Big Plays Lift No. 14 Citrus Past Santa Ana in 30-24 Victory

No. 14 ranked Citrus College Football earned its first road conference victory of the season with a 30-24 win over Santa Ana College on Saturday night, September 27.

With the win, Citrus improves to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in National Northern Conference play. Santa Ana falls to 0-5 on the season and 0-2 in conference action.

The Owls came out firing, building a 17-0 lead in the first quarter. Quarterback Brian Salazar Jr. opened the scoring with a 58-yard touchdown strike to Cameron Bateman. Alex Hernandez added a 35-yard field goal before Salazar and Bateman connected again, this time from 26 yards out, to close the quarter on top.

Santa Ana answered with a rushing touchdown early in the second quarter, but Citrus responded quickly as Salazar found Keaton Morales on a 9-yard score to make it 24-7 at halftime.

The Dons closed the gap in the third with a touchdown run, but Citrus struck back immediately with a 60-yard pass from Salazar to Lorenza Simmons, extending the lead to 30-14 after a missed PAT. A late Santa Ana field goal cut it to 30-17 heading into the fourth.

In a wild finish, Santa Ana returned a missed Citrus field goal attempt for a touchdown to pull within six. But the Owls' defense stood tall, keeping the Dons out of the end zone the rest of the way to seal the 30-24 victory.

Salazar shined for the Owls, completing 21 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns. Keyonn Chatman paced the ground game with 80 yards on 11 carries, while Angel Barraza Jr. added 57 yards on three attempts. Bateman led the receivers with seven catches for 116 yards and two scores. Simmons finished with three receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown, Enriquez hauled in a 44-yarder, and Morales added four grabs for 26 yards and a score.

Citrus now heads into its bye week before returning home to host Long Beach City College on Saturday, October 11 at 6 p.m.