The Bowl Preview: 2013 Beach Bowl

For the second straight year, the Citrus College Football season will be playing in a post-season bowl game. The Owls will head down the 5 Freeway and take on Saddleback College in the 2013 Beach Bowl at Saddleback. Kick-off is set for 5:00 PM.

About the Matchup
Saturday evenings contest is the 19th overall meeting between Citrus College and Saddleback College, but the first in 25 years. The two schools met up on the gridiron every season from 1970-1987, with the Gauchos going 10-4-4 against the Owls in that span. The last meeting between the two schools was back in 1987 when Saddleback defeated Citrus 55-9.

About the Gauchos
Saddleback is coming off a 5-5 season in which they finished third in the National Division Southern Conference going 3-3. The Gauchos boast the most potent arial attack, with a CCCAA leading 4,086 yards passing on the year.

Sophomore quarterback Tim Belman leads the State in passing yards per game at 402.9. Belman has thrown for 33 touchdowns against just 14 picks. The Gauchos have a pair of wide outs averaging over 100 yards receiving a game in sophomores Eric Lauderdale and Dominick Ela. Lauderdale leads all Saddleback receivers with 9 TD's on the year.

On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore strong safety Doug Ruggles leads the way with a team high 76 tackles, including 6.5 for a loss. Sophomore corner back Devontae Merriweather has 53 tackles to go along with a team high six interceptions, while freshman defensive end Jordan Dominguez has a team leading five sacks.

Last Time Out
The Owls come into Saturday night's contest riding a three game winning streak including a 47-15 victory over LA Harbor in your regular season finale last weekend. In their last three contests Citrus has outscored their opponents by a total of 147-74. The Owls are averaging 49 points a game in that stretch, and have forced their opponents into 15 turnovers for a +13 turnover margin in that span.

Owls in Bowl Games
This is the 12th Bowl appearance for the Citrus College Football program since the 1974 season. In that span, the Owls are just 3-8 in post-season contests, including being 0 for their last 7. Last year, Citrus took on Fullerton College in the Orange County Bowl, falling by a touchdown 31-24. Current sophomore Scott Calles had a game high 101 yards receiving in that contest, while current sophomore linebacker Maurice Dupleasis had four tackles, including half a tackle for a loss. The Owls haven't won a Bowl Game since 1988.

Common Opponents
Citrus and Saddleback shared three common opponents in 2013. The two schools both played Mt. San Antonio College, Riverside City College, and Grossmont College.

Against the Mounties, the Gauchos came up with a 44-20 in week one of the season. The Owls lost to Mt. SAC by one 32-33. The Tigers defeated both squads, beating the Gauchos 38-31 and the Owls by one 51-50. Both schools defeated the Griffins, with Saddleback winning 53-42 and the Owls posting a 39-14 victory.

How to Follow
There are a number of ways to follow Saturday evening's Beach Bowl. The first is to attend in person. Tickets for adults are $10 while students with a valid ID card, active military personnel, senior citizens 65 and older, and children ages 4-12 are admitted for $7. Children under 4 years of age are admitted free.

The second is to head over to Twitter and follow @ccfightingowls, where we will be tweeting out updates all game long.

The last way is to listen online to Saddleback College's audio feed on KSBR.