Owls Fall in Opener

Escondido, CA — The Citrus College Football team hit the road for a tough away contest on Saturday evening to kick off their 2014 campaign. The Owls were sent home with a loss, as they fell 35-28 to host Palomar College. 

 Palomar got on the board first, going up 6-0 after a touchdown and missed extra point just a few minutes into Saturday's contest. The Owls would cut the lead in half with five minutes to go in the first quarter, thanks to a 28 yard field goal by freshman Ryosuke Machida.

Machida would hit another field goal midway through the second quarter, this one from 23 yards away to tie the game up, but the Comets had an answer as they went up 13-6 with 1:02 left in the first half. Unfortunately for Palomar, they left too much time on the clock for Citrus, as the Owls went the length of the field and took their first lead of the game when sophomore quarterback Larry Cutbirth found sophomore Justin Martin for a four yard strike with just nine seconds to go to make it 14-13.

In the third quarter, Palomar would take the lead back for themselves capitalizing on a Owl miscue. The Comets would recover a Citrus fumble deep in Palomar territory and take it to the house to take the lead back 20-14. The Owls would eventually take the lead back though, scoring on a 42 yard strike from Cutbirth to Martin again to make it 21-20.

Things continued to see saw in the fourth quarter, as Palomar took the lead back with just under 10 minutes to play after a two yard touchdown run. Five minutes later, Martin worked some magic, returning a punt 53 yards for a score, and putting Citrus up 28-27. Palomar wouldn't be denied however as they scored and converted a two-point attempt with 2:38 to go to make it 35-28. The Owls would have a couple of looks at it before the game ended, but both drives were thwarted by the Comets and Citrus came up on the losing end.

In the loss, Cutbirth finished 22 of 48 for 331 yards and a pair of scores. Martin had four catches for 102 yards, and returned three punts for a total of 120 yards and that score.

Citrus will try and rally from Saturday's setback this coming Saturday when they host College of the Canyons (0-1) in their home opener. Kick-off is set for 6:00 PM in Citrus Stadium.