Curry, Calhoun, Comets stun Mt. SAC

By Ramon Scott
Updated: October 14, 2018

Connor Curry scores the winning TD from 2 yards out with 1:25 left. (Hugh Cox Photo)

Palomar College freshman receiver MIKEL BARKLEY races near midfield on Saturday night. / photo by Hugh Cox

2018 COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOOTBALL

PALOMAR 38, EL CAMINO 35

By Tom Saxe

Special to EastCountySports.com

ESCONDIDO (10-13-2018) – Quarterback Connor Curry threw a 62-yard scoring bomb to Mikel Barkley and rushed for touchdowns of 18, 29 and 2 yards, the latter to win the game with 1:25 left after he set up the TD himself with a 59-yard pass play to El Camino High’s Malachi Russell, as Palomar pulled off a huge upset over heavily favored Mt. SAC on Saturday night.

On the other side of the ball, Mission Hills High product Chris Calhoun intercepted two passes, one of which he returned 98 yards for a touchdown, the other that he returned 19 yards to set up a TD. He also contributed 13 tackles (9 solo), 1.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. And he forced a fumble.

Palomar quarterback CONNOR CURRY rolls out on Saturday night. / photo by Tom Saxe

Along the way, Palomar stunned the state No. 8-ranked Mounties 38-35 in a Central Conference game at Escondido High School’s Chick Embrey Field at Wilson Stadium in one of the biggest upsets in community college football this season.

“That’s a hell of a team we faced and this was a hell of a win,” Palomar coach Joe Early said. “We had great individual efforts and a great team effort. Our guys never gave in through all the misfortunes and injuries we’ve gone through, and I’m real proud of them. That was good old Comet football.”

Said Curry, who has battled a horrific string of injuries and watched the final quarter in last week’s loss to defending two-time state and national champion Fullerton from the sideline on crutches:

“I knew I was going to play in this game since Monday morning when I talked to our trainers. When I said after last week’s game I had to get tougher I meant it. I had to push through any kind of pain I felt and go out and get the job done for my teammates and my coaches. What you saw was our coaches putting us in position to win. I really believe in these coaches and I trust everything they tell us, 100 percent.”

Added Calhoun, whose 98-yard touchdown 13:34 remaining in the fourth quarter put Palomar on top 31-21 and moves him into a tie for the second-longest interception return on the all-time Palomar list:

“I saw their tight end look right where their quarterback was going to throw the ball, and I stepped in front of him and took off in the direction of the other end zone. I knew I was going to have to step up tonight. We’ve worked too hard and gone through too much not to play our game and just go out and lose. We practiced really hard all week and I knew I had to play my butt off and something good would happen.”

Palomar College running back SHEVELL STERLING rushes against Mt. SAC on Saturday. / photo by Hugh Cox

By the time the night had ended, Curry had accumulated 370 yards in total offense, connecting on 20-of-32 passes for 281 yards and adding 89 yards rushing on 12 carries in contributing the four touchdowns.

Mark Meador added a 25-yard field goal and PAT kicks.

Shevell Sterling added a key 20-yard run for the Comets. Russell gained 92 yards on two receptions, tight end William Gonzalez contributed a 26-yard reception Johnny Armentrout caught three balls for 23 yards. Devin Nilson added five receptions and Bryce Walker had three catches.

Defensively, Maxwell Milner contributed 9 solo tackles and broke up a pass. Jordan Dusan had a tackle for loss forced a fumble and recovered 2 fumbles. Orion Diaz had 7 tackles (6 solo). Martin Bonacci contributed a 16-yard tackle for loss to thwart a Mt. SAC drive. Josh Bernard and Spencer Kaganga had 5 tackles each.

Palomar battled back to overcome deficits of 7-0, 21-14 and 35-31 in the game.

The Comets can win the Central Conference outright by winning its last three games as Fullerton has been declared ineligible for the post-season because of unspecified eligibility violations.

Palomar has a bye next week before traveling to El Camino for a Central Conference game on Oct. 27.

Mt. San Antonio vs. Palomar at Escondido 10/13/2018 at 6:00 PM
Mt. San Antonio 35	Palomar 38

SCORING	1	2	3	4	FINAL
Mt. San Antonio	0	14	7	14	35
Palomar	0	14	10	14	38
Escondido \|

