In an evening matchup against the Citrus Owls, the MSJC Eagles had their first football game at the new stadium in Menifee. The atmosphere and turnout were great, as there were many spectators and some food trucks, one of which had dole whip. The game was a rematch from last season’s American Championship Bowl where the Eagles came up short. Unfortunately, this matchup saw the Eagles come up short again and the Owls won 16-7.

The first quarter of the game saw no points scored as both offenses struggled to get anything going in the early stage of the game. The Eagles had a chance to get on the board first during their second drive, but a costly interception by quarterback Hayden Lara ended the drive that looked promising. The first points of the game came in the second quarter when the Owls ran a 46-yard screen pass to running back Tayvonne Miller for a touchdown. The Owls struck first and had a 7-0 lead. The Eagles’ offense was stopped on their next drive and punted the ball back to Citrus. The Owls looked to add to their 7-0 advantage, but the Eagles grabbed interception to stop Citrus in their tracks. The Eagles’ offense had an opportunity to score following the gift that they received from their defense. However, the Eagles threw an interception when quarterback Zach Zella took over while Lara was being checked on following a hit he took from a defender. The Owls turned the interception into more points with a field goal that gave them a 10-0 lead at halftime. 

MSJC started the second half of the game with the football, and it looked like things were clicking after a 40-yard reception from wide receiver Elijah Simley, but the Eagles were unable to get in the end zone. Instead, the Eagles attempted a field goal, but the snap was botched, and the Eagles remained scoreless. On the next Eagles drive, Lara ran 21 yards for a touchdown. The touchdown shortened the Owls’ lead to 10-7. Unfortunately, the one score lead was short-lived as the Owls scored on their next drive following a big rushing touchdown. The Owls’ lead was 16-7 and just like that the Eagles were down by two possessions again. The Eagles needed to score on their next drive as they found themselves down by two scores again. On that drive, Lara was taken out of the game following another hit from an Owls defender and Zella threw a costly interception to give the ball back to the Owls. The Owls would hold on to their 16-7 lead to spoil the Eagles’ first game at the new stadium. Everything that could have gone wrong for the Eagles went wrong, it seemed like every time the Eagles looked to threaten the Owls, costly turnovers happened. With the loss, the Eagles are 0-2 to start the season, but the season is still young, and the Eagles can bounce back. The next home game will be on Sept. 30 against RCC. Tickets for that game can be found here.

Mt. San Jacinto

Passing: Hayden Lara, 17 of 35 for 178 yards, 1 interception. 

Rushing: Matthew Caldera, 8 carries for 56 yards.

Receiving: Elijah Simley 5 receptions for 70 yards. 

Citrus

Passing: Koy Riggin, 15 of 21 for 159 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception. 

Rushing: Tayvonne Miller, 9 carries for 77 yards, 1 touchdown.

Receiving: Tayvonne Miller, 3 receptions for 59 yards, 1 touchdown.