College Football:

Editor’s Note: Thanks to Citrus College Assistant Athletic Director Andrew Wheeler for providing pertinent information to this story.

By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor

Citrus College opens its 2023 season in just over two months.

But the remnants of an historic and record-breaking 2022 season continue to pay dividends.

Last year, the Owls secured their first conference title in 13 years, going 5-0 in American Metro action.

More importantly, Citrus went undefeated (11-0) for the first time in school history.

And to add some icing to the Owls’ cake, the boys from Glendora finished off the year with a 31-20 victory at Mt. San Jacinto to claim an American Division championship.

There were a number of reasons for their success, including a stellar offense and defense, which teamed to outscore their opponents by a combined margin of 359-145.

And the Owls witnessed a program-best season by an undersized quarterback named Adam Urena, who tossed a record 33 TD passes and just three picks.

Urena had a number of skilled targets in the Citrus receiving corps, including his twin brother, Austin Urena, Jesse Carmona and Robert Vega.

Vega, a 2021 graduate of Wilson High School in Hacienda Heights, actually started out as a left tackle for the Wildcats.

After two years, he became one of the program’s leading wide receivers, which is something Citrus coach Brandon Hayashi said helped prepare Vega for his dual role for the Owls (tight end and receiver).

In 2022, Vega led the program in receiving yards (549), and was second in TD catches (6) behind Jesse Carmona’s team-high eight TDs.

Vega caught 32 passes, which tied him with Carmona for second.

Austin Urena led the way with 53 receptions.

He got going in a week-three victory (29-14) at Desert.

Vega had five catches for 44 yards, including a 10-yard TD reception to give Citrus a 7-0 lead.

It was Vega’s first of 2022.

And Vega saved his best for last.

In the 31-20 victory at Mt. San Jacinto on November 26th to clinch the American Conference championship, Vega had four catches for a game-high 118 yards receiving.

His 65-yard TD pass from Urena in the third quarter gave the Owls a 14-7 lead, and they would never trail again.

His teammates and coaches say Vega’s stats only tell part of his story.

Vega works his butt off in the gym and on the practice field, and perhaps his most endearing quality is his selflessness and willingness to do anything his boys need of him to win games.

It’s players like Robert Vega that make it possible to exceed expectations and win championships.

Vega had a 3.2 GPA at Citrus, but that’s something he wants to improve upon as his academic and athletic careers move forward.

His quarterback joked about Vega showing up shirtless to most team functions, but Robert certainly put in the work to show off.

Vega’s character, hard word and perseverance have earned him a spot at Idaho State.

He’s one of a number of Citrus football players that are headed to the next level in 2023.

And they include Adam and Austin Urena, who will attend and compete for Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Arden Napier is headed to Rice University, Isaiah Loera will join Western Illinois, Darren Mercer committed to Northern Colorado, Alex Vasquez heads to Davenport University, Josh Stills is headed to Eastern New Mexico, Sean Elmore heads to Northern Illinois, and both Rayaan Shaw and Nathan Kneubuhler will play at South Dakota Mines.

Vega heads to Pocatello to play Division 1 football for the Bengals.

Idaho State competes in the Big Sky Conference, and their home games are played in the Holt Arena, which is an indoor, on-campus facility.

Directly below, I asked Vega to talk about the impact his family and teammates/coaches had on reaching this milestone, and at the bottom, there are quotes from quarterback Adam Urena, and head coach, Brandon Hayashi.

Said Robert Vega: “My mom (Yanira Vega) sacrificed everything to provide for me. She did double shifts at work, so I could attend football camps, pay for spirit packs, and the gas money that it took to get back and forth to school and practive every day at Citrus. I’m super grateful for everything she’s done, working hard, coming home late and providing so that I can chase my dreams. My mom is my hero and I want her to know how much everything she has done for me matters and just how much I love her.

I got my big break at Wilson during my junior year. We got a new coach named Daniel Morales, who believed in me and put me at wide receiver. Without that, I wouldn’t have known my potential as a receiver.

To my Citrus coaches and teammates, thanks for always being there for me. All the extra time together and being a family meant so much to me. I would highly recommend to high school seniors to come play at Citrus. The coaches are very understanding and want you to be the best player you can be and treat you like family. More importantly, they pushed us to be the best people we can be.”

The photo is of Robert Vega, and his mom, Yanira Vega:

Quotable:

Citrus coach, Brandon Hayashi: “Robert Vega is a high character, hard worker, and an amazing teammate. You have a guy that loves to compete. You have a guy that loves to master his craft, but is willing to do whatever it takes to take care of his teammates and grow consistently. This last year we asked him to play two positions, outside wide receiver, and midway through season, we asked him to play a little tight end, and he did an amazing job. His story from high school is awesome too. He started off as a Left tackle, matured into an outside wide receiver, and it helped in the dual role assignment we gave him. He’s a true competitor, and a true warrior, but above all of that, he’s an amazing teammate with high morals, and a charismatic guy!. We’re all super excited for him this up coming year at Idaho state.”

Citrus quarterback, Adam Urena: “Rob always brought the energy every single day. He always got the high energy flowing and it spread throughout the team. He always pulled up to practice with his shirt off it didn’t matter if we were watching film first or in the weight room it was off. But he was always ready to learn and willing to get better each and every day. He was willing to do whatever it took for the team to help us win, when they asked him to play a tight end role and still be at receiver, he jumped at the opportunity and was quick to learn the whole new position. He is a super tough guy, he played through injuries as the season went on, and never complained one bit. As a person, Rob is a great guy, and truly a friend for life.”

Robert Vega’s Stats at Citrus:
2022: 32 catches, 549 yards, six touchdowns
2021: 27 catches, 286 yards, one touchdown
Career: 59 receptions, 835 yards & seven touchdowns

2022 American Metro Standings:
Citrus (11-0, 5-0)
Santa Ana (5-5, 4-1)
Glendale (5-5, 3-2)
West LA (3-7, 1-4)
LA Southwest (0-10, 0-5)

Citrus College Records w/Vega:
2022: 11-0 overall, 5-0 in conference, 1-0 in playoffs
2021: 6-4, 4-1
2021-22: 17-4 overall, 9-1 in conference, 1-0 in playoffs