By Mike Meraz

Marcus Clarke, No. 25, makes the first touchdown against Palomar (Billy Gedney)

By Mike Meraz

The Palomar College Comet’s offense was too much for RCC as the Tigers fell to record of 2-2 on Sept. 22.

The Tigers were very inconsistent as they faced off against the Palomar Comets in the non divisional game at Wheelock Stadium.

“Our offense was real inconsistent this week. We kind of fell apart on ourselves. It was just a real inconsistent game on our part” said starting quarterback Coy Glass of the 34-17 loss.

Glass, who was starting his first collegiate game, was a little surprised by the increase in the speed of the game from the high school level.

“I really didn’t know what to expect coming out. It’s definitely faster, but each game is different.” Glass said.

The Tigers came out sharp with a field goal on one of their first offensive possessions. After a Palomar touchdown, the Tigers rallied back with a score of their own, a four yard touchdown run by running back by Marcus Clark, a sophomore out of Martin Luther King.

The Comets quickly responded however, with a 5 yard touchdown run of their own which made it 14-10 going into the half.

The Tigers began some of their inconsistent play coming back from halftime. A costly interception on the Tigers first drive of the half turned into another three yard scamper by Palomar into the end zone.

The defense of the Tigers did flex their muscle when they made a crucial goal line stand at the one yard line that seemed to shift momentum back into the Tigers favor. However that defensive momentum never quite carried into the offense as the offense stumbled on nearly every drive after that.

One bright spot for the offense came in the second half when Glass hooked up on a 40 yard pass with receiver Robert Ah Sue to close the gap to 27-17.

Glass did a decent job going 11-27 for 135 yards one touchdown, and one interception.

The Tigers running game, which has been the workhorse of the offense averaging more than 170 yards a game, was slowed by a hounding Comets defense. The Tigers managed just 120 yards rushing behind Clark.

Palomar meanwhile gashed the Tiger defense for 404 yards of total offense, 203 yards rushing and 201 yards passing.

They also held the ball for an astounding 11 minutes in the fourth quarter, pounding the Tigers with their rushing attack and keeping the ball out of the offense’s hands.

The Tigers take their 2-2 record to Long Beach on Sept. 29 for their last tune up before division play begins.

The Tigers first divisional foe will be Saddleback College on Oct. 13.

“The most important thing is to learn from games like this. All the mistakes we make in a game, we correct the next week.” Glass said.