Cats take care of business

The Saddleback football team won its fifth straight game with a 31-10 victory over Palomar College on Saturday night in San Marcos.  The Bobcats remain in a tie for first place with two games remaining.

Saddleback was a heavy favorite on paper heading into a matchup against a Palomar squad with only one win for the season.  The Bobcats did not disappoint, taking care of business.

Saddleback's defense made things tough for Palomar, forcing three turnovers and making the Comets earn every point they had.  Meanwhile, the offense gained over 400 yards for the seventh time in eight tries in distancing themselves from Palomar on the scoreboard.

Saddleback opened the scoring on its second drive of the game after Jacob Sekiyoba picked off Palomar quarterback Jakob Harris and returned it to the Comet 18-yard-line.  The Bobcats capitalized on the mistake five plays later, as Tyler Dudden found Joseph Walter for a 5-yard score. 

Saddleback led 7-3 midway through the second quarter when the offense put together a solid drive to open up a double-digit lead.  The Bobcats went 84 yards in six plays and found paydirt when Nicky Johnson danced into the end zone for a one-yard score and gave Saddleback a 14-3 lead.  The Bobcats tacked on another three points on the final play of the half when Manuel Maganda made a 21-yard field goal for a 17-3 lead at the intermission.

Saddleback put the game on ice in the third quarter.  The defense caused its third turnover of the game when Dominic Lopez forced and recovered a fumble at the Palomar 38 yard line to give the ball back to the offense.  Four plays later the offense cashed in when Dudden found Nicholas Gentilella for a 10-yard score and the Bobcats increased the lead to 24-3. 

Things went from bad to worse for Palomar in the fourth quarter when Saddleback had its most consistent drive of the game.  The Bobcats held on to the ball for nearly five minutes and went 80 yards in 10 plays in taking a 31-3 lead when Dudden tossed his third touchdown of the game, hitting Max Krosky for a 9-yard score with 10:09 remaining.

Saddleback cruised across the finish line for a 31-10 win.  The Bobcats finished with 403 yards of offense, rushing for 226 yards in the game.  Kavaughn Clark led the ground attack with 119 yards on 13 carries.  It was the third game of the season where Clark has eclipsed 100 yards in a game.

Dudden finished 11-for-18 with 136 yards passing and three touchdown passes.  Gentilella finished with three receptions for 66 yards and a score.

Noah Luginbill had another big game for the defense, leading the way with 10 total tackles and one tackle-for-loss.  Jacob Sekiyoba and Kyle Nguyen both had interceptions and the Bobcats finished with eight tackles-for-loss on the night. 

Saddleback is now 7-1 for the season and 5-0 in National Division Southern League play.  The Bobcats are tied atop the league standings with El Camino College, who defeated Southwestern College, 38-35, on Saturday night in Chula Vista. 

Saddleback hosts both Southwestern and El Camino in the final two regular season games, making for an exciting finish to the regular season.  The Bobcats start by hosting Southwestern this coming Saturday at 1:00 PM inside the stadium.