No. 17 Citrus Falls to undefeated No. 3 Ventura, 31-17

No. 17-ranked Citrus College Football came up short against No. 3-ranked Ventura College on Saturday night, October 18, falling 31-17 on the road.

With the loss, Citrus moves to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in conference play, while Ventura remains undefeated at 6-0 overall and 4-0 in conference.

The Pirates opened the game with a field goal on their first drive to take a 3-0 lead after the first quarter. The Owls missed a field goal attempt on their ensuing possession, keeping the margin at three points after one.

Early in the second quarter, Ventura capitalized on a long punt return to set up the games' first touchdown, extending the lead to 10-0. On Citrus' next drive, the Pirates intercepted a Brian Salazar Jr. pass and converted the turnover into another score after a five-play, 41-yard drive, pushing the lead to 17-0. The Owls finally got on the board late in the half with a 29-yard field goal from Alex Hernandez, cutting the deficit to 17-3 heading into halftime.

Citrus came out strong to start the second half, marching 72 yards in eight plays. Salazar capped off the drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Lorenza Simmons—his fourth touchdown of the season—to make it 17-10. Ventura answered quickly with another touchdown drive to extend the lead to 24-10, but the Owls responded right back. Citrus went 76 yards in eight plays, capped by a 6-yard rushing touchdown from Keyonn Chatmann, bringing the score to 24-17.

Both defenses tightened in the remainder of the game, but Ventura put together a crucial 80-yard, 17-play drive that chewed up over nine minutes of game time and ended in a touchdown to seal the 31-17 win.

Salazar Jr. finished 28-of-39 passing for 244 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions, also adding 39 yards on three rushes. Chatmann led the ground game with 16 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown, while also catching four passes. Keaton Morales hauled in three catches for 65 yards, and Simmons added a team-high five receptions for 50 yards. Jojo Enriquez (36 yards), Cameron Bateman (34 yards), and Jalen Thompson (30 yards) each caught four passes.

Defensively, Elijah Ybanez led the way with 11 total tackles and a pass breakup. Jarrel Comer added nine tackles, including one sack and one tackle for loss. Bear Baker contributed seven tackles, while Thomas White, Durand Johnson, Jacob Cox, and Armon Hornsby each recorded six tackles.

The Owls will look to bounce back this Saturday, October 25, when they host Moorpark College for Homecoming. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Citrus Stadium, Homecoming festivities will begin at 4:30 p.m, tickets are available below.

Homecoming Tickets: Citrus College vs. Moorpark Saturday, October 25 6:00PM