Citrus College Owls end their season with a loss of 51-21 in the Western State Bowl Game against the Chaffey College Panthers.
Turnovers were a problem for the Owls’ in the second quarter.
Down by six at the Owls’ defense forces a stop after a sack by defensive end Henry Karimu forcing a 4th and 21 at the end of the first quarter.
The beginning of the fourth quarter starts with a punt by Chaffey to running back James Brown. The second play of the drive results in a forced fumble by Chaffey linebacker Andrew Rodriguez on running back Marcus Knight, recovered by defensive lineman Frank Scagnamiglio for a 56 yard touchdown. Citrus trails 20-7.
Continuing in the second quarter, the Owls’ again turn the ball over with a fumble by quarterback Austin Zavala, recovered by defensive lineman Dwight Dantzler.
“These little mistakes really hurt us,” Owls’ defensive lineman Jonathan Shelley said. “These tiny mistakes turned out to be huge.”
The Owls’ defensive stand their ground and force a punt, resulting in a touchback. The Owls’ offensive comes to life after their defense shuts down an important drive. Zavala leads the Owls’ down field 80 yards with a five yard touchdown by Brown. Citrus trails 14-20.
On the next drive, The Panthers waste no time and drive down the field scoring a 10 yard touchdown by wide receiver Isiah Jarrett-Bolding. The Panthers drove 49 yards on four plays.
The score is 27-14 with 2:09 remaining in the second quarter.
Right after the two minute warning, Zavala forces a pass resulting in an interception by cornerback Marquise Green. Green returns the interception 44 yards to the one yard line. On third and goal, running back Derrione Leeper pounds the ball in for a 1 yard touchdown.
The second quarter ends and the Owls’ go into the half trailing by 20.
In the third quarter, the Owls’ come out confident and on their second drive, they go 50 yards down the field capping the drive off with a 6 yard touchdown pass from Zavala to wide receiver Dennis Patrick Jr.
The Owls’ cut the lead to 34-21, but this will be the last scoring drive by the Owls’.
The Owls’ defense held up during the third quarter, but the offensive could not move the ball down field. Right at the start of the fourth quarter, the Panthers punch the ball in again with a 3 yard rushing touchdown by Leeper.
The fourth quarter was a nightmare for the Owls’ as their defensive could not stop the run game. They gave up two huge runs of 45 yards and 48 yard touchdown. The 48 yard touchdown by Chaffey running back James Carradine put the game out of reach, 51-21 with 3:19 left in the game.
The Owls’ blew out teams throughout their season, but in their final game they were on the other side.
The Owls’ defense did not play the same as they did going into the bowl game. During conference play, they averaged 17.2 points per game.
Citrus ends their season with a loss, but end with a huge improvement from last season. The Owls’ end with a record of 7-4 compared to last year’s 3-7 record.
