SAN MARCOS — Despite a dominant second half, two unforced turnovers by Palomar’s offense in the second quarter were the deciding factor in the Sept. 19 loss to San Diego Mesa.
Palomar put up the first points of the night with Dominic Hawk (#16) setting the offense up for a chance to score after returning a punt to the Olympians’ 20-yard line. Running back Giovanni Harte (#22) scored on a four-yard touchdown run on his fourth carry of the drive.
“The offensive line had the best drive I’ve seen from them all year. They were driving up field and creating gaps that let me move the ball well,” Harte said. “It felt great, I felt on top of the world.”
Mesa responded on its next possession with a rushing touchdown by Joshua Hossmann (#36) and the first quarter ended with a score of 7-7.
Lead running back Chris Bausch (#21), who left last week’s one-point loss to Pasadena City with an injury, was sidelined in tonight’s match. Bausch had 243 rushing yards in the first two games of the season, and his absence left a huge hole in Palomar’s offensive game plan.
With Bausch in the lead back role, the Comets didn’t lose a single fumble. But in the last four minutes of the second quarter against Mesa, they lost two.
After an Olympian field goal, the Comets did not handle the resulting kickoff well and got pinned deep. On the very next play the offense fumbled the ball and Mesa gained possession at the 7-yard line.
The Olympians scored on a TD pass to Derek McClintic (#21) and got a two-point conversion. This put the Olympians ahead 18-7, but the Comets seemed to recover after Bubba Garcia (#13) returned the following kickoff for 81 yards, putting Palomar’s offense at the 17-yard line.
Two plays later, Mesa defensive lineman Marek Wojno (#55) recovered an unforced fumble for 91 yards to put the Olympians ahead 25-7 at the half.
“Our team doesn’t quit, so that’s something we need to keep doing even if we are down at halftime,” defensive back Isaiah Strong (#4) said. “Obviously, there’s hurt in the past two games, but we need to turn this around and finish as hard as we can.”
In the third quarter, Comet Logan Cella (#28) rushed for a touchdown while the defense gave up a field goal just before the fourth quarter. Although down 28-14, momentum was on the Comets’ side.
Palomar’s defense showed determination when Lucas Valencia (#5) blocked a punt that was secured by Strong three yards from the end zone. Quarterback KJ Chatham (#2) got the team within one score after connecting with wide receiver Micah Johnson (#81) for a touchdown.
“We were game planning this all week. We saw that their personal shield wasn’t putting their hands at the outside, so we saw that, and I sprinted in from 10 yards out and executed the block to perfection,” Valencia said.
Even though Palomar outscored Mesa 14-3 in the second half, it was not enough. On fourth down with 1:16 remaining, Palomar’s offense tried one last pass to the back of the endzone, but wide receiver Michael Perry-Mack (#6) could not haul in the catch and the Comets fell by a final score of 28-21.
Palomar will go on the road for its next matchup against Riverside City College at noon on Sept. 27.
“We’ve got to have a really good week. We’re in conference play now so every game is a playoff,” Head Coach Joe Early said. “If we play two halves like we did in the second tonight, we’re going to be fine.”