No. 9 Palomar falls short to No. 5 Cerritos

ESCONDIDO, CA (10/29/2022) -- No. 9 Palomar College faced No. 5 Cerritos College for a day game on Saturday and lost 35-20. 

It was all Comet defense in the first quarter as they recorded three takeaways on the first three drives for the Falcons, extending their streak to nine games. Palomar went three and out on their opening drive but Cerritos fumbled the punt return, thanks to Eric Russell and Syrr Jayden Barnes on the force and recovery, respectively. That set the Comets up for a field goal, but missed it wide right. 

With the ball on the Cerritos 20-yard line, Marquis Bell intercepted the ball for his third of the season. After a penalty, the Comets started on the Cerritos 33-yard line. Luke Armstrong rushed for seven yards and Kiah Reid completed a pass to Ka'alei Apana for 10 yards to get them to the 28. Reid then rushed for eight yards and Thomas Fishburne completed another pass for Tajae Brooks for six yards. Dez Taua punched it in for four yards as the Comets struck first. 

The third takeaway came from another Cerritos fumble, this time Logan Lauti punched it out and Vincent Fonoti recovered it.

Landon Ogles made sure to do his part to keep the Comets in the game, nailing a 29-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10-7. From there, Cerritos stole the show, scoring 21 points on three plays the Comet defense just could not read. Down 28-10, Ogles found himself back to kick another field goal, this time a 35-yard attempt. It sailed through the uprights to close the gap to 28-13 in the fourth quarter.

It was the spark Palomar needed. Starting on their own 14-yard line, things were looking bleak as Armstrong rushed for a loss of a yard, followed by a false start penalty. Now at the 8-yard line, Dorian Richardson rushed for four yards. Reid connected with Lauti for a 24-yard completion and moved them to the 36-yard line. Reid then threw the ball up and found Tayjon Bullock and he ran it down the field for a 64-yard pass completion and a Comet touchdown to make the score 28-20 with five minutes to go. 

The Comet defense needed one more stop and a big stop to get the ball back to give them a chance to win it. They held the Falcons to their half of the field. But it wasn't enough as Cerritos completed a 49-yard touchdown pass for secure the win. 

Palomar moves to 5-3 overall and 1-2 in conference play. They will head to Mt. San Antonio College on Saturday for a 6 p.m. kickoff.