Saddleback Bobcats football 2-0 after defeating Citrus Owls 45-28

Quarterback Nicky Johnson fakes a hand-off to Kavaughn Clark  Nick Adamson | Lariat

The Saddleback Bobcats cruised to a victory over Citrus College in Jeff Fischer’s first home game as head coach. This offensive showcase on Saturday night pushes the Bobcats to a 2-0 record for the first time since 2019.

The night started with a quick Citrus Owls touchdown pass from Owls quarterback Brian Salazar to wide receiver Cameron Bateman. This gave the Owls their first and only lead for the night.

The Bobcats answered back when starting running back Kavaughn Clark rumbled 33 yards into the endzone, knotting the game at seven all. 

After a forced fumble caused by Bobcats DB Emon Carter, the Bobcats would give the ball right back after QB Nicky Johnson’s pass was intercepted. This turnover would lead to a quick three-and-out by Citrus, punting it away to Ben Stewart. Stewart would return it 22 yards, giving the Bobcats great field position. 

This great field position would set them up for a nine-play drive that would eventually end in a four-yard touchdown run by Jaylen Beverly-Rushing. 

Both teams would then score, tying the game again at 21 all. The Bobcats would hold the lead for the rest of the game after a 21-yard field goal by Jon Richardson, making the score 24-21.

The Bobcats would switch gears by taking out QB Nicky Johnson and replacing him with Tyler Dudden. Tyler would lead the Bobcats down the field and run the ball in himself for a touchdown, giving the Bobcats a 31-21 lead going into the half.

“We know they were going to try some different things on defense.” said Dudden. “We were prepared and ready for it, and took advantage.” 

Taking advantage and doing it himself, celebrating the touchdown with his entire offensive-line. 

“We got good chemistry, all of those guys are my good friends and we get along well on and off the field.” 

It’s not hard to see that there is some chemistry between the QB and O-line when they are making plays like they did on Saturday.

To kick off the second half, Saddleback’s kick returner, Jagger Blauwkamp, returned it 74 yards, starting the Bobcats in the red zone. Bobcats RB Leonidas Bell would run it in for a touchdown after a Pass Interference Penalty on Citrus put Saddleback on the 4-yard line.

With the score at 38-21, Saddleback would score once more midway through the fourth when Clark rushed for his second touchdown. He capped off his impressive performance with 151 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns. 

The Bobcats would allow another score late in the 4th when Citrus QB completed a 59-yard pass to TE Keaton Morales, putting up the final score of the game.

Saddleback finished with a total of 442 yards and six touchdowns. 

“Kids played really hard, I was proud of them on that.” Said head coach Jeff Fischer, “We cleaned up the penalty issues from last week, so that allowed us to get up a little bit there. We gotta still take care of the football, we had two turnovers at the beginning of the first half that if we don’t make, we kinda really get after them from the start.”

With an offense that’s as explosive as Saddleback’s, you wonder what the expectations are for the rest of the season.

“This is a talented group, if they keep eyeing in and getting better day by day, we’ll see what happens at the end.”

The Bobcats will travel to play Fullerton College next Saturday, the 13th, for their third game of the season. Fullerton College is currently 1-1 after losing its last game against Ventura. The game is scheduled to start at noon.

Comments

comments