Jaguars let it all hang out with 8-3 record in 31-7 Patriotic Bowl win

The Grossmont College and Southwestern College football teams ended their respective seasons on a winning note after recording bowl game victories on Saturday.The Grossmont Griffins hung on to defeat West Los Angeles, 21-20, in the Beach Bowl played in Culver City while the Southwestern College Jaguars hosted the Moorpark Raiders in the Coaches Fight Cancer Patriotic Bowl, winning 31-7.

Both local San Diego County teams finished with winning records: Southwestern at 8-3 and Grossmont at 7-4. Neither team met during regular season play.

“It’s surreal feeling,” said Southwestern sophomore defensive back Dylan Eads, a Christian High School alumnus. “We had only one win my first year here (1-9 in 2023) and two last year (2-8 in 2024). This year we finished 8-3 and ended the season with a win.”

Let’s go Jags
Southwestern opened the season with a 6-0 record and climbed as high as No. 4 in the state rankings before injuries took their toll in the second half of the season to push the Jaguars down to a fourth-place finish in the National Southern Conference standings with a 4-3 conference record behind Saddleback (8-0, 9-1), El Camino (7-1, 8-2) and Riverside (5-2, 7-4).

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Brayten Silbor (Scottsdale, Ariz.) passed for one touchdown and rushed for two scores to lead the Jaguars’ offensive effort while SWC held the Raiders (6-5) in check with eight sacks and three interceptions.

Chula Vista High alum Franky Olmedo, a sophomore defensive end, led the defensive effort with four sacks while East County grads Josh Ferrara (Grossmont High) and Chance La Chappa (El Capitan High) each recorded picks while freshman defensive back Valentino Wedderburn II recorded a 48-yard interception return for a touchdown.

“I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished in the short time since I came on board 18 months ago,” second-year SWC head coach Oscar Rodriguez said. “We came one series away from qualifying for the state playoffs and we not only got to a bowl game but host it.
“With eight wins, we’ve laid a foundation for the program. The goal is to compete for a national championship.”

The Jags looked unstoppable to start the game. Silbor found redshirt sophomore Clint Thomas Jr. in the back of the end zone on a high floater for a 24-yard touchdown. San Diego Caver alum Jacob Cuevas (redshirt freshman) converted the extra-point attempt for a quick 7-0 lead.

Silbor doubled the lead on a seven-yard run.

The hosts weren’t as sharp to end the first half but capped a 12-play, 89-yard drive on a three-yard Silbor run with 57 seconds remaining in the third quarter to put some excitement back in their game for a 21-0 lead.

Wedderburn’s pick-six boosted the SWC lead to 28-0 with 1:55 elapsed in the fourth quarter. Angel Urban negated a Southwestern shutout with a 51-yard touchdown catch and run from Moorpark quarterback Sirawn Evans with 5:14 left in the game.

Cuevas closed out scoring with 1:14 left on a 31-yard field goal to make amends for a miss from 40 yards out just before halftime.
The Jags out-gained the Raiders 353-227 in offensive yards on 71 plays. The hosts claimed a decisive edge in rushing yards 183-49.

Silbor completed 12 of 23 passes for 170 yards with one touchdown and one interception while adding 16 yards on six rushing plays and two scores. Redshirt freshman Caleb Blocker rushed 20 times for 100 yards while freshman Mykel Malone gained 37 yards on 11 carries. Redshirt sophomore Jamerei Ashby-Phan carried the ball 10 times for 30 yards.

Thomas had five catches for 87 yards and one touchdown while sophomore receiver Nic Cline (Torrey Pines) had four catches for 33 yards. Sophomore receiver Tyler Becker (Del Norte) had one catch for 32 yards while redshirt freshman Israel Garcia-Rotolo had one catch for 18 yards.

The hosts punted just twice in the game.

Besides Wedderburn, Grossmont High School alum Josh Ferrara (sophomore defensive back) and El Capitan grad Chance LaChappa (redshirt defensive back) also had interceptions. Ferrera keyed the team with six tackles, including four unassisted stops, while freshman linebacker Niko Ta’a (Lincoln) registered five stops.

The Jaguars kept the Raiders’ offense off the field with eight sacks, including one each by redshirt freshman defensive lineman Elijah Dennis, sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Jones and redshirt defensive lineman Dax Monestime and a shared sack by Taa’a and redshirt freshman defensive lineman Ceejay Clavier (Olympian).