PRD	TIME	SCORING SUMMARY	MT. SAN ANTONIO – PALOMAR
2	12:00	Mt. San Antonio – Jonathan Schofield 1 yd run. (Gabriel Dunkle kick is good). Drive: 4 plays, 31 yards in 1:36.	7 – 0
2	07:18	Palomar – Mikel Barkley 62 yd pass from Connor Curry. (Mark Meader kick is good). Drive: 3 plays, 28 yards in 1:15.	7 – 7
2	04:37	Palomar – Connor Curry 18 yd run. (Mark Meader kick is good).	7 – 14
2	02:42	Mt. San Antonio – Damian Alloway 31 yd pass from Steven Nava. (Gabriel Dunkle kick is good). Drive: 3 plays, 62 yards in 1:06.	14 – 14
3	11:57	Mt. San Antonio – Jonathan Schofield 49 yd pass from Steven Nava. (Gabriel Dunkle kick is good). Drive: 3 plays, 46 yards in 1:19.	21 – 14
3	06:30	Palomar – Mark Meader 25 yd field goal. Drive: 8 plays, 78 yards in 2:58.	21 – 17
3	04:00	Palomar – Connor Curry 29 yd run. (Mark Meader kick is good).	21 – 24
4	13:34	Palomar – Chris Calhoun 98 yd interception return. (Mark Meader kick is good).	21 – 31
4	12:02	Mt. San Antonio – Gaston Bouchereau 40 yd pass from Steven Nava. (Gabriel Dunkle kick is good).	28 – 31
4	04:48	Mt. San Antonio – Jonathan Schofield 11 yd pass from Steven Nava. (Gabriel Dunkle kick is good).	35 – 31
4	01:25	Palomar – Connor Curry 2 yd run. (Mark Meader kick is good).	35 – 38

MT. SAN ANTONIO	STATISTICS	PALOMAR
25	FIRST DOWNS	18
16 7 2	Passing Rushing Penalty	10 7 1
42% (5 of 12)	THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY	25% (3 of 12)
0% (0 of 1)	FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY	0% (0 of 0)
464	TOTAL OFFENSE	413
74 6.3	Total Offensive Plays Average gain per play	60 6.9
334	NET YARDS PASSING	281
28-44 7.6 2-21 2	Completions-Attempts Net yards per pass play Sacked: Number-Yards Had intercepted	20-33 8.5 1-6 1
130	NET YARDS RUSHING	132
30 4.3	Rushing Attempts Average gain per rush	27 4.9
4-119	PUNTS: Number-Yards	6-183
29.8	Average	30.5
229	TOTAL RETURN YARDS	227
2-12 7-186 1-31	Punt Returns: Number-Yards Kickoff Returns: Number-Yards Interception Returns: Number-Yards	0 0 6-110 2-117
9-56	PENALTIES: Number-Yards	5-65
2-2	FUMBLES: Number-Lost	0-0
1-6	SACKS: Number-Yards	2-21
1-31	INTERCEPTIONS: Number-Yards	2-117
30:53	TIME OF POSSESSION	29:07

Mt. San Antonio

Palomar

PASSING	C-A	YDS	LG	TD	INT
Steven Nava	28-44	334	49	4	2

PASSING	C-A	YDS	LG	TD	INT
Connor Curry	20-32	281	62	1	1
Team	0-1	0	0	0	0

RUSHING	ATT	YDS	AVG	LG	TD
Rachaad White	12	89	7.4	26	0
Hykeem Massey	7	48	6.9	17	0
Asfunso Elam	5	13	2.6	5	0
Brandon McMaster	1	2	2.0	2	0
Malaki Thompson	1	0	0.0	0	0
Jonathan Schofield	2	-1	-0.5	1	1
Steven Nava	2	-21	-10.5	0	0

RUSHING	ATT	YDS	AVG	LG	TD
Connor Curry	12	89	7.4	29	3
Shevell Sterling	11	31	2.8	20	0
Devin Nilson	1	8	8.0	8	0
Damon Wigand	2	4	2.0	2	0
Shea Morales	1	0	0.0	0	0

RECEIVING	NO	YDS	AVG	LG	TD
Jonathan Schofield	6	105	17.5	49	2
Chris Jackson	4	48	12.0	34	0
Gaston Bouchereau	1	40	40.0	40	1
Damian Alloway	2	34	17.0	31	1
Zion Echols	4	29	7.3	21	0
Reginald Anderson	3	28	9.3	20	0
Sean Bowden	4	24	6.0	19	0
Jordan Parham	2	11	5.5	11	0
Austin Griffin	1	9	9.0	9	0
Antoine Jackson	1	6	6.0	6	0

RECEIVING	NO	YDS	AVG	LG	TD
Malachi Russell	2	92	46.0	59	0
Mikel Barkley	1	62	62.0	62	1
Devin Nilson	5	34	6.8	19	0
Shevell Sterling	1	28	28.0	28	0
William Gonzalez	1	26	26.0	26	0
Johnny Armentrout	3	23	7.7	11	0
Lamar Raboteau	1	10	10.0	10	0
Logan Gamble	1	5	5.0	5	0
Bryce Walker	3	3	1.0	6	0
Johnny Arzola	2	-2	-1.0	2	0

KICKING	FG	LG	XP	PTS
Gabriel Dunkle			5/5	5

KICKING	FG	LG	XP	PTS
Mark Meader	1/2	25	5/5	8

PUNTING	NO	YDS	AVG	LG	TB	IN 20
Keshon Flemings	1	27	27.0	27	0	1
Triston Brown	3	92	30.7	33	0	1

