The Southwestern College football team has pulled into its midseason bye week with a spotless 5-0 record. The Jaguars’ latest win — 44-28 at second-ranked Citrus College last Saturday — made a statement and had to send tremors throughout Southern California.
Southwestern entered the non-conference game ranked third in the American Division and overcame an early 14-0 deficit to post the gutsy victory.
“It’s a great start to everything,” SWC head coach Ed Carberry underscored. “We had a lot of returners on defense and a lot of question marks on offense. It looks like a lot of those question marks have been answered in a positive way.
“When you have a lot of veterans who know what to do and are fundamentally sound, it makes things easier rather than teaching fundamentals to a less experienced group. It’s nice.”
The Jaguars now prep for American Mountain Conference play. Southwestern hosts Victor Valley College in an upcoming game on Oct. 15 and hosts Mt. San Jacinto College on Oct. 22. Both games are set for 6 p.m. starts at DeVore Stadium,
The Jags will play five conference games to conclude regular season play.
Comeback kids
Gino Mastandrea scored on an eight-yard pass from Brian Meyette and Devin Floyd scored on a one-yard run to give Citrus (3-1) a 14-0 first quarter advantage. But the visitors promptly reeled off five unanswered touchdowns to lead 35-14 midway through the third quarter.
“We opened the third quarter with a TD drive and never looked back,” Carberry said.
SWC’s offensive explosion began when Ryan Stokes caught a 65-yard scoring pass from quarterback Joe Joe Hudson 10 seconds into the start of the second quarter. Aeden Johnson’s extra-point conversion was good to trim the Jaguars’ deficit on the scoreboard to 14-7.
Marquis Williams then scored on a one-yard run and Johnson’s extra-point conversion was good to tie the score, 14-14, with 7:39 to play in the second quarter.
Southwestern then took a 21-14 halftime lead when Hudson passed 15 yards to Stokes with 5:44 to play in the quarter. The scoring drive only took two plays and covered 17 yards after being set up by a 58-yard punt return by Tajon Mondy. Johnson once again split the uprights on the extra-point conversion.
The Jags scored the opening two touchdowns of the second half to take command of the game.
Geremiah Satele scored on a 15-yard run to cap a five-play, 62-yard scoring drive with just 1:32 elapsed in the third quarter.
Stokes then caught his third TD pass of the game — this time a 34-yard completion from Mike Glass — to up Southwestern’s lead to 21 points following Johnson’s fifth PAT conversion of the game.
Citrus made a stab at getting back in the game when Mastandrea scored on a 14-yard pass from Meyette at 6:31 of the third quarter to trim the Jags’ lead to 35-21.
But the visitors added a two-point safety to extend their lead to 37-21 and then tacked on a three-yard touchdown run by Williams early in the fourth quarter to go up 44-21.
Citrus scored the game’s final touchdown on a one-yard run by Meyette with 7:18 remaining in the game.
Southwestern amassed 382 net passing yards and 148 net rushing yards for a total of 530 net yards.
Hudson completed 12 of 18 passing attempts for 225 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted once.
Glass completed 11 of 17 attempts for 144 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
Wide receiver Roosevelt Johnson completed one pass for 13 yards.
Satele led SWC with 55 yards on 10 carries with one touchdown while Williams rushed eight times for 48 yards and two TDs.
Isaiah Strayhorn rushed five times for 28 yards. Glass rushed six times for 14 yards.
Stokes had a huge night with 234 receiving yards on 11 catches and three touchdowns to earn state player of the week recognition.
Devin Reynolds also turned in a big performance with seven catches for 108 yards. Williams had three catches for 26 yards while Mondy caught three passes for 14 yards.
Johnson was perfect on six extra-point conversion attempts and averaged 55.9 yards on seven kickoffs.
The SWC defense naturally had a say in the outcome of the game. Four players led the team with seven tackles each: Demetrious Gibbs, Donell Pleasant, Moli Faalogo and Manny Machado. Sergio Ayon contributed six tackles while J.J. Dallas and Matt Secrest each collected five stops.
