Glendora, CA (Football) – With the #1 team in the state and #2 team in the country in town, the Fighting Owls were looking for on opportunity to score a big upset against the Renegades of Bakersfield College on Saturday afternoon. Citrus’ defense held their high powered offense in check, but the Owls offense was stunted by a tough Bakersfield defense, as Citrus lost 7-24.
Saturday’s match-up was supposed to be a showdown between Bakersfield’s #1 ranked offense in the WSC and Citrus’ #1 ranked defense in the WSC. That thought proved true as Bakersfield’s offense kept Citrus’ defense on the field for over 38 minutes, as the Renegades held a decisive time of possession advantage over the Fighting Owls. While the Owls were able to slow a potent passing attack, the Renegades found a chink in the Citrus armor with a gashing running attack that piled up 271 yards on the ground against the Citrus defense.
Bakersfield recorded the first two scores of the game with a 2-yard touchdown pass in the 1st quarter, and a 1-yard TD run in the 2nd quarter. Trailing by two touchdowns in the 2nd quarter the Citrus offense finally got the break they had been looking for. After the Bakersfield offense had attempted another attack deep into Citrus territory, Damian James got his first of two interceptions on the day, returning the ball to the Citrus 42 yard line giving the Fighting Owls their best field position of the day.
With the ball back and some momentum on their side, the Owls handed the ball off to Dwight Broadnax, who recorded back to back rushes of five yards and 23 yards to push the ball into Bakersfield territory. Five plays later, quarterback Travis Gowan hit tight end Chris Lacount for a 13 yard strike to give the Owls their only score of the day.
In the second half, the Owls offense stalled as they finished the day with only 51 yards on the ground and 76 yards through the air. The Citrus defense which made plays to keep the Fighting Owls in the game by forcing three turnovers, shut the Renegades out in the 3rd quarter before giving up a touchdown and field goal in the final frame.
In the loss, Citrus was led by Demarcus Flanagan who recorded 8.5 tackles including a sack, and Paul Clark who recorded 6.5 tackles and one interception. Dwight Broadnax was the Owls leading rusher with 47 yards on the ground, while Travis Gowan finished the day 8 of 18 for 76 yards and one touchdown.
With the loss, Citrus falls to 4-2 on the season. The Owls will be back home this weekend as they play host to LA Pierce College. Game time is set for 1:00 PM.
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