Offense Sputters In Loss to Bakersfield
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Bakersfield (2-4) | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
|
Citrus (3-3) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
Glendora, CA -- A week after putting together what was arguably it's best performance of the season, the Citrus College Football program's offense was stifled by a stout Bakersfield College defense on Saturday evening in what ended up a 17-14 loss for the Owls.
Things got off on the right foot for the Owls. Citrus freshman Sal Velasquez picked off Bakersfield College in their opening drive and returned the ball down to the Renegade 32. Two plays later, sophomore quarterback Larry Cutbirth connected with freshman wideout Patrick Smith for an 18 yard strike to make it 7-0 with 12:07 left in the first quarter.
After that, the Citrus offense sputtered. The Owls put together some sustained drives, but stalled out late in each one as they came up empty. The Citrus defense meanwhile did it's best to keep the Renegades out of the Owl end zone, thwarting a 22-yard field goal on Bakersfield's second drive of the game, and with the Renegades' lone touchdown in the first half coming via a pick six thrown by Cutbirth early in the second quarter.
Bakersfield would eventually take a 10-7 lead thanks to a 21 yard field goal with 10 minutes to go in the first half, but the Owls answered when freshman Robert Gonzalez carried the ball 36 yards from the line of scrimmage to the end zone to make it 14-10 where it would stay until midway through the fourth quarter.
In the second half, Citrus had the ball four different times, and drove into Bakersfield territory twice. Each time though, the Owls were thwarted and kept off the scoreboard. The Citrus defense returned the favor, letting the Renegades down into Citrus territory just twice. The first, the Renegades only made it to the Owl 45, and the second time Bakersfield needed some trickery to get there. On that second time, Bakersfield converted a 4th and 6 on a fake punt, and then scored two plays later with a fake end around that saw one wide receiver complete a pass to another, and put the Renegades on top 17-14 with 6:27 to go.
Citrus had the ball twice more after the Renegade score and both ended in disaster. The first saw the Owls march down to the Bakersfield 25, before Cutbirth was picked off for the second time in the game. The second time had the same result as Cutbirth was again picked on the Owls' last drive of the night.
With the loss, Citrus falls to 3-3 on the year. The Owls will resume conference play on Saturday when they take on Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut at 6:00 PM.