The Jaguars recorded six sacks and eight tackles for losses in front of the 432 fans assembled at Citrus Stadium in Glendora. Jaquille Bradford paced the visitors with 3.5 sacks and a safety while Hayden Herrington had 1.5 sacks.
Citrus’s defense recorded one sack and one fumble recovery.
Meyette passed for 260 yards with two touchdowns in the loss. Floyd was the leading ground-gainer for Citrus with 66 yards on 14 carries and one TD. Mastandrea had nine catches for 81 yards and two scores.
“The biggest thing about this season is our depth,” Carberry said. “We have five receivers who can go out and play but our eighth receiver had more than 100 yards in our last game. That’s awesome when you have a group like that.
“We have two good quarterbacks who play a lot. Every week it seems we have a different guy step up. Ryan Stokes had two monster games for us. Before that it was Iman Chatman-Dixon from Mater Dei Catholic and before that it was Marquis Williams.
Joe Joe Hudson started out the season red hot, then Mike Glass came in and tore it up. It’s nice having two quarterbacks who understand the system and who can step right in.”
Carberry said consistency will be the biggest factor in the team’s success during conference play.
“We all know these other teams very well. Most of the games against Victor Valley have been nail-biters. We are 5-0 but we have to go out and beat them.
“We have a week off to prepare for Victor Valley and we will work on fundamentals during that time. The only way to keep improving is to keep working on fundamentals. Our offensive line is young and it keeps improving by working on fundamentals. It’s those little things that make your team better.”
Who’s next?
Victor Valley’s Sam Taylor leads the conference with a 201.8 yards-per-game passing average while SWC’s Glass leads the conference with nine touchdowns.
Mt. San Jacinto’s Jomari Becnel leads the conference with a 121.8 yards-per-game rushing average and five touchdowns. SWC’s Satele ranks second in the conference with a 69.8 yards-per-game rushing average. He has also scored five touchdowns.
SWC’s Stokes leads the conference with 10 touchdowns and a 128.8 yards-per-game receiving average.
On defense, Mt. San Jacinto’s Lanai Jackson-Barrow is averaging 7.3 tackles per game while Mesa’s Brandan Hall has a conference-leading four sacks.
Community College
Football Scoreboard
American Mountain
Conference Standings
(Through Oct. 1)
Southwestern 0-0, 5-0
Mt. San Jacinto 0-0, 3-1
Victor Valley 0-0, 2-2
College of the Desert 0-0, 2-3
San Diego Mesa 0-0, 2-3
San Bernardino Valley 0-0, 1-4
Saturday, Oct. 1
Southwestern 44, Citrus 28
San Diego Mesa 41, L.A. Pierce 15
Antelope Valley 28, Mt. San Jacinto 14
Santa Barbara 47, College of the Desert 18
Allan Hancock 16, San Bernardino Valley 6
L.A. Valley 52, Victor Valley 21
Saturday, Oct. 8
L.A. Valley at Mt. San Jacinto, 1 p.m.
Citrus at Victor Valley, 1 p.m.
Southwestern (bye)
San Bernardino Valley (bye)
College of the Desert (bye)
San Diego Mesa (bye)
American Division Rankings
(Through Oct. 3)
1. L.A. Valley (4-0)
2. Southwestern (5-0)
3. Santa Barbara (3-1)
4. Citrus (3-1)
5. Mt. San Jacinto (3-1)
6. Antelope Valley (3-2)
7. (tie) East Los Angeles (3-2)
7. (tie) Pasadena City (3-2)
8. Victor Valley (2-2)
9. College of the Desert (2-3)
10. (tie) Allan Hancock (2-3)
10. (tie) West Los Angles (2-3)
Southwestern College Athletics Calendar
Week of Oct. 7 to Oct. 13
Men’s soccer
Tuesday, Oct. 11: Southwestern hosts Imperial Valley in a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference match, 3:15 p.m.
Women’s soccer
Friday, Oct. 7: Southwestern hosts Palomar in a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference match, 3:15 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 11: Southwestern travels to Mt. San Jacinto for a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference match, 3:15 p.m.
Men’s water polo
Saturday, Oct. 8: Southwestern meets Saddleback in the San Diego Miramar mini-tournament, 11 a.m.
