Football Opens Season with Road Win

No. 13 ranked Citrus College traveled to No. 16 ranked College of the Canyons Saturday evening to grab a 31-20 win to open the 2024 season.  

Saturday marked the Owls' third consecutive win over College of the Canyons as they move to 1-0 on the season while the Cougars begin their season 0-1.  

The Owls racked up 354 total yards of offense as they were led by a dominant rushing attack from Jamahl Wilson, Myion Walker, and Tobin O'Dell.  

The Cougars went ahead 7-0 on their second drive which resulted in a 33-yard touchdown reception. The Owls responded right away on their next drive as they drove up the field before a nifty touchdown run from Jamahl Wilson tied the game 7-7. Wilson's run was impressive as he cut through the defense and bounced outside for a 22-yard touchdown run.  

Citrus' defense got going in the second quarter as they forced a strip sack fumble which was recovered in the endzone by Andrew Arriola, giving the Owls a 14-7 lead. On the following drive Christian Sampson intercepted an overthrown pass over the middle and returned it to midfield which set up the Owls with great field position. The Owls capitalized on the defensive effort with a 6-yard touchdown run from Jamahl Wilson, his second of the night putting Citrus ahead 21-7.  

The Owls faced some adversity to open the 3rd quarter when the Cougars scored a touchdown off an interception. On Citrus' next drive Tobin O'Dell and Jamahl Wilson both ripped off long runs of over 20 yards to get the Owls into scoring position. The O'Dell connection was apparent on a well-timed screen play where Tobin O'Dell threw to Talan O'Dell as the Owls' offensive line got out in front to lead the blocking for a 15-yard touchdown reception, extending the Owls' lead 28-14.  

In the 4th quarter the Cougars got on the board with a touchdown to narrow the Owls' lead to 28-20. After a good drive that took five minutes off the game clock, Owls' kicker Ruben Jimenez drilled a 29-yard field goal to make the score 31-20. The Cougars hurried to get the ball up the field but when settling for a field goal it was blocked by Citrus and nearly returned for a touchdown. Notably on Citrus' last drive during a 4th and 10 play, the Owls got creative calling a fake punt which saw punter, Ludwig Van der Merwe rush for 13 yards to earn a first-down and seal the win for the Owls.  

Jamahl Wilson finished with 94 yards rushing on 15 carries and two touchdowns, Talan O'Dell led the way receiving with three receptions for 48 yards and one touchdown. Koy Riggin finished the game completing 11 of his 16 pass attempts with 140 passing yards on the night.  

On the defensive side Kyle Ferm recorded five total tackles, Damond Stewart, Donovan Perez and Jadakiss Vaokakala all recorded 4 total tackles. Christian Sampson recorded one interception and two pass breakups while Mikahi Dunn also had two pass breakups. 

Citrus College will host Mt. San Jacinto at Citrus Stadium in their home opener next Saturday, September 14th at 6 p.m.