A back-to-back all-league defense player of the year, Olmedo was selected as the Jags’ player of the game.

“I wasn’t sure I could play the position with my size being 5-10, but I made my way through,” the Spartan grad said. “My mindset for this game was easy. I hadn’t had a sack since Week 5 and I wanted another one.”

He got four while terrorizing the Moorpark offensive line for negative 28 yards.

Blocker, who rushed for 965 yards and scored nine touchdowns on the season, was selected as the game’s MVP.
Silbor passed for 1,615 yards and 16 TD in nine games.

A four-year varsity and two-time all-league selection, Ferrara set the Foothillers school record with 11 interceptions.

“It took me a while to adjust to this level, — it was a lot faster, a lot more physical,” said Ferrara, who led the Jags with six tackles. “But I was blessed enough to have coaches to get me through it all.”

Blocker, who rushed for 965 yards and scored nine touchdowns on the season, was selected as the game’s MVP.

Silbor passed for 1,615 yards and 16 TD in nine games.

Sophomore receiver Josiah Jefferson, who led SWC with 444 yards in 10 games, did not play in the bowl game as well as sophomore offensive tackle Jonah Rodriguez (Madison).

Both appear headed to four-year universities with lucrative NIL contracts.

Jefferson is headed to USC on a full-ride scholarship while Rodriguez is being courted by the University of Colorado and North Carolina, whose head coach Bill Belichick is considered among the greatest of all time.

Jefferson is the younger brother of Eastlake alum and NFL standout Tony Jefferson.

“I can’t believe it, it’s so surreal,” Jefferson said. “It’s a blessing. I couldn’t have done it without all the support in my life, the coaching. I can’t wait to open the next chapter.”

Fun in the sun
The Beach Bowl game win avenged a 14-13 loss to West L.A. in conference play on Oct. 11.

Grossmont quarterback Melvin Spicer, a freshman from Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas, completed 14 of 19 passing attempts for 122 yards and one touchdown and tacked on 20 rushing yards and a five-yard scoring run.

Eastlake/Lincoln alumnus Ayden Billups rushed six times for 64 yards and scored on a 23-yard catch to get Grossmont on the scoreboard in the first quarter while El Cajon Valley alum Darick Dubose Jr. rushed for 106 yards and scored on a one-yard run in the third quarter.
Steele Canyon graduate Adrien Chargualaf led Grossmont defensively with 11 tackles while freshman Titus Toilolo (Madison) recorded six tackles, one sack and one fumble recovery.

Freshman kicker Tyler Haley, a West Hills grad, collected three kicking points in the contest and averaged 39.2 yards on five punts.

The Griffins powered out to a 21-7 lead in the game only to see the Wildcats bounce back with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to make the game close. West L.A. scored on a nine-yard run by Bryant Collins with 1:21 to play but Grossmont stopped the ensuing two-point conversion run attempt by Bryant to prevail by one point.

The Griffins won despite being out-gained 459-256 in total yards – 273-122 in passing yards and 186-134 in rushing yards.

Spicer finished the season with 2,938 passing yards and 26 touchdowns while leading the team with 10 rushing touchdowns. Billups, a sophomore, led the team’s receivers with 917 yards and eight touchdowns. Dubose, also a sophomore, keyed the Griffins with 567 rushing yards while scoring five touchdowns.

Chargualaf, a sophomore, led the team with 52 tackles.

Grossmont finished in fourth place in the American Pacific Conference standings with a 2-3 conference record behind Santa Monica (4-1, 8-3, San Bernardino Valley 4-1, 7-4) and West L.A. (3-2, 7-4).

Red and Black: Aztecs post 25-3 win over San Jose State

San Diego State upped its season record to 9-2, 6-1 in Mountain West play, its best start since 2021, following Saturday’s win over the Spartans at Snapdragon Stadium. Lucky Sutton scored his ninth touchdown of the season and rushed for 79 yards to extend his season total to 1,127 yards while Christian Washginton scored the fourth touchdown in his SDSU career, 10th overall, while rushing for 70 yards (168 yards in the last two games).

Quarterback Jayden Denegal (81 passing yards) also rushed for one score while place-kicker Gabriel Plascencia was good on a 35-yard field goal. Chris Johnson and Dwayne McDougle both recorded interceptions while Ryan Henderson Jr. logged two sacks (three tackles for losses.

It’s been a major turnaround for the Aztecs since finishing 3-9 last season.