Petrich boots Mesa over No. 1 Riverside

By Ramon Scott
Updated: November 9, 2026

San Diego Mesa kicker Robert Petrich awaits the snap on Saturday. / Nicole Noel

2026 COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOOTBALL

No. 8 MESA 45, No. 1 RIVERSIDE 42

By Ramon Scott
EastCountySports.com

SAN DIEGO — Robert Petrich, from Granite Hills High, ended Riverside’s perfect season with a 33-yard field goal as time expired, and San Diego Mesa turned the upset into a home playoff game.

The eighth-ranked Olympians scored 24 points in the fourth quarter to beat the state’s No. 1 team, 45-42, Saturday night at Merrill Douglas Stadium.

Both teams finished 8-2 overall and 5-2 in the National Southern League, tied for third. Mesa drew the No. 4 seed and will host No. 5 Golden West on Saturday, Nov. 14.

Riverside tied the game with 47 seconds left. That was enough time for Tyson Line and the Olympians to move 59 yards and give Petrich a chance to win it.

Petrich made the kick and finished 6-for-6 on extra points, accounting for nine points in a game that turned on the last one he sent through the uprights.

Line, a Mira Mesa High graduate, completed 24 of 37 passes for 378 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score.

Braxton Sherley caught five passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns, and Helix product Isaiah “Pablo” Jackson ran for 95 yards on 17 carries, including the touchdown that put Mesa ahead with 2:49 remaining.

The Olympians had to take the lead twice. Monte Vista graduate Alexander Villanueva opened the scoring with a 6-yard run, and Line’s 1-yard touchdown made it 14-0 early in the second quarter. Riverside erased that lead, then answered Line’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Sherley with two scores in the final two minutes of the half to go up 28-21.

The Tigers stretched the lead to 35-21 in the third quarter on Nicholas Gaoa’s 4-yard run. Mesa had gone scoreless in the quarter, but Line brought the Olympians even with two touchdown passes in 1 minute, 40 seconds. He found Sherley from 25 yards with 10:56 left, then connected with former Helix tight end Kyzza Matovu for a 30-yard score at the 9:16 mark.

Riverside drove back into scoring range but missed a 21-yard field goal. Mesa went 80 yards the other way, with Jackson scoring from the 5 to put the Olympians ahead 42-35. Christopher Cooper, who threw for 371 yards and three touchdowns, answered with a 6-yard pass to Jewellz Parm before Mesa’s final drive.

Mesa finished with 564 yards and 34 first downs. Villanueva added 67 rushing yards and caught four passes. Colin McCann had five receptions for 83 yards. On defense, Kealii Sione led the Olympians with 12 tackles, Caedon Dorsey-McQueen had two sacks and Helix graduate Bradford Tharpe intercepted a pass.

Playoff lookahead: Mesa hosts Golden West (8-2), the National Central League champion, in a Southern California regional quarterfinal. The winner visits No. 1 seed Saddleback on Nov. 21. Riverside finished 9-1 and 6-1, sharing the league title with Saddleback, and received a first-round bye as the No. 2 seed.

NO. 9 SOUTHWESTERN 28, NO. 16 CHAFFEY 20

RANCHO CUCAMONGA — A blocked punt put Southwestern behind in the fourth quarter. Dominic Duran and the Jaguars got the lead back in six plays.

After Jayceon Johnson blocked an Aaron Lee punt and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown, Chaffey led 20-14 with 11:40 remaining. The Panthers missed the extra point, leaving Southwestern a chance to go ahead with a touchdown and a kick.

Kiram Dallas returned the ensuing kickoff 25 yards to the Southwestern 47. Facing fourth-and-7 at midfield, Duran found Christopher Villasenor for 15 yards. A Chaffey sideline interference penalty moved the ball to the 20, and two plays later Duran hit Dallas for the touchdown. Daniel Meadows made the extra point for a 21-20 lead with 10:01 left.

David Peevy intercepted a pass on Chaffey’s next possession, and the Jaguars took more than six minutes off the clock. Duran converted another fourth-and-7, this time finding Bobby Cameron for 16 yards to the Chaffey 15. Caleb Blocker ran in from there with 1:50 remaining. Chaffey reached the Southwestern 29 on its last drive, but Frankie Villabazo’s final pass fell incomplete.

The Jaguars went 3-for-3 on fourth down. The first conversion was a 6-yard touchdown pass to Villasenor that capped an 81-yard opening drive. Duran added a 21-yard touchdown pass to Blocker for a 14-0 lead before Chaffey scored 20 straight points.

Duran finished 24-of-39 for 287 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. Villasenor led Southwestern with six catches for 78 yards, Malachi Bean-Seay added six for 66, and Blocker totaled 118 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. Kylan Studebaker led the Jaguars with seven tackles, including a fourth-and-1 stop at the Southwestern 17 early in the fourth quarter.

Playoff lookahead: The Jaguars travel to Mt. San Antonio (9-1), which went 7-0 to win the National Northern League. The winner visits No. 2 Riverside on Nov. 21. Riverside beat Southwestern 38-28 on Oct. 17, so a quarterfinal victory would give the Jaguars a rematch.

MT. SAN JACINTO 40, PALOMAR 36

MENIFEE — Palomar took the lead twice in the fourth quarter, the last time on Brady Powell’s 2-yard touchdown run with 3:50 remaining, but Mt. San Jacinto answered with a 75-yard drive to win 40-36 Saturday night at HCN Bank Stadium.

Julian Silva capped the 12-play drive with a 12-yard touchdown run with 39 seconds left. Camren Williams intercepted a pass on Palomar’s final possession, handing the Comets their second straight loss on a touchdown in the final minute.

Noah Schuback threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns, including scoring passes of 66 and 31 yards to Princeton Anderson, who finished with six catches for 124 yards. Treyson Ikeomu caught a 34-yard touchdown pass and threw the two-point conversion that put Palomar ahead 29-26 with 10:15 left.

Silva answered with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Kee-Esoul Pitchford before the Comets went 65 yards in five plays to retake the lead on Powell’s run. Maurice Howard led Palomar with 84 rushing yards on 21 carries, and Jonah Toland caught four passes for 85 yards.

Palomar led 14-9 at halftime before the Eagles scored two third-quarter touchdowns. Bowyn Cannon’s 2-yard run brought the Comets within 23-21 late in the third, setting up a fourth quarter with four lead changes.

Matthew Gutierrez and Kamaka Lorenzo led Palomar with nine tackles apiece, and Santiago Singh-Kim returned an interception 31 yards. Mt. San Jacinto’s James Trevino caught seven passes for 119 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown, and made field goals of 30 and 32 yards.

Both teams finished 3-7 overall and 1-6 in the National Southern League. Palomar’s final two losses, to Chaffey and Mt. San Jacinto, came by a combined five points.