Jaguars knock down Eagles in road win

2026 COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOOTBALL

No. 12 SOUTHWESTERN 40, No. 25 MT. SAN JACINTO 12

Jaguars rush for 204 yards, produce another defensive TD and receive second straight kickoff-return score from Kiram Dallas

By Ramon Scott
EastCountySports.com

MENIFEE — Southwestern entered National Southern League play prepared for its first serious examination of the season.

The Jaguars turned it into another decisive victory.

Elias Johnson rushed for two touchdowns, Damarrion White returned an interception for a score and Kiram Dallas brought back the second-half kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown as No. 12 Southwestern rolled past No. 25 Mt. San Jacinto, 40-12, Saturday night at HCN Bank Stadium.

Southwestern scored the game’s first 26 points, led 26-6 at halftime and immediately removed any possibility of an Eagles comeback with Dallas’ second kickoff-return touchdown in as many weeks.

The Jaguars improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in National Southern League play, giving head coach Oscar Rodriguez his 13th victory in the program’s last 16 games. Mt. San Jacinto fell to 2-2 and 0-1.

Southwestern rushed for 204 yards, converted 9 of 13 third downs and controlled the football for 34:05. Its defense limited the Eagles to 213 total yards, intercepted a pass for a touchdown and held MSJC to 3-of-14 efficiency on third down.

Quarterback Dominic Duran completed 13 of 17 passes for 180 yards without a turnover. He did not throw a touchdown because Southwestern never needed him to force the football into the end zone.

The running game, defense and special teams handled that work.

Southwestern has outscored its first four opponents 153-36. The Jaguars now return home for the game the first month of the season has been building toward—an unbeaten showdown against No. 7 San Diego Mesa.

Before that county collision, Southwestern made a ranked opponent look overmatched on its own field.

JAGUARS TAKE CONTROL WITHOUT BALL

Southwestern’s first points arrived before its offense took a snap.

Steven Benson’s opening kickoff pinned Mt. San Jacinto at its 2-yard line. The Eagles moved to the 21 but attempted to run with punter Bailey LeBrun on fourth-and-6.

Southwestern buried the play for a 21-yard loss and a safety, taking a 2-0 lead with 12:10 remaining in the first quarter.

Dallas returned the ensuing free kick 35 yards to the MSJC 40, giving the Jaguars their first possession in plus territory.

The drive appeared threatened by a holding penalty and a third-and-18. Duran responded by finding Bobby Cameron for 44 yards, moving the ball to the 4.

Johnson scored on the next snap, and Southwestern led 9-0 less than six minutes into the game.

The sequence established almost every theme that followed.

Southwestern’s coverage unit created field position. Its defense and special teams generated points. Dallas supplied a productive return, and Duran converted a difficult down with an explosive completion.

Mt. San Jacinto then drove to the Southwestern 20, but LeBrun missed a 37-yard field goal.

The Jaguars answered with an 80-yard touchdown drive.

Caleb Blocker opened it with a 14-yard run. Duran completed passes of 20 yards to Dallas and 35 yards to Jeremiah Colbert, and Blocker finished the possession with a 5-yard touchdown run.

Southwestern led 16-0 after one quarter.

WHITE TURNS PRESSURE INTO POINTS

The Jaguars extended the margin with Daniel Meadows’ 29-yard field goal midway through the second quarter.

Forty-three seconds later, the defense scored.

On third-and-9 from the MSJC 26, quarterback Julian Silva attempted to throw through Southwestern’s pressure. The pass was deflected, and White intercepted it at the 20.

White completed the play himself, returning the interception for a touchdown and a 26-0 advantage with 5:19 remaining before halftime.

The score was Southwestern’s fourth defensive touchdown of the season.

It also ended Silva’s evening.

Silva completed 10 of 18 passes for 72 yards before Seth Bolender replaced him. Bolender led a late scoring drive and found Khalil Lang for a 19-yard touchdown with 39 seconds remaining in the half.

The conversion failed, leaving Southwestern ahead 26-6.

White finished with four tackles in addition to the interception. Niko Ta’a led the Jaguars with five tackles, while Ceejay Clavier and Rodney Ondari recorded sacks.

Southwestern’s defense did not pile up sacks at the same rate it had during the first three weeks, but it continued to dictate situations.

Mt. San Jacinto managed only 11 first downs and averaged 3.9 yards per play. The Eagles passed 30 times for 120 net yards—only four yards per attempt—and failed on 11 of their 14 third downs.

