The Southwestern College football team continues to chase the Victor Valley Rams in the American Mountain Conference standings, and while the Jaguars remain a game behind the front-runners, head coach Ed Carberry’s team displayed some genuine championship-caliber spirit in their latest game by overcoming a 10-point halftime deficit to down the host Mt. San Jacinto Screaming Eagles, 34-31, in a key conference game last Saturday.
Southwestern trailed Mt. San Jacinto, 24-14, before outscoring the hosts 20-7 in the second half to claim the important victory.
Both teams entered the game tied for second place in the conference standings.
“We’ve done everything I thought we could,” Carberry said in assessing the team’s showing this season. “The disappointing part was the Victor Valley game (a 34-31 SWC loss on Sept. 27). We’ve played phenomenal defense. We’ve played well except for two quarters against Victor Valley when, unfortunately, it didn’t work out.”
Still, the Jaguars remain in championship contention should the Rams drop one of their final three games; SWC also remains in contention for a post-season bowl berth.
Southwestern improved to 6-1 on the season, 3-1 in conference play, with the win over MSJ. However, the road doesn’t get any easier.
The Jaguars now travel to Palm Desert to face College of the Desert on Saturday, Nov. 1. Both teams are tied for second place in the conference standings.
The Roadrunners improved to 4-3 overall, 3-1 in conference play, after defeating visiting East Los Angeles, 35-21, last Saturday.
Kick-off for Saturday’s game is 6 p.m.
Victor Valley remained on top of the conference standings, improving to 3-0 in conference play, 7-0 overall, after recording a 55-0 victory against El Camino-Compton Center last Saturday.
The Rams are ranked first among Southern California American Division teams; SWC is ranked second, followed by No. 3 Santa Barbara (6-1), No. 4 Santa Monica (4-3) and No. 5 Glendale (6-1).
The Jaguars are entering the meat of their schedule and, so far, have passed the test.
Following the game against Desert, Southwestern will host San Bernardino Valley (4-3, 2-2) on Nov. 8 before closing out regular season play Nov. 15 at El Camino-Compton Center.
On the prowl
Last Saturday’s match-up in Hemet featured a passing duel between the Jags and Screaming Eagles. MSJ totaled 409 passing yards while SWC racked up 364 passing yards. The Screaming Eagles out-gained the Jaguars 510-474 in total offensive yards in absorbing the loss.
The game featured six lead changes, with MSJ leading 14-7, 21-14 and 31-27 at junctures throughout the game, while SWC led only once — 27-24 — before scoring what proved to be the game-winning touchdown with 4:45 left in the fourth quarter.
Montgomery alumnus Diego Rodriguez scored on a 36-yard touchdown run to counter a 30-yard run by the Eagles’ Eddy Williams as the teams settled into an early 7-7 standoff.
The hosts then took a touchdown lead on a 72-yard scoring pass from Zach Chesser to Williams to end the opening quarter. But the visitors scored the opening touchdown of the second quarter to tie the score, 14-all, as Tofi Paopao connected with Tony Jackson on a 16-yard touchdown pass.
MSJ would score the final 10 points of the quarter to lead 24-14 at halftime. Chesser hit Johnny Williams on a five-yard touchdown pass to bump the score to 21-14 in the hosts’ favor before Brett Cronenwett booted a 45-yard field goal with 2:48 left in the first half.
The Jaguars displayed their grit by scoring the opening two touchdowns of the second half. Southwestern narrowed the Eagles’ lead to 24-21 when Malik Kimbrough caught a 23-yard scoring pass from Luis Perez with 1:05 left in the third quarter. The Jags then took a three-point lead, 27-24, when Rodriguez scored his second rushing touchdown of the game with 13:09 left in the contest.
But the host team responded with a 61-yard run by Eddy Williams to go back in front, 31-27, with 12:24 to play.
Perez passed seven yards for Kevin Mills (nine catches, 29 yards) for the game-winning score to cap an eight-play, 22-yard scoring drive.
The Jaguars won despite coughing up three turnovers in the game (two interceptions, one fumble).
Rodriguez paced the SWC rushing game with 114 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns. He also had four catches for 49 yards, including one for 30 yards.
Perez (Otay Ranch) completed 22 of 28 passes for 186 yard with two touchdowns; Paopao was 14-for-21 with 121 passing yards, one touchdown and two picks.
Kimbrough led Jags receivers with 110 yards on nine catches, including a 57-yard catch. Jackson had 90 yards on five catches while Olympian grad Sergio Bailey chalked up 62 yards on six catches.
Dorsey Norris led SWC defensively with eight tackles, including two for losses, and one forced fumble, while Blake Wilson, Kalvin Waters, Estevan Rodriguez and Ray Clapper each were credited with a half-sack.
Halfway home
Southwestern reached the midway point of the season following a 37-13 conference win over East L.A. on Oct. 18. The Jaguars built a 30-0 halftime lead in that game.
Devonta Wilson got the Jags going with a one-yard touchdown run with 8:59 remaining in the first quarter. Teammate Travis Gardner then caught a 46-yard scoring pass from Paopao to increase the SWC lead to 13-0.
Southwestern tacked on 17 unanswered points in the second quarter as Flatau kicked a 39-yard field goal, Bailey caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from Paopao and Chris Kelly caught a 19-yard scoring pass from Perez.
East L.A. got on the scoreboard in the third quarter on a one-yard touchdown run by Joseph Garcia. However, the Jaguars responded as Paopao passed 37 yards to Kimbrough to increase the SWC lead to 37-7.
The visitors scored the only touchdown in the fourth quarter when Garcia passed 31 yards to Joshua Taylor.
The game proved to be an offensive slugfest. Southwestern amassed 406 yards in total offense while East L.A. rolled up 331 yards in total offense.
The Jaguars collected 335 passing yards and 71 net rushing yards.
Paopao completed 12 of 18 passes for 170 yards with three TDs while Perez completed 21 of 31 attempts for 165 yards and one TD. Neither SWC passer was intercepted in the game.
Bailey had eight catches for 117 yards.
For the hosts, Divanuel Flores and Trevor Kemp each made interception grabs while Mike Molina had two of the team’s five sacks. Kemp also had one sack, joining teammates Waters and Sean Fuimaono. Ty Stevens had nine tackles.
Next up
Vincent Guzman rushed for two touchdowns and passed for another in Desert’s win last weekend over East L.A. Guzman rushed for 123 yards on 20 carries while also tossing a halfback-pass for a touchdown. Antwon McGee was 19-for-34 for 169 yards with one touchdown and one interception in the passing department.
Desert out-gained East L.A. 466-385 in total yards.
American Mountain Conference
2014 Standings
(Through Oct. 25)
•Victor Valley 3-0, 7-0
•Southwestern 3-1, 6-1
•College of the Desert 3-1, 4-3
•San Bernardino 2-2, 4-3
•Mt. San Jacinto 2-2, 3-4
•East Los Angeles 1-3, 2-5
•San Diego Mesa 1-3, 2-5
•El Camino-Compton 0-4, 0-7
