Henderson Headlines Owls' All-Conference Selections

Citrus College's Kendall Henderson was named the American Metro League Defensive Player of the Year, while 10 other Owls earned all-conference honors.

Henderson, a five-foot-10 linebacker, led the conference in tackles per game with 8.7 on the year. He had 3.5 sacks, totaling 25 yards, and eight tackles for a loss of 31 yards. Henderson also had four interceptions (48 yards) and four breakups for the Owl defense.

Ronnie Mendez, Jeremiah Flores, Kasmir Dina, and Adam Urena all earned First Team Offense honors, while Matthew Littlejohn picked up First Team Defense recognition. Rayaan Shaw and Isaiah Espinosa grabbed Second Team Offense distinctions, while Brandon Armstead and Josh Stills were named Second Team Defense. Ivan Castro nabbed First Team Offense honors as a placekicker and Second Team Defense honors as a punter.

Mendez, a freshman offensive lineman, helped the Owls amass 422.9 total yards offense per game and average 36.8 points per game. With Mendez's help in the OL, Citrus was only sacked 16 times and scored 44 touchdowns.  

Flores, a sophomore wide receiver, finished the year with 34 receptions for 483 yards. He scored five touchdowns and averaged 53.7 yards per game. Flores' longest catch was a 56-yard reception in the Owls' 35-10 victory over Orange Coast College.

Dina, a sophomore running back, was a unanimous selection to the first team. He finished the year with 142 rushes for 806 yards, averaging 80.6 yards per game, which ranks No. 1 in the conference standings. Dina scored five touchdowns to sit tied for third on the AML leaderboard.

Urena, a freshman quarterback, fueled the Owl offense with 184 completions on 286 attempts (64.3-percent). He amassed 2,211 yards, averaging 245.7 yards per game, which sits second in the conference. Urena threw 24 touchdown passes – third in conference – and boasted a 152.1 pass efficiency.

Castro, a freshman kicker/punter, grabbed two honors on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Castro made five field goals and 42 point-after-touchdown kicks, scoring 57 points for the Owls. Defensively, Castro punted 38 times for 1,249 yards, averaging 32.9 yards per punt. His longest punt was a 56-yarder and his longest field goal was 35 yards.

Littlejohn, a freshman defensive back, finished the year with 51.0 total tackles, including 28 solo efforts, to average 5.7 tackles per game. He had two interceptions, including a pick-six in Citrus' 21-16 victory over Chaffey to kick off the season. Littlejohn also had seven breakups and three tackles for loss.

Shaw, a freshman center, also played a key role in keeping the Owl offense on the field. Like Mendez, Shaw helped keep Urena and the Citrus quarterbacks from danger as the Owls finished the year with 422.9 total yards offense per game.

Espinosa, a freshman wide receiver, had 18 receptions for 283 yards on the year, averaging 28.3 yards per game. He scored three touchdowns, including a 34-yard touchdown in a close, three-point defeat at Pasadena City College. On special teams, Espinosa had 16 kick returns for 299 yards and five punt returns for 18 yards.

Armstead, a freshman defensive end, finished the year with 40 tackles, including 20 solo efforts. He also had 4.5 sacks, totaling 25 yards, and had three breakups. Armstead had a big hand in limiting opponents to 27.5 points per game.

Stills, a sophomore defensive back, finished the year with 41.0 tackles, including 29 solo efforts. He also had a sack for a loss of seven yards in the Owls game at Pasadena City. Stills finished the year with two interceptions for 60 yards and had three breakups.