Issue Date: 10/13/08
Comets' San Diego supremacy no more
Palomar football team's 20-year, 29-game winning streak ended with loss to Grossmont
By Nigel Harris
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The loss snapped a 29-game, 20-year winning streak held by Palomar over San Diego opponents..
The loss was Palomar's first against a county opponent since they were defeated 32-25 by Southwestern Nov. 29, 1988 at Devore Stadium.
It was the first loss on the season as the Comets' record fell to 4-1 on the season and 0-1 in Pacific Coast Conference play.
"Fortunately it only counts as one, said Palomar Head Coach Joe Early. "I'd be surprised if anyone goes undefeated in Southern California".
The game quickly turned with Grossmont's Jamar Reid scoring a touchdown six minutes into the game. In the first quarter, the Griffins continued their dominance by scoring two more touchdowns, which set the tone for the rest of the game.
Palomar turned the ball over seven times, losing two fumbles and throwing five interceptions.
"We were prepared and nothing changed on game day, we knew all of the aspects they were bringing us," Free Safety Chris Boudreaux said. "We just didn't show up today. Palomar beat Palomar."
Three minutes into the second quarter, Palomar's offense appeared to show some light when Orenzo Davis had a 71-yard kickoff return. The gain helped put Palomar in position to score its only points of the day on a 37-yard field goal by Briton Forester.
"We got beat today every which way", Early said. "We never got anything going and you could feel [the game] slipping in every way on offense, defense and special teams,"
The Comets were looking to get off to a better start in the second half.
"We had a lot of fire coming into the second half," Boudreaux said. "We had never been down before, and we planned to capitalize on everything."
The fire was for nothing as the Griffins tacked on 13 more points in the third quarter.
"We didn't execute, as a unit" Palomar running back Tyler Lavea said. We were not ready, we didn't practice as we should have."
Comet quarterback Steven Carroll was in and out all game because of his performance. Carroll finished the game going 8-for-16 passing for 63 yards and two interceptions.
Palomar went through three quarterbacks in the game. In total, Palomar completed 12-of-30 passes for a total of 103 yards. The running game was at about the same level, rushing for a total of 155 yards. Deswin Dennis led the mediocre running attack with 55 yards on seven carries.
Grossmont's run offense contradicted Palomar's as the Griffins rushed for 317 yards and six rushing touchdowns. The Grossmont offense had 458 total offensive yards in the game.
"We need to obviously address some things, but I'm always looking for a positive," Early said. "I'll have to watch the film, but we didn't finger point today. That shows that we as a team have really matured"
The loss left Coach Early disappointed, but he seemed to found the lesson in it.
"With a game like this you learn from it," Early said. "Today I learned that its not who you play, so much as when you play them."
Since the last time the Comets lost in San Diego
-The fall of the Berlin Wall. (1989)
-The creation of the World Wide Web. (1989)
-Two George Bushes held office. (1989-1993, 2001-Present)
-San Diego Chargers make it to Super Bowl. (1995)
-Dolly the sheep was cloned. (1996)
-San Diego Padres make it to World Series. (1995)
-Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa broke Roger Maris' single season MLB home run record. (1998)
-Barry Bonds broke Mark McGwires single season home run record. (2001)
-Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's all time home run record. (2007)
-Barry Bonds named in the Mitchell Report with links to BALCO. (2007)
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