Women’s Volleyball
Friday, Oct. 7: Southwestern travels to Imperial Valley for a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference match, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Oct. 12: Southwestern travels to Grossmont for a Pacific Coast Athletic Conference match, 5 p.m.
Men’s/Women’s Cross country
Saturday, Oct. 8: Southwestern at UCSD Triton Invitational, 8 a.m.
College Football Log
SDSU Aztecs to kick off Mountain West play Saturday against UNLV
San Diego State University’s football team will kick off defense of its Mountain West championship when it hosts the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Qualcomm Stadium.
The Aztecs are coming off their first loss of the season — 42-24 at South Alabama — last Saturday. SDSU entered the fourth quarter of that game with a 24-21 lead but lost for the first time in 371 days after surrendering three fourth quarter touchdowns. The non-conference loss ended the Aztecs’ 13-game winning streak.
SDSU does carry an 11-game conference winning streak into Saturday’s game against the Running’ Rebels (1-0 in conference, 2-3 overall). The Aztecs have not lost to a league opponent at home since Oct. 26, 2013.
UNLV defeated Fresno State, 45-20, in its last game.
By the numbers
SDSU’s Donnel Pumphrey leads the nation in rushing yards (750) and rushing yards per game (187.5). He ranks second nationally in all-purpose yards per game (206.0) and is tied for third with eight rushing touchdowns. He is the nation’s active leader in career rushing yards (5,022), touchdowns (58), rushing touchdowns (53), all-purpose yards (5,969) and 100-yard rushing games (25).
The Aztecs lead the series against the Rebels 16-9 and have won the last seven meetings in San Diego between the teams.
Game rewind
South Alabama was the only team to defeat the Aztecs at home last season, rallying to post a 34-27 overtime win, and the Jaguars continued to have SDSU’s number this season with last Saturday’s game played in Mobile, Ala.
South Alabama cemented its win on the strength of three unopposed touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Rashaad Penny scored on a 15-yard touchdown run to close the early gap to 7-6 (on a failed two-point conversion attempt by the Aztecs).
SDSU took a 16-14 halftime lead on 10 unanswered points in the second quarter. Pumphrey scored on a seven –yard run while John Baron II kicked a 34-yard field goal.
The Jaguars went back in front 21-16 before Aztec quarterback Chris Chapman found Kahale Waring on a 12-yard TD pass to push the visitors back on top 24-21 to end the third quarter.
Cole Garvin passed 20 yards to Josh Magee to restore the South Alabama lead to 28-24, followed by a Dami Ayoola one-yard run to increase the hosts’ lead to 35-28.
An 80-yard fumble return by Devon Earl with 4:17 to play in the game sealed the Aztecs’ loss.
Pumphrey rushed 25 times for 151 yards and also caught two passes for seven yards in the setback. Chapman completed 13 of 22 passing attmepts for 159 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
Linebacker Calvin Munson had nine tackles, one sack and one tackle for a loss. Derek Babiash recorded the first interception of his career.
The loss to South Alabama dropped the Aztecs from inclusion in two major college polls. SDSU had entered the game ranked 19th in the AP Top 25 poll and 24th in the weekly coaches poll.
Boise State (4-0) is now ranked 19th in both the AP Top 25 and coaches polls.
Aztec ironmen
Pumphrey, Munson, cornerback Damontae Kazee, left guard Nico Siragusa (Mater Dei Catholic) and Warrior Malik Smith all made their 31st consecutive starts for SDSU, the longest streak on the team.
Pumphrey, Siragusa and right tackle Daniel Brunskill each played in thier 44th consecutive game, the longest streak on the team.
Mountain West Conference
2016 Football Standings
Mountain West/West Division
Conference/overall records
Hawaii 1-0, 2-3
UNLV 1-0, 2-3
San Diego State 0-0, 3-1
Nevada 0-1, 2-3
Fresno State 0-1, 1-4
San Jose State 0-1, 1-4
Mountain West/Mountain Division
Conference/overall records
Air Force Academy 1-0, 4-0
Boise State 1-0, 4-0
Wyoming 1-0, 3-2
New Mexico 1-0, 2-2
Colorado State 0-1, 2-3
Utah State 0-2, 2-3
