No. 1 Tigers stand in way of Jaguars’ goal

By Ramon Scott
Updated: October 15, 2026

Kiara "Kia" Creta of Riverside, kicks a 48-yard field goal against Palomar.

2026 COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Unbeatens collide as Jaguars challenge No. 1 Riverside

Southwestern visits top-ranked Riverside, No. 4 Mesa hosts No. 5 Saddleback, and Palomar seeks its first league victory; Grossmont rests after Mora’s long-distance highlight

By Ramon Scott
EastCountySports.com

Southwestern College has reached the kind of game an unbeaten start is supposed to earn.

The third-ranked Jaguars visit No. 1 Riverside City College on Saturday in a meeting of California’s only remaining unbeaten National Division teams, putting a share of first place in the National Southern League directly on the line.

Both teams are 6-0 overall and 3-0 in league heading into the 2 p.m. kickoff on Riverside’s homecoming afternoon.

That would be enough to headline most weekends. San Diego County’s community college schedule also includes another top-five showdown, with No. 4 San Diego Mesa hosting No. 5 Saddleback at 6 p.m.

Palomar hosts No. 20 El Camino at the same hour, while Grossmont has a bye following its 44-13 victory at West Los Angeles.

Four of the state coaches poll’s top five teams reside in the National Southern League. All four meet Saturday.

NO. 3 SOUTHWESTERN AT NO. 1 RIVERSIDE
Saturday, Oct. 17, 2 p.m. — Riverside
Southwestern: 6-0, 3-0; Riverside: 6-0, 3-0

Southwestern brings the state’s longest current winning streak, eight games, into its most demanding assignment of the season.

The Jaguars have earned their opportunity through different kinds of victories, from their season-opening shutout at College of the Canyons to a triple-overtime escape against Mesa and last Thursday’s 24-10 victory over Palomar.

Against the Comets, Caleb Blocker supplied touchdown runs of 14 and 42 yards, while Southwestern’s defense allowed only a field goal to Palomar’s offense. The Comets’ touchdown came on a return following a mishandled field-goal attempt.

That defensive discipline becomes particularly important against Riverside, which scored 60 points against Palomar earlier this season.

Jaguars quarterback Dominic Duran enters the weekend averaging 238.2 passing yards per game, fourth among the leaders displayed by the SCFA. His ability to create explosive plays complements Blocker’s running and gives Southwestern a way to answer when opponents score.

Duran connected with Titus White for a catch-and-run touchdown covering more than 80 yards against Palomar. Michael Moore added a 51-yard reception on Southwestern’s first offensive play.

The Jaguars will need those threats Saturday, but sustaining possessions could be just as valuable. An offense that repeatedly puts its defense back on the field would make an already difficult Riverside assignment considerably harder.

Southwestern also received two fourth-quarter sacks from Carson Curtis against Palomar, the kind of finishing pressure that could help prevent Riverside from extending drives.

The coaches poll presents this as No. 1 against No. 3. The computer forecast sees a more substantial gap.

The computer projection favors Riverside, 41-21.

That forecast establishes the size of the challenge. The Jaguars’ unbeaten record establishes why they have earned the chance to take it.

RIVERSIDE’S RECORD-SETTING KICKER

The Tigers’ special teams also bring a noteworthy special teams star into the mix.

Kiara “Kia” Creta made a 47-yard field goal during Riverside’s 60-37 victory at Palomar on Sept. 26. According to research cited by Riverside in the 3C2A game report, it was the longest successful field goal by a woman in 3C2A football history.

Creta scored eight points in that victory, another record for a woman in 3C2A football, according to the same report. Her long-distance kick deserves a place alongside the offensive highlights when assessing the unbeaten Tigers.

NO. 5 SADDLEBACK AT NO. 4 SAN DIEGO MESA
Saturday, Oct. 17, 6 p.m. — San Diego Mesa
Saddleback: 5-1, 2-1; Mesa: 5-1, 2-1

Mesa and Saddleback enter Saturday separated by one point in the state coaches poll.

The Olympians received 309 points in the latest voting, moving up from sixth to fourth. Saddleback remained fifth with 308.

