Romero throws for 5 more TDs; Comets pound Santa Monica 45-14
SANTA MONICA (9-09-2017) -- Matt Romero passed for five more touchdowns and Ross Ebert passed for his first collegiate touchdown on Saturday night as Palomar advanced to 2-0 on the season with a 45-14 rout of Santa Monica College.
Romero connected on 21 of 30 attempts for 201 yards, giving him 9 touchdowns for the Comets' first 2 games. The Comets rolled up 446 yards in total offense, 236 rushing and 210 through the air, to 168 yards for Santa Monica which trailed 45-0 before getting on the scoreboard on 2 late TD passes.
Romero's touchdown strikes went to Nate Johnson for 29 yards, David Nilson for 13 yards, Bryce Walker for 41 yards and Marquis Williams for 6 and 8 yards while Ebert, in his first action of the season, passed to to Blake Adamson for 9 yards and Palomar's final TD of the night.
The Comets' other points came on a 50-yard field goal and 5 PAT kicks by Tyler Vargas.
Palomar's defensive unit made the night a living hell for Santa Monica's offensive unit with 10 tackles for loss, including 3 sacks as the Comets rolled up 27 first downs to 7 first downs for the Corsairs (1-1). Chandler Wachholtz led the way with 6 tackles (5 solo) and 2 tackles for loss.
The Comets led at halftime 24-0.
Freshman Brian Nieves rushed for 71 yards on 11 carries. Nilson and Williams caught 15 passes between them and Issiah Aguero returned the second-half kickoff 85 yards to set up a touchdown and had 2 returns for 102 yards. Punter Tyson Dyer winned Santa Monica inside the 20-yard line twice.
Palomar will play its home opener next Saturday against Cerritos at Escondido High School's Wilson Stadium. Kickoff will be at 6 p.m.