SAN MARCOS – Looking for their first win at the brand-new Palomar football stadium, the Comets came up short against the visiting College of the Canyons Cougars.
Both teams came in with a record of 1-1, with Palomar seeking their first home win of the season and Canyons trying to avoid another loss on the road. Their last two meetings against one another resulted in a home win for both squads. Something had to give.
Canyons went on the scoreboard first with a 25-yard field goal from kicker Luis Rodriguez at the 9:20 mark of the first quarter.
Palomar turned the ball over with an interception by quarterback Jakob Harris, and Canyons took over at midfield. Luis Rodriguez struck again for Canyons with a 37-yard field goal putting them up 6-0.
Palomar beganwith possession of the football in the second quarter, but this led to a fumble recovered by Canyons on Palomar’s side of the field. Palomar’s defense held Canyons to just a few yards after the turnover, however Luis Rodriguez extended Canyons’ lead with a 53-yard field goal.
Luis Rodriguez hit a fourth field goal for Canyons with less than two minutes to go in the first half. Palomar did not put up any points in the first two quarters of play with the score sitting at 12-0.
“The defense played well holding Canyons to only kicking field goals, but our offense needs to call more quick pass plays,” Robert Woods, father of Palomar wide receiver Trenice Woods said when asked about Palomar’s first half performance.
“It’s been a little rough, but I really think they can turn it around,” cheerleader Mallory Fickas said regarding her thoughts on the first half.
Canyons received the second half kick-off, but Palomar’s defense held them to three and out and force them to punt away their first possession of the half.
Palomar took over from their own 30-yard line. Quarterback Andrew Tapley marched the team down the field with completions to wide receivers Ayden Billups, Skai Donnell and Trenice Woods. Palomar capitalized on this with a seven yard rushing touchdown from running back Chris Bausch, and the PAT made the score 12-7 with 10:35 to go in the third quarter.
Tapley later commented on the team’s successful drive, “We just gotta stay focused, like I said, we’ve gotta finish those drives. Keep making plays,”
Less than two minutes after Palomar’s touchdown, Canyons’ quarterback Logan Scarlett connected with wide receiver Ray Hall for a massive 73 yard touchdown. This put the Cougars up 19-7 and shut down the Comets’ momentum from their previous possession.
On their next possession, Canyons only needed four plays to take it into the endzone again with a 27 yard pass from Scarlett to wide receiver Deandre Kermah and increased their lead to 26-7 with 6:15 remaining in the third quarter.
Both teams’ defenses shut down their opposing offense for the rest of the game and the final score would remain 26-7 with Canyons seizing the victory over the Palomar Comets.
We spoke with defensive lineman Moshi Tileia after the game regarding the tenacity and perseverance of the Comets’ defense and he told us, “The key is not giving up. We came up short, but I’m not mad. We gave it our all. That’s all that matters.”
When asked about the positive takeaways from the game, Head Coach Joe Early said, “We preached on defense since day one, field goals not touchdowns and to come away with 12 points instead of touchdowns in that first half, that was huge. We still had an opportunity to win this game.”
“We’ve got to find a way to get that [turnovers] cleaned up, and we’ve got to find a way to put points on the board,” Coach Early said when questioned about what the focus of the team will be going forward.
The next home game isn’t for an entire month, but Athletic Director Daniel Lynds excitedly told us, “We’re still very much in the first half of the season. So I really look forward to seeing improvement and what we can do for the rest of the year.”
Palomar moves to a record of 1-2 this season. Their next game is on the road at Riverside Community College on Sept 28.
