Palomar College Comets 31-Moorpark Raiders 23 -The Palomar College Comet football team opened their 2023 season with a 31-23 victory over Moorpark College on Saturday night.
The Comets struck first on an 11-yard rush from sophomore running back Omarion Ireland after the Raiders fumbled a punt and the Comets recovered the ball on the Moorpark 13-yard line. The Raiders responded with a rushing touchdown of their own to even the score before tacking on another seven to take a 14-7 lead with 3:32 to go in the first quarter.
Palomar’s defense got a stop on third down to force the Raiders to punt from their own 36-yard line. With the ball downed on the Comet 10-yard line, Palomar drove 90 yards to even the score on a 1-yard rush from sophomore running back De’Marcus Carr to begin the second quarter. Ammanuael Kidanemariam nailed a 25-yard field goal for the Comets to go up three at the half.
Moorpark tied it up again on their opening drive of the second half on a 25-yard field goal of their own. Later in the quarter, the Comet defense held the Raiders to one yard before forcing them to punt once again. After a botched 10-yard punt by the Raiders, the Comets started their drive on the Moorpark 34-yard line. Freshman quarterback Jaden White kept the ball and rushed in for a 34-yard touchdown to give the Comets a 24-17 lead. Moorpark closed the gap in towards the end of the third quarter on a 38-yard field goal.
Palomar had possession the majority of the fourth quarter and it paid off when Ireland had a 48-yard touchdown run to give the Comets a 31-20 lead with four minutes to go. Moorpark kicked a 25-yard field goal with about a minute to go in the game to make the final score 31-23.
The Comet offense totaled 348 yards while the defense gave up 481 yards. The run game was successful for Palomar as Ireland, Carr and White did the heavy lifting with four rushing touchdowns. Ireland finished with 139 yards on 14 carries. Carr finished with 63 yards on 17 carries. On the passing side, White threw for 100 yards, going 11-24 with a long of 27 yards. Freshman tight end, Quincy Herron led the receivers with 34 total yards on two receptions. Freshman Jake Whitehead had three receptions for 28 yards, including a diving catch between two defenders to help set up the Comets’ second touchdown.
Defensively, the Comets had four takeaways, including two fumble recoveries and two interceptions. Sophomore Jason Pugal returned an interception for 23 yards in the fourth quarter. The Comets had three sacks for 16 yards and eight tackles for loss totaling 28 yards. The defensive line and linebackers held the Raider offense to just 42 rushing yards. Kidanemariam had nine punts, five of which he pinned inside the 20. Gavin Galzote, Isaiah Dixon and Carr each recorded a kickoff return.
Palomar will face El Camino College on Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. kickoff at Escondido High School. Both teams enter week two with a 1-0 record.
Comets split day at MSJC 6-3 -The Palomar College Women’s Volleyball team collected their first win of the season on Friday afternoon against Santiago Canyon College in match one of two of the day.
The Comets, who have played teams close to start the season, had yet to pull out a set win before facing the Hawks on Friday at the Mt. San Jacinto Tri. Freshman Sonsi Jarvis led the team with nine kills on 18 attacks. In the one set she played, Jarvis also totaled three service aces and three digs. Freshman setter Kylana Madayag recorded 15 assists in her second match as a Comet. Middle blockers Brisa Necochea and Hope Ihem recorded two and one block, respectively. Sophomore libero Bailey Prieto led the team with five digs, while freshmen Janell Spires and Holly Grady each had four. Head coach Karl Seiler was able to play just about the entire roster in the sweep and level of play stayed consistent throughout the match for the Comets.
In match two of the day, the Comets jumped out to a 2-0 lead over host MSJC, but ultimately fell 3-2 in their first five-set match of the season. Spires was phenomenal in the match for the Comets, racking up a team-high 14 kills on 25 attacks for a .400 kill percentage. She also totaled two assists, five digs, one block and a service ace. Freshman Delina Becker totaled nine kills, six digs and four service aces. Jarvis led the team with 12 digs. Madayag recorded 35 assists and eight digs in five sets.
Palomar moves to 1-3 on the season and will face Saddleback College on Wednesday night on the road for a 6 p.m. first serve.
Palomar College 3 Orange Coast Pirates 1 – The Palomar Comet Men’s Soccer traveled to Orange Coast College on Friday afternoon for their first road match and won 3-1 to secure their first win of the season.
The Comets, who have continued their high energy this season, got off to a hot start. Arturo Atilano-Gutierrez scored the first goal for the Comets just before the 12-minute mark off an assist from Maximilian Drexler. The Pirates evened the score at the 20-minute mark, but the Comets answered right back with a goal from Elijah Ceballos off a pass from Artur Trifol. From there, the two teams were locked in a stalemate playing almost 60 minutes of 0-0 soccer. In the 89th minute, Alex Vidican found the net off an assist from Lucas Meirelles to give the Comets the 3-1 victory.
Palomar had 22 total shots, doubling the Pirates, who only got off 11. Goalkeepers Max Subra and Noe Vasquez recorded five saves, one for Subra and four for Vasquez. Palomar totaled four corner kicks and zero cards.
The Comets move to 1-1-1 on the season and will face Santa Ana College on Friday on the road. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.
David Willauer- Contributing Sports Writer & Palomarprestsports.com
