Glendora, CA (Football) – After struggling in his last two outings, sophomore quarterback John Garcia picked things up and started a new today against Glendale College. Garcia completed his first 16 passes, a Citrus record, on his way to completing 21 of his 26 throws for 192 yards and 2 TD’s in the Fighting Owls’ 17-10 victory over Vaqueros on Saturday afternoon.
After a fumble on their first drive, Citrus scored on its next three drives to jump out to a quick lead. Garcia led drives of 14, 11, and 5 plays, as the Fighting Owls scored 17 unanswered points in the first half. Kicker Jarred Gross recorded Citrus’ first field goal of the season, on a 40-yard attempt, and Garcia completed two touchdown passes, one to Matt Cheaney (10 yards) and one to Mishaun Marshall (5 yards) for the 17-point lead.
After Citrus’ final score, Glendale finally mustered an answer with a 3 play 69 yard drive kick started by Glendale quarterback Michael McDonald when he connected with wide receiver Chachi Spann for a 55 yard bomb. Two plays later the Vaqueros were in the end-zone, pulling to within 10 points.
While the Citrus offense was sensational in the first half, they sputtered a bit in the second punting on all five possessions. The Citrus defense, whom the Fighting Owls have relied on for much of the year, went to work and thwarted a last minute drive to keep the win.
After converting on a 31-yard field goal, the Glendale offense got the ball back with 1:29 to play and down by a touchdown. Facing third and ten from their own 49 yard line, McDonald hit Spann for another big gain, this time for 26 yards, down to the Citrus 25-yard line. After a spike to stop the clock, the Owls defense came up big, as Devin Johnson picked up just his second sack of the year, as he dropped McDonald for a 13 yard loss.
With one play left after another spike, the Citrus defense brought the heat once again as Gunnar Bundesmann hurried McDonald into an incomplete pass, turning the ball back over to the Owls on downs and ending the game with 40 seconds on the clock.
In the win the Fighting Owls were led by Matt Cheaney, who doubled his season receiving total with 108 yards and 1 touchdown, and Marquis Winbush was the team’s leading rusher with 45 yards on 3.2 yards per carry.
Defensively, the Owls were led by Paul Clark who recorded 10 tackles and half a sack. Andrew Cedergen turned in one of his best performances of the season from the linebacker spot with 9 tackles and a fumble recovery for 43 yards.
With the win the Fighting Owls improve to 6-4 on the season and 5-2 in WSC Pacific Division play. While Citrus falls just short of its fifth straight WSC title, they do remain bowl eligible. For up to the minute information on a possible bowl berth, stay tuned to the Citrus website.
Box Score