Nothing in the Middle

Glendora, CA - In a match-up between the #2 and #3 ranked team's in the American Division inside Citrus College Stadium on Saturday night, the Owls look good for parts of the first and fourth quarters. The problem was that Citrus didn't have anything in the middle against a formidable Southwestern College team, in a 28-44 loss to the visiting Jaguars. 

Citrus came out of the gates strong scoring 14 unanswered points in the first quarter. Sophomore quarterback Brian Meyette connected with sophomore wide receiver Gino Mastandrea for a eight yard score early on, and freshman running Devin Floyd plunged into the end zone from one yard out a little while later to give Citrus a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Jaguars got things rolling in the second quarter and exploded for three straight scores to make it 28-14 headed into the break. Southwestern kept it going into the third though, scoring two more touchdowns before the Owls were finally able to stop the bleeding when Meyette found Mastandrea once again, this time from 14 yards away with 6:31 to go in the third.

After giving up 35 unanswered points, the Citrus defense stood tall after the late Owls score to try to give Citrus a chance down by just two scores. The ensuing punt though was touched down at the half-yard line of the Owls, and one play into Citrus' drive, the Jaguars sacked Meyette in the end zone to record the safety and effectively end any comeback hope Citrus had.

In the loss, Meyette was 25 of 44 for 260 yards and two scores. Floyd carried the ball 14 times for 66 total yards and one score. Mastandrea meanwhile caught a team high nine balls for a total of 81 yards and two TD's. On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore Jared Brito had a game high nine tackles, including one for a loss. Freshman defensive back Jeremiah Vasquez had seven solo tackles, a forced fumble and a pass break-up, while freshman defensive back Henry Pigee had five tackles, a fumble recovery, and an interception.

With the loss, Citrus drops to 3-1 on the year. The Owls have little time to recover as they face another tall test this coming Saturday when they travel to Victor Valley College for a 1:00 PM showdown with the Rams.