Palomar travels to old rival El Camino for Beach Bowl
SAN MARCOS (11-17-2017) -- Palomar has its work cut out for it when the Comets take on El Camino College in the Beach Bowl at 2 p.m. Saturday at Murdoch Stadium.
The two teams have identical records, 5-5, but the Warriors' record is extremely deceiving.
El Camino has wins over Los Angeles Southwest 74-8, Moorpark 56-2, Grossmont 58-23 and Chaffey 55-18 -- and the Warriors twice have scored more than 50 points in losses.
The Warriors are the third highest-scorest community college team in the country.
Nationally No. 1-ranked and defending national and state champion Fullerton, which defeated Orange Coast 55-17 to close out the regular season and is 10-0, is averaging 58.1 points per game. Saddleback, like Fullerton and Palomar out of the Southern Conference, ranked as the strongest in the nation in community college football, is No. 2 in the country, averaging 46.2 points per game, followed by El Camino at 46.1. ASA Brooklyn is fourth in the nation at 43.4 points per game. American River of Sacramento is fifth in the nation in scoring, averaging 42.0 points.
"Palomar and El Camino have had a good history of good teams and good match-ups against each other. We haven't played each other in four or five years, but in any case we're really going to be challenged," coach Joe Early said. "They're way better than their 5-5 record and this is a typical El Camino team, excellent speed and the ability to score in a hurry. We absolutely have to control the football to keep our defense off the field."
Some of the notable Palomar sophomores playing their final community college games include quarterback Matt Romero, running back Issiah Aguero and receiver Marquis Williams on offense, and linebackers Chandler Wachholtz and J.D. Fox, defensive tackle Anthony Zuniga, and DB's Devonte Woods, Danny Wood and Maxwell Scott on defense.
PALOMAR PROBABLE LINE-UP
OFFENSE
QB - Matt Romero, So, 6-2, 210, Oceanside High School
RB - Issiah Aguero, So, 5-11, 195, Poway High School
WR - Devin Nilson, Fr, 5-11, 180, Carlsbad High School
WR - Bryce Walker, Fr, 5-11, 165, Bartram Trail High School (St. Johns, FL)
SL - Ryan Lasua, Fr, 6-1, 185, Vista High School / Dixie State University
SL - Chris Grimes, So, 5-9, 175, El Camino High School / Bethany College
WR - Marquis Williams (So, 5-11, 178, Father Lopez (Daytona Beach, FL) / Southwestern CC
TE - Blake Adamson, Fr, 6-5, 255, Valhalla High School / University of St. Francis
TE -- Chase Olsen, So, 6-2, 215, San Marcos High School
LT - Preston Johnson, So, 6-4, 285, Ramona High School
LG - Josh Castrellon, Fr, 6-2, 285, La Costa Canyon High School
C- Joshua Pichette, So, 6-3, 255, Tri-City Christian School
RG - Jeremiah Castrellon, Fr, 6-3, 290, San Marcos High School
RT - Michael Childress, So, 6-5, 300, Vista High School
DEFENSE
DE - Malu Malotumau (Fr, 6-4, 230, El Camino High School
DE - Carter Couch (So, 6-3, 190, Mt. Carmel High School / Savannah State
DT - Anthony Zuniga, So, 6-0, 270, San Marcos High School
DT - Nick Zimmerman, So, 6-1, 280, Oceanside High School
LB - J.D. Fox, So, 6-3, 225, Escondido High School
LB - Chandler Wachholtz, So, 6-0, 220, La Costa Canyon High School
CB - Devonte Woods, So, 5-8, 182, Father Lopez High School (Daytona Beach, FL)
CB - Rayshawn Herring, So, 5-9, 180, Deltona High School (Deltona, FL) / Southwestern CC
FS - Danny Wood, So, So, 5-11, 175, Carlsbad High School
S - Jake Ambrose, Fr, 6-3, 180, Mira Mesa High School
NICKLE - Maxwell Scott, So, 6-2, 182, Murrieta Mesa High School (Murrieta, CA) / Saddleback CC
SPECIAL TEAMS
PAT, FG, KO - Tyler Vargas, So, 5-11, 175, Ramona High School
HOLDER - Tyson Dyer
P - Tyson Dyer, Fr, 6-2, 195, Palm Beach Currumbin State (QLD, Australia)
KOR - Brian Nievas, Fr, 5-7, 160, Daltona High School (Daltona, FL)
KOR -- Issiah Aguero
KOR - Marquis Williams
PR - Devin Nilson
LS - Carter Couch