Pictured L-R: Mt. SAC & Citrus football coaches, Bob Jastrab & Brandon Hayashi

College Football

By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor

For decades, the Mt. San Antonio College football program has set the bar for excellence in both the San Gabriel Valley and the state of California.

And 2023 is no different.

The Mounties are 160-43 during the Bob Jastrab era, which comes out to a nearly 80-percent success rate.

Jastrab, in his 18th year at the helm, was the first community college football coach in California to reach the 100-win plateau in 10 years or less.

Jastrab’s teams have won two community college national championships, three state, six Southern California, 11 conference and 11 bowl game titles.

As a player, Jastrab earned all-American status at Mt. Sac (1982-83) before earning a scholarship to the University of Miami of Florida.

You’d never know it because he doesn’t talk about himself, but Jastrab played on the defensive line for Jimmy Johnson and competed in the Fiesta and Sugar Bowl games.

The Mounties enter Saturday’s showdown 3-0, and they’ve defeated Mt. San Jacinto, Ventura and Allan Hancock by a combined margin of 130-52.

Over on the south or home sidelines on Saturday night will stand the underdogs.

But make no mistake about it, the Citrus College football program has never been in a better place.

In 2022, the Owls secured their first 11-0 season in school history.

It was capped by a 31-20 victory at Mt. San Jacinto in the American Conference championship game.

The Owls have a young and popular head coach in Brandon Hayashi, who played for Ron Ponciano at Citrus.

Hayashi is lauded for giving undersized players a chance that others might not, and in many cases, it’s paid huge dividends.

Citrus is also 3-0, and they’ve claimed victories over Canyons, Mt. San Jacinto and Grossmont, 86-50, and that includes two road wins.

The Owls haven’t lost a football game in 693 days, which dates all the way back to October 23rd of 2021 (Santa Ana College, 49-13).

And their current 17-game win streak leads all JC football programs in California.

Just the fact that Hayashi and Citrus sought a showdown with Jastrab and Mt. SAC signals clearly that the Owls aren’t satisfied with just being really good.

This program wants to be great, and to reach that status, one has to take on a perennial state power like Mt. SAC.

How do they match up statistically?

The Mounties and Owls have one common opponent.

In week one, Mt. SAC defeated visiting Mt. San Jacinto, 23-7, and the following Saturday, Citrus claimed a 16-7 road victory at MSJC.

On paper, MSAC seems to have a sizeable advantage on the offensive side of the ball.

The Mounties lead in points scored (130-86), total offense (515-305) and passing yards per game (211-145).

But the most concerning stat differential from the Citrus sidelines has to be the 304-160 rushing yards advantage that Mt. SAC has over the Owls.

Nicholas Floyd has carried the ball 28 times for 320 yards and two TD’s for the Mounties, and Samuel Green has gained 287 yards on 37 carries, which includes three TD’s.

Floyd and Green combine to average 203 yards per game.

Citrus has a two-headed monster of its own, as Kannon Katzer and Tayvonne Miller combine for nearly 140 yards per game.

Miller has 189 yards on 45 carries and four TD’s, including two last week at Grossmont.

Katzer has carried the ball 40 times for 220 yards and one TD.

The X-factor if Citrus were to pull off the upset would be in the passing game.

Last year, the Adam Urena-led offense averaged 270 yards per game through the air, and he set a school record with 33 TD’s.

Fast forward to 2023 and the Owls average 145 yards passing, and three players have combined to throw three TD’s.

And one of the three includes receiver Jesse Carmona, who, on the first offensive play of the season, caught a Jack Benson pass, and threw a 60-yard TD pass to Maurice Hampton in the 34-28 victory over Canyons.

Carmona (12 catches for 164 yards), Miller (six for 90 yards & one TD) and Hampton (four for 89 & one score) have led the Citrus receiving corps thus far.

In three games, Mt. SAC’s Alex Flores has completed 54-of-79 for 556 yards, and he’s thrown four TD passes to just one interception.

For Mt. SAC, Dedrek Taylor-Akins (eight catches for 117 yards & two TD’s), Samuel Green (seven for 103), Anthony Felton (10 for 90 & one score), Tremont Brewer (seven for 98), and Antwan Ficklen (10 for 65) have been key to Flores and the Mounties.

What gives Citrus a fighter’s chance to upend the Mounties?

It starts with their defense.

The Owls have ridden the back of their defense to three consecutive wins in 2023, and of the 50 points surrendered thus far, at least 14 have come off of short-field situations where a turnover put their backs against the wall.

In last week’s win in San Diego, the defense produced a pick-six from Dominic Garcia, and a safety.

The Owls have four different players who have intercepted a pass, including Drew Merrill, who has two picks.

Additionally, Kosuke Kayahara has been reliable on extra points and field goal attempts.

Obviously, the boys from Glendora want to defeat their counterparts from Walnut.

But win or lose, the Owls are going to be better prepared for what they hope is a defense of their conference championship from 2022, and potentially earning another postseason game by battling a program like Mt. SAC.

The kickoff is set for 6 pm at Citrus College.

By the Numbers:
Records: MS (3-0); C (3-0)
Points Scored: MS (130); C (86)
Points Allowed: MS (52); C (50)
Points Scored Per Game: MS (43); C (29)
Points Allowed Per Game: MS (17); C (17)
Passing Yards Per Game: MS (211); C (145)
Rushing Yards Per Game: MS (304); C (160)
Total Offense (Yards) Per Game: MS (515); C (305)
Yards Allowed Per Game: MS (318); C (212)
Mt. SAC Road Record: (1-0)
Citrus Home Record: (1-0)
CCCAA State Ranking: MS (3); C (7)

Mt. SAC Schedule-Results:
9/2: MSAC 23, Mt. San Jacinto 7
9/9: MSAC 65, Ventura 24
9/16: MSAC 42, Allan Hancock 21

Citrus Schedule-Results:
9/2: Citrus 34, Canyons 28
9/9: Citrus 16, Mt. San Jacinto 7
9/16: Citrus 36, Grossmont 15