Defensive pick party aids in win over Grossmont
ESCONDIDO, CA (10/5/2019) – Palomar defeated Grossmont College 38-14 in their final non-conference game of the season. The Comets are now 7-1 against Grossmont since 2012 and have won six straight against the Griffins.
The Comet defense went straight to work in the first quarter when they RSVPed for the interception party. Jay Craft showed up first when he intercepted a pass and ran it back for two yards. Craft's interception set up the first touchdown for the Comets, which was a 39-yard touchdown pass from Rodney Thompson to Isaiah Batton. When Grossmont got the ball back, they drove all the way down to the Palomar 39-yard line when Kevin McKinzie intercepted the ball and ran it back 39 yards. The Comets could not turn the turnover into points, so Preston Dennard punted the ball away. Kameron Camp decided he wanted to join the party too when the very next drive, he intercepted the ball on the Grossmont 47-yard line and returned for it 22 yards. The Comets got six points out of the turnover on a rushing touchdown by Thompson. Comets were up 13-0 after a failed point-after attempt.
Palomar did not score again until there were six minutes to go in the half. Daishawn Lee rushed for one yard to get the ball in the endzone. The Comets tried a two-point conversion that failed. It was 19-0 at halftime. In the third quarter, Damon Wigand found the endzone on a 3-yard rushing attempt. Comets led the Griffins 26-0. At the start of the fourth quarter, the Comet offense settled for a field goal to make the score 29-0. Grossmont found the endzone on the next drive after a 62-yard kickoff return put them at the Palomar 25-yard line. The Comets then went on an 8-minute drive and scored a touchdown on a 5-yard pass from Thompson to Johnny Armentrout. Grossmont scored their final touchdown on a 63-yard pass to make the final score 36-14.
The Comets put up 430 offensive yards, 316 passing and 114 rushing. Rodney Thompson had 25 catches on 37 attempts with a long of 39 yards. Damon Wigand was the leading rushing with 41 yards on 10 carries, followed by Lamar Raboteau who had 37 yards on nine carries. Kyran Griffin had 93 receiving yards on seven receptions with a long of 30 yards. Isaiah Batton had 85 yards also on seven receptions with one touchdown. Nyzon Jefferson had 41 yards on two receptions. Preston Dennard had three punts for 85 yards and an average of 28.3 with a long of 30 yards. He pinned one inside the 20-yard line.
Defensively, the Comets allowed only 152 yards, 158 passing and -6 rushing, their lowest of the season. Kobe Dominguez had 11 tackles on the night and two sacks for a total loss of nine yards. This was his second game with more than 10 tackles. Kameron Camp had four tackles, one tackle for a loss of two yards and one interception for 22 yards. Vavega Sialoi had four tackles with one sack for seven yards. Sid Weddington had four tackles with one sack for five yards and Tommy Woo had one sack for a three-yard loss and another tackle for loss for nine yards. Chris Calhoun had four tackles.
The Comets are now 2-3 and have a bye next week. They will be back in action on Oct. 19 when they face Mt. San Antonio College on the road to open up the National Central League conference play.