responded on their next drive with a field goal of their own to go back up by seven, but the Owls opened up the fourth quarter with a 27 yard touchdown run from Sainz that tied the game up at 24 all with just over 13 minutes to go.

The two teams would trade drives, until the Hornets found the end zone again with 2:41 on the clock to go up 31-24. The Owls would drive right back down the field getting all the way to the Fullerton 19 yard line, but the offense ran out of gas, as they turned the ball over on downs after a failed fourth and two conversion sealed the game for Fullerton.

Porter was named the games Offensive MVP, completing 32 of his 57 passes for 302 yards and a touchdown. The 32 completions ties a program record for most completions in a game. Sainz carried the ball a total of 11 times for 66 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Freshman wide receiver Scott Calles had the best game of his young career catching 8 balls for a  game high 101 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore Rodney Mathews led the way with a team high nine tackles, including one for a loss. Freshman Dorrin Turner had five tackles, all solo, a tackle for a loss, and a pair of quarterback hurries on the night.

With the loss, Citrus' 2012 record comes to a close with a 7-4 record. The Owls' 2012 season was easily the best year for a Citrus team since the 2006 campaign.