Their league position is even closer: both are 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the National Southern League, one game behind Riverside and Southwestern.

Saturday offers the winner a chance to remain close to the top while the two unbeaten leaders settle their own meeting.

Mesa arrives with considerable offensive momentum after scoring 45 unanswered points in a 52-27 victory at El Camino.

Freshman quarterback Diesel Taylor accounted for five touchdowns, throwing three scoring passes and running for two more as the Olympians erased a 21-7 deficit.

Taylor leads the SCFA’s displayed passing leaders with 259.8 yards per game and 18 touchdown passes. He also has six rushing touchdowns.

Receiver Colin McCann, who caught a 43-yard touchdown against El Camino, averages 87.5 receiving yards per game.

Mesa’s comeback also featured a 96-yard kickoff-return touchdown by Dameian Watkins Jr., a reminder that the Olympians can change a game before their offense takes the field.

Saddleback had its own special-teams answer in last Thursday’s 30-23 victory over Mt. San Jacinto.

After the Eagles scored on their second offensive play, Jagger Blauwkamp returned the ensuing kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown.

The Bobcats later built a 30-7 lead before holding off a fourth-quarter rally.

Saddleback generated 458 yards of offense, possessed the ball for 47 minutes, 43 seconds, and intercepted four passes. Zion Wolf, Jake Minter, Tristan Real and Jake Ruiz each had an interception.

Those takeaways will concern Mesa. So will Saddleback’s ability to keep an opposing offense on the sideline.

The Bobcats also accumulated 195 penalty yards, however, leaving considerable room for improvement against a Mesa team capable of turning extra opportunities into touchdowns.

The computer projection anticipates the closest of the three local games: Mesa, 31-28.

NO. 20 EL CAMINO AT PALOMAR
Saturday, Oct. 17, 6 p.m. — Palomar
El Camino: 3-3, 1-2; Palomar: 2-4, 0-3

Palomar’s defense kept the Comets within reach of unbeaten Southwestern. This week, the offense needs to help finish the job.

The Comets return home after a 24-10 loss in which their offense did not reach the end zone.

Carson Beard supplied a 36-yard field goal, and Nico Weiss returned a loose ball for a touchdown following Southwestern’s disrupted field-goal attempt.

Palomar trailed only 17-10 at halftime, but could not score after the break and suffered its fourth consecutive defeat.

El Camino arrives with its own defensive concerns after surrendering 45 unanswered points to Mesa.

The Warriors also demonstrated their offensive potential in that game, building an early 21-7 advantage before the Olympians took control.

For Palomar quarterback Noah Schuback, the assignment is to turn defensive stops into sustained possessions and give the Comets more opportunities near the goal line.

On defense, Nash Cooper enters the weekend atop the SCFA’s sack leaders with 5.5. His pressure could be especially valuable against an El Camino passing attack whose M. Eugenio has thrown 15 touchdown passes.

The computer projection favors El Camino, 33-28.

GROSSMONT: A BYE, AN AWARD AND SOME KICKING HISTORY

Grossmont has the weekend off, but freshman kicker Lucas Mora supplied a reason to keep the Griffins in the conversation.

Mora earned player-of-the-week recognition after his 58-yard field goal helped punctuate Grossmont’s 44-13 victory at West Los Angeles.

The kick came on an untimed down to end the first half after a West L.A. penalty moved the Griffins five yards closer. Mora also handled Grossmont’s punting and produced three touchbacks on three kickoffs.

The historical comparison reaches back four decades: Southwestern’s Tyler Ackerson made a 59-yard field goal against Imperial Valley in 1985, although local folklore has suggested that the former Aztecs’ kicking star may not have had a game-legal football on that now-infamous boot.

Mora has certainly given the county’s longtime football observers a reason to dust off the kicking files.

His effort is one yard short of Ackerson’s documented mark and the second-longest successful kick located in county community college football.

The current SCFA standings show Grossmont at 6-2 overall and 3-0 in the American Pacific League, with forfeits included. The Griffins next face San Bernardino Valley, which is 6-1 overall and 2-0 in league in those standings.

The bye provides a pause before another consequential league matchup—and a little extra time to appreciate a kick from 58 yards.

EastCountySports.com