A week after rushing for a program-record 396 yards and scoring 71 points against L.A. Southwest, MSJC finished with 93 rushing yards and 12 points.

The level of competition changed.

So did the result.

DALLAS DOES IT AGAIN

Mt. San Jacinto went to halftime needing a fast start.

Dallas ended that possibility in 14 seconds.

The sophomore took the second-half kickoff at the Southwestern 10, found his lane and raced 90 yards for a touchdown. Meadows’ extra point pushed the lead to 33-6.

It marked the second consecutive week in which Dallas returned the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown.

He went 93 yards against Long Beach. He covered 90 against Mt. San Jacinto.

Two second-half kickoffs. Two touchdowns. A combined 183 yards.

Dallas finished Saturday with 156 yards on three kickoff returns, an average of 52 yards per attempt. He also caught two passes for 22 yards.

Through four games, Dallas leads the SCFA with two kickoff-return touchdowns.

The timing has made both returns more significant than ordinary special-teams highlights.

Long Beach had reduced Southwestern’s lead to 14-6 before Dallas opened the second half with his 93-yard return. Mt. San Jacinto had scored immediately before halftime to create at least the possibility of renewed momentum.

Dallas took that possibility away.

Southwestern’s special teams also contributed a safety, two productive punt returns from Jamil Kassab, Meadows’ field goal and five extra points.

The Jaguars have now scored through offense, defense and special teams in consecutive games.

DURAN DOES NOT NEED A TOUCHDOWN PASS

Duran entered the game as one of the most efficient quarterbacks in California community college football.

Nothing about Saturday damaged that standing.

He completed 76.5 percent of his passes, averaged 10.6 yards per attempt and did not throw an interception. His longest completion—the 44-yarder to Cameron—converted third-and-18 and set up Southwestern’s first offensive touchdown.

Duran also connected with Colbert for 35 yards, Dallas for 20 and Malachi Bean-Seay for 18.

Nine Jaguars caught at least one pass.

Cameron led the receiving totals with his lone 44-yard reception. Colbert caught two passes for 41 yards, Dallas added 22 and Bean-Seay contributed 18.

Duran entered the week leading California National Division quarterbacks in efficiency and yards per attempt while ranking second in completion percentage. He completed Saturday with a season efficiency rating listed at 197.4, an average of 12 yards per passing attempt and a 75.6-percent completion rate.

Those numbers usually describe a quarterback carrying his offense.

Southwestern has not asked Duran to do that.

The Jaguars have surrounded him with a deep backfield, multiple receiving options, an effective offensive line and a defense that repeatedly produces favorable field position.

Against MSJC, Duran did not need a touchdown pass to control the game. He moved the chains, created explosive gains when the Eagles crowded the line and protected the football.

Southwestern converted 69 percent of its third downs largely because Duran continued making the correct decision.

THREE BACKS, ONE RESULT

Southwestern’s backfield again operated as a group.

Jamar Johnson carried 16 times for 59 yards, Elias Johnson gained 51 yards on nine attempts and Blocker added 46 yards on 10 carries.

Elias Johnson scored twice. Blocker scored once. Jamar Johnson handled the largest workload and helped consume the final 10 minutes.

Kavien Ford added 25 yards on four carries, and Duran gained 19 yards on two attempts.

Southwestern finished with 204 rushing yards on 43 carries, its fourth consecutive performance built around balance and depth.

Elias Johnson’s second touchdown completed the Jaguars’ longest offensive possession.

Starting from their own 6 midway through the third quarter, Southwestern marched 94 yards in 13 plays and consumed 6:55.

Duran completed three passes to move the Jaguars away from their goal line, then contributed a 22-yard run. Elias Johnson took over late in the drive with consecutive gains of 9, 12 and 15 yards before scoring from the 2.

The touchdown pushed the lead to 40-6.

Southwestern did not score again because it no longer needed to.

DRIVE THAT ENDED GAME

Bolender gave Mt. San Jacinto its second touchdown on a fourth-down pass to Jeremiah Walthour, cutting the margin to 40-12 with 10:01 remaining.

The Eagles never received the ball again.

Southwestern began at its own 8 and traveled 82 yards over 14 plays, consuming the entire final 10:01.

Duran converted an early third-and-1 with a 16-yard completion to Kassab. From there, the Jaguars turned the game over to their offensive line and backfield.

Jamar Johnson produced a series of steady gains. Ford entered and carried four consecutive times, including gains of 8 and 14 yards. Jamar Johnson returned to convert another third down before Southwestern finished in victory formation at the MSJC 10.

