No. 8 Golden West looks to go 2-0 in league play, travels to No. 22 Citrus

No. 8 state-ranked Golden West College (3-1, 1-0 NCL) will hit the road for the second straight week when the Rustlers travel to face No. 22 Citrus College (2-2, 0-1 NCL) on Saturday, Oct. 5. Kickoff for the National Central League game is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Citrus Stadium in Glendora.

TICKETS | $12 general admission, $8 Seniors, Military, Faculty, Staff, & Children (5-12) and are available online in advance the Citrus Athletics Tickets page.

LIVE STREAM/STATS | No official live stream has been announced yet by host Citrus. Live play-by-play stats will be available online at the GWC Athletics website.

RANKINGS | After last week's win, Golden West remained at the No. 8 position in this week's California Community College Football Coaches Association (CCCFCA) State Poll. Citrus fell from No. 15 to No. 22 after its Week 4 loss to Mt. SAC.

LAST WEEK | Golden West opened National Central League play last Saturday with a huge 49-7 rout at East Los Angeles College.

GWC Quarterback Will Burns tossed three touchdown passes while the Golden West offense totaled 482 yards. The Rustlers led 28-0 at halftime and were up 49-0 midway through the fourth quarter when East Los Angeles finally scored.

Golden West rushed for a season-high 294 yards in the game, led by Kendric Thomas with 6 carries for 107 yards. He had a huge 66-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

While the Rustlers' offense erupted for 5 touchdowns on the day, the GWC defense did its part by scoring a pair of TDs on its own while limiting East Los Angeles to just 102 yards of offense.

Ryan Rizk recovered an East Los Angeles fumble in the Huskies' end zone for a touchdown and Simarion Hughes had a 31-yard interception return for a TD.

ABOUT CITRUS | The Owls are coming off a 41-20 loss at No. 1 state-ranked Mt. San Antonio College last Saturday. Citrus trailed 21-0 early in the second quarter but rallied for 20 unanswered points to get within one, 21-20, with 4:35 to go in the third.

But the Mounties responded with 3 straight rushing touchdowns to close out the game and secure their victory.

Citrus is averaging 361 yards per game on offense this season, including 204 yards rushing. Jamahl Wilson leads the Owls with 447 yards rushing and 5 TDs on 53 carries (8.4 yards per carry).

LAST YEAR | In Huntington Beach, Golden West rallied for 14 points in the fourth quarter to pull out a 31-21 win over the Owls.

GWC led 17-6 at halftime before Citrus surged in the third to take a 21-17 advantage. But Ralph Ekechi ran for a go-ahead 13-yard touchdown early in the fourth and Jae'Sean Pete scored his second rushing TD minutes later to ice the Golden West victory.

UP NEXT | The Rustlers play host to Orange Coast College in the annual "Battle of the Bell" rivalry game on Thursday, Oct. 17. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.