Jaguars bitten by Bobcats in late 28-27 loss

After falling to No. 6 in the weekly statewide community college football poll, the Southwestern College Jaguars were in prime position to get back in the thick of the playoff race, if not essentially secure a berth in the upcoming state championship tournament, with a victory on Saturday against visiting Saddleback College, which had moved up to the No. 3 ranking spot.

Despite holding a pair of 10-point leads at 17-7 and 24-14, Southwestern was unable to close out the marquee National Southern division matchup as the Bobcats snatched a 28-27 victory from the apparent jaws of defeat on a touchdown with five seconds left on the game clock.

It was a brutal loss.

It was also costly as the Jags (7-2 overall) dropped to No. 9 in the state rankings. The top six teams in both the Northern and Southern California regions qualify for the state playoffs. The Jags are close to the cut-off point.

Saddleback (8-1 overall) amassed 458 yards in total offense compared to 277 for Southwestern. Still, the Jags managed to hang tough with four fumble recoveries, two sacks and two interceptions.

Southwestern took a 27-21 lead with 1:12 remaining in the game and looked in position to withstand a final rally by the Bobcats to close out what would likely be their biggest victory of the season.

Problem for the Jags: the Bobcats kept making big plays on third-and-long to extend drives.

Problem for the Jags: they didn’t take full advantage of their opportunities.

The Jaguars had the ball on the Saddleback two-yard line. Instead of moving forward for the game-clinching touchdown, the hosts went backyard on each succeeding play until their only real option was to settle for a 24-yard field goal.

That gave the Jags a six-point spread and opened the opportunity for the Bobcats to win with a touchdown and extra-point conversion.

The Bobcats didn’t waste the opportunity.

Saddleback got the ball back with 1:06 to play in the game. It took the Bobcats 1:01 to move down field and score.

Southwestern had done a good job defensively throughout the game but the hosts couldn’t contain the visitors when it mattered most as Saddleback quarterback Timmy Herr hit Parker Burckhardt in the corner of the end zone on a 17-yard pass to tie the score 27-all.

Jaguars players yelled and screamed from the sideline, as did their fans from the stands, in a bid to distract place-kicker Manuel Maganda on the extra-point conversion. But Maganda kept focus and pushed his kick down center for the one-point lead.

Five seconds were left on the clock, and the hosts were definitely up against it. The Jags took the kickoff, attempted several laterals, but ultimately were unable to progress farther down the field.

Stunned silence.

The loss overshadowed a number of positives for the hosts.

•Quarterback Dominic Duran competed 11 of 19 passing attempts for 99 yards and one touchdown.

•Caleb Blocker rushed 16 times for 165 yards with two touchdowns, including one on a 63-yard breakaway dash. He also logged a clutch 68-yard run to keep a drive alive.

•Titus White had three catches for 42 yards while Malachi Bean-Seay had three catches for 37 yards.

•Elias Johnson had one touchdown grab for seven yards.

•Steven Benson kicked two field goals, including a boomer that split the uprights from 50 yards with plenty more to spare. He also averaged 58 yards on five kickoffs and tacked on a 44-yard punt.

•Daniel Meadows was three-for-three on extra-point conversions.

•Aaron Lee averaged 42.3 yards on nine punts with a long of 59 yards and two touch backs.

•Kiram Dallas averaged 24 yards on two kickoff returns while Braxton Scott returned one kickoff 30 yards.

•Niko Ta’a and Brady Eads each recorded interceptions on defense. Ta’a led the team with 15 tackles, including 12 solo stops ,while Eads had 1.5 sacks.

•Damarrion White logged two of the Jaguars’ seven sacks overall.

•Valentino Wedderburn had five unassisted tackles, seven total, and one sack.

All went for naught.

Herr passed for 305 yards with two touchdowns while also rushing seven times for 27 yards with two scores. Burckhardt had 11 catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Francisco Martinez had five catches for 77 yards.

Southwestern will close out regular season play Saturday at Chaffey College (6-3) and then will wait for either an invitation to the state playoffs or a bowl game assignment.

Nov. 21 is set aside for the start of postseason play.

Riverside (9-0) remains the top-ranked team in the state, followed by No. 2 San Mateo (8-1), No. 3 Saddleback (8-1), No. 4 Mt. San Antonio (8-1),No. 5 Sierra (8-1), No. 6 Butte (7-2), No. 7 Golden West (7-2), No. 8 San Diego Mesa (7-2). 

Riverside is 6-0 in division play while Saddleback is 5-1. Mesa and Southwestern are both 4-2 while Chaffey is 3-3. El Camino and Palomar are both 1-5. Mt. San Jacinto is 0-6.