Moorpark, CA (Football) –After being handed their first WSC divisional loss in over a year last week, the Citrus College football team came up short yet again, as the Fighting Owls fell 7-16 to Moorpark on Saturday night. The Owls offense was forced into four turnovers for the second straight week, as the Raiders put up 10 unanswered points in the second half.
Despite being shut-down offensively last week, the Citrus offense came out prepared this week rolling up 283 yards of total offense including 195 through the air. Citrus also scored the first blow when on their second drive the offense capitalized on a blocked punt by the special teams to drive 22 yards for the score to go up 7-0.
Although they put up decent offensive numbers, the Owls were once again plagued by turnovers as quarterback John Garcia threw three interceptions for the second game in a row, including one that was returned for a touchdown as the Raiders pulled to within one after a blocked extra point.
In the second half, the Owls gave up a 30-yard field goal to Moorpark early in the third quarter, but only trailed by two points with the score at 7-9. With the clock on their side, Citrus’ next two forays into Moorpark territory came up empty handed as Garcia was picked off at the Moorpark eight yard line in the first drive, and the running game was stopped just short after a failed fourth and goal from the Raiders one yard line in their second drive.
That goal line stop would prove to be the turning point in the game, as the Raiders took over on downs and drove 99 yards in 10 plays, capped off by a 18-yard James Walker scamper to the end zone putting the score out of reach at 16-7.
Garcia finished the game 17 of 33 for 195 yards, while Mark Castaneda proved to be his favorite target as he hauled in 11 catches for 139 yards. Marquis Winbush was the team’s leading rusher, with 76 yards on 22 carries.
Defensively, Citrus was led by Paul Clark who recorded a game high 9 tackles, including one tackle for loss and one pass break-up. Defensive back Anthony Sutton also had a strong showing with six tackles, two pass break-ups, and one interception.
With the loss, the Fighting Owls fall to 5-4 overall and 4-2 in Western States Conference Pacific Division play. The Fighting Owls will host what will likely be their last game of the season against Glendale College next Saturday. Kick-off is set for 1:00 PM.
Box Score