Taylor powers Mesa’s 45-point surge

By Ramon Scott
Updated: October 9, 2026

San Diego Mesa QB Diesel Taylor / Nicole Noel

2026 COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOOTBALL

SAN DIEGO MESA 52, EL CAMINO 27

ECS Staff Report

TORRANCE — A two-touchdown deficit turned into a runaway road victory for San Diego Mesa College on Thursday night.

Freshman quarterback Diesel Taylor accounted for five touchdowns, and the Olympians scored 45 unanswered points to defeat El Camino, 52-27, in a National Southern League game at Murdock Stadium.

Mesa improved to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in league, rebounding from its triple-overtime loss to Southwestern before the bye week. El Camino dropped to 3-3 and 1-2.

The Olympians trailed 21-7 early in the second quarter before Taylor directed a comeback that carried Mesa to a 24-21 halftime lead and continued into the second half.

Taylor threw touchdown passes to Braxton Shirley, Colin McCann and Kyzza Matovu, and scored twice on the ground, according to David Rice’s game report in the Daily Breeze.

Mesa’s first answer came on special teams.

After El Camino scored on its opening possession, Dameian Watkins Jr. returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, tying the game at 7-7.

The Warriors struck twice early in the second quarter to move ahead by 14, but Taylor brought the Olympians back.

His 19-yard touchdown pass to Shirley cut the deficit to seven. Taylor then scored on an 18-yard run, tying the game at 21-21 with 3:56 remaining in the half.

Lorenzo Flores added a 32-yard field goal, giving Mesa its first lead before intermission.

Taylor kept the offense rolling after the break. He connected with McCann for a 43-yard touchdown, added a 1-yard scoring run, and found Matovu for an 18-yard touchdown that extended Mesa’s lead to 45-21 with 12:42 remaining.

The Olympians pushed the margin to 52-21 before El Camino ended the scoring streak on Will Ford’s 2-yard touchdown run with 1:25 left.

Mesa entered the game ranked No. 6 in California in the Sept. 29 coaches poll. Thursday’s comeback secured its fifth victory in six games and its second National Southern League win.