The drive did not produce points.

It may have been the clearest demonstration of Southwestern’s control.

Mt. San Jacinto knew the Jaguars were going to run. Southwestern continued running anyway, collecting first downs and preventing the Eagles from touching the ball.

The final possession completed a game in which the Jaguars held the ball more than eight minutes longer than MSJC and ran 43 times.

For a team preparing to face Mesa’s explosive offense, the ability to shorten a game and deny possessions may become particularly valuable.

DEFENSE REMAINS FOUNDATION

Southwestern’s 153 points receive attention, but its defense continues to define the program’s unbeaten start.

The Jaguars have allowed 36 points in four games, an average of nine per contest. The program’s published statistics list Southwestern among the state leaders in scoring defense, sacks, interceptions and defensive touchdowns.

The competition became stronger Saturday, but the pattern remained.

Mt. San Jacinto entered the night averaging 571 yards over its previous two games. The Eagles had just rushed for 396 yards and scored a school-record 64 first-half points at L.A. Southwest.

Southwestern held them to 213 total yards.

MSJC’s longest run was Bolender’s 48-yard scramble. Remove that play, and the Eagles produced 45 rushing yards on their other 24 attempts.

Southwestern limited starting running back Revius Green to 37 yards on 12 carries, an average of 3.1 yards.

The Jaguars also prevented explosive completions. MSJC’s longest pass covered 19 yards, and its two touchdown receptions totaled 22 yards.

Clavier recorded a sack and tackle for loss. Ondari supplied a 10-yard sack. Ta’a and Valentino Wedderburn broke up passes, and White converted the defense’s interception into seven points.

No Southwestern defender recorded more than five tackles because the Jaguars repeatedly ended possessions before MSJC could accumulate plays.

MEADOWS REMAINS PERFECT

Meadows quietly supplied another clean performance.

The freshman kicker converted a 29-yard field goal and all five of his extra-point attempts, accounting for eight points.

Southwestern’s opening safety left the score at 2-0, but Meadows handled every conventional placement opportunity that followed.

He remains perfect on his place-kicking attempts this season.

That reliability has mattered because Southwestern has consistently completed its scoring opportunities. The Jaguars have scored at least 27 points in every game and reached 34 or more in three consecutive weeks.

Against an opponent as explosive as Mesa, leaving points on the field could become far more costly.

FOUR GAMES, FOUR DIFFERENT WINS

Southwestern has reached 4-0 without relying upon the same formula every week.

The Jaguars controlled the football for more than 44 minutes and shut out College of the Canyons, 27-0.

They overwhelmed Grossmont with explosive plays in a 52-10 rivalry victory.

Their special teams broke open a 34-14 win over Long Beach.

Against Mt. San Jacinto, Southwestern combined all three phases, built a 26-point lead and then closed the game with its offensive line.

Rodriguez’s team has won its four games by an average of more than 29 points. Its closest margin has been 20.

The schedule now removes any remaining uncertainty about the level of the challenge.

Mesa is unbeaten, nationally ranked and coming off consecutive performances in which it scored 68 and 48 points. Southwestern is unbeaten, nationally ranked and has allowed only 36 points all season.

One team has produced the county’s most explosive offense.

The other has built its identity around balance, defense and control.

COUNTY SHOWDOWN AWAITS

Southwestern returns to DeVore Stadium on Saturday for its most anticipated game of the regular season.

No. 7 San Diego Mesa arrives at 4-0 after routing Palomar, 48-14. Southwestern is also 4-0 and enters the matchup ranked No. 14 nationally.

The programs produced one of the county’s best games last season.

Southwestern defeated Mesa 40-38 in overtime, preserving the victory by stopping a two-point conversion. The result became one of the defining moments of the Jaguars’ 2025 season.

This year’s meeting carries greater weight.

Both teams are unbeaten. Both won their National Southern League opener decisively. Both recruit heavily from the same local programs, and both have established legitimate state-level ambitions.

For Southwestern, the clearest path against Mesa may resemble the final 10 minutes at Mt. San Jacinto: run effectively, convert third downs and keep Taylor and the Olympians’ receivers standing on the sideline.

That discussion can wait for the full advance.

Southwestern first earned its place in the matchup by turning a ranked road test into another rout.

UP NEXT

No. 7 SAN DIEGO MESA (4-0) at No. 14 SOUTHWESTERN (4-0)
DeVore Stadium | Chula Vista
Saturday, Sept. 26 | Noon

The unbeaten county rivals meet for National Southern League positioning and San Diego County bragging rights.

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