PUNTING	NO	YDS	AVG	LG	TB	IN 20
Jacob Stepanek	6	183	30.5	40	0	2

KICKOFFS	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	OB
Gabriel Dunkle	6	327	54.5	0	0

KICKOFFS	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	OB
Mark Meader	7	441	63.0	0	2

KICKOFF RETURNS	NO	YDS	AVG	LG
Damian Alloway	5	151	30.2	53
Jonathan Schofield	1	26	26.0	26
Chris Jackson	1	9	9.0	9

KICKOFF RETURNS	NO	YDS	AVG	LG	TD
Lamar Raboteau	4	81	20.3	29	0
Damon Wigand	2	29	14.5	17	0

PUNT RETURNS	NO	YDS	AVG	LG	TD
Jonathan Schofield	2	12	6.0	6	0

PUNT RETURNS	NO	YDS	AVG	LG	TD

INTERCEPTION RETURNS	NO	YDS	AVG	LG	TD
Ibrahim Konate	1	31	31.0	31	0

INTERCEPTION RETURNS	NO	YDS	AVG	LG	TD
Chris Calhoun	2	117	58.5	98	1

FUMBLES	NO	LOST
Steven Nava	1	1
Sean Bowden	1	1

FUMBLES	NO	LOST

DEFENSIVE STATISTICS
#	MT. SAN ANTONIO	SOLO	AST	TOTAL	SACKS-YDS	TFL-YDS	FF	FR-YDS	INT-YDS	BRUP	BLKS	QBH
1	Ibrahim Konate	4	1	5	–	–		–	1-31
5	Loupua Hafoka	4	1	5	–	–		–	–
23	Montez Evans	4	1	5	–	–		–	–
8	Colin Keanu	4	0	4	–	1 – 1		–	–
13	Treshon Pickett	3	0	3	–	1 – 1		–	–	1
14	Asanta Watkins	1	2	3	–	–		–	–
41	Jude Njuh	1	2	3	–	–		–	–
2	Jarell Sykes	2	0	2	–	1 – 2		–	–	3
21	Stephon Stowers	2	0	2	–	1 – 4		–	–
29	Jontavis Walker	2	0	2	–	–		–	–
42	James Marshall	2	0	2	–	2 – 5		–	–
45	Tauivi Ho Ching	1	1	2	–	–		–	–
59	Michael Irenze	2	0	2	–	1 – 1		–	–
9	DeAndre Robinson	1	0	1	–	–		–	–
18	Jacob Hennie	1	0	1	–	–		–	–
27	Rachaad White	1	0	1	–	–		–	–
40	Jamari Watson	1	0	1	–	–		–	–
43	Conor Heisius	1	0	1	–	–		–	–
44	Markelle Davis	1	0	1	–	–		–	–
58	Lovell Mariney	1	0	1	–	1 – 2		–	–
91	Samiu Tukuafu	1	0	1	–	–		–	–
92	Vincent Rollins	1	0	1	1 – 6	1 – 6		–	–
TOTALS		41	8	49	1 – 6	9 – 22		0-0	1-31	4
#	PALOMAR	SOLO	AST	TOTAL	SACKS-YDS	TFL-YDS	FF	FR-YDS	INT-YDS	BRUP	BLKS	QBH
43	Chris Calhoun	9	4	13	1 – 5	3.5 – 8	1	–	2-117
26	Maxwell Milner	9	0	9	–	–		–	–	1
49	Orion Diaz	6	1	7	–	0.5 – 1		–	–
29	Josh Bernard	5	0	5	–	–		–	–	1
45	Spencer Kaoanga	3	2	5	–	–		–	–
1	Jay Craft	2	1	3	–	–		–	–	1
33	Giovanni Herrera	2	1	3	–	–		–	–
98	Mason Simeta	2	1	3	–	–		–	–
31	Jonathon Segi	2	0	2	–	–		–	–
58	Edwin Vorachack	2	0	2	–	–		–	–
93	Martin Bonacci	1	1	2	1 – 16	1 – 16		–	–
94	Nick So’oto	1	1	2	–	–		–	–
96	Jordan Duson	2	0	2	–	1 – 7	1	2-0	–
97	Vaaalotasi Ierome	1	1	2	–	1 – 2		–	–
21	Louie Flores	1	0	1	–	–		–	–	2
27	Chris Jones	1	0	1	–	–		–	–
35	Keith Vasquez	1	0	1	–	–		–	–
41	Efrain Contreras	1	0	1	–	–		–	–
80	Brandon Montes	1	0	1	–	–		–	–
91	Jayson Pace	0	1	1	–	–		–	–
TM	Team	1	0	1	–	–		–	–
TOTALS		53	14	67	2 – 21	7 – 34	2	2-0	2-117	5