Gabriel Gordillo / The SWC Sun Photos
By Gabriel Gordillo
Southwestern’s all-black home uniforms make them look like pallbearers. That is what they were for Mt. San Jacinto College following a 31-10 drubbing of the Riverside County school.
Mt. San Jacinto’s players heard all about it, thanks to a rowdy and loud crowd that roared “Boom! Boom! Boom!” whenever anything whet well for the Jaguars. Chula Vista was a Boomtown all evening. Usually somnolent Southwestern football fans were loud and proud at DeVore Stadium.
SWC demonstrated that sometimes the best offense is a great defense. Aggressive play on the defensive side of the ball kept the offense on the field. Defensive end Franky Olmedo forced a first quarter fumble. Moments later Brayten Silbor fired a 30-yard TD strike to freshmen wide receiver Dathan Goins.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!” roared the fans loud enough to wake every dozing student studying French literature within three miles.
By eliminating the run, the Jaguars forced the Eagles to pass. This played out well for the men in black. Late in the first quarter defensive back Davondre Bucannon forced a game-changing fumble, once again handing the ball to the fired up offense.
Head Coach Oscar Rodriguez called a play action fake and Silbor reached back and fired a 65-yard bomb to Nic Cline to put the Jags up 14-0.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!” cried the fans, loud enough to startle students at the Better Buzz on Bonita Road.
Southwestern rolled with running backs Jamarei Ashby-Phan and Caleb Blocker, both of whom averaged more than four yards a carry. Blocker credited his blockers.
“That’s all the O-line right there,” he said. “We got a good connection and that builds up.”
Mt. San Jacinto spent the final minute of the half going backwards during a series capped by a botched punt attempt. Silbor connected for his third touchdown to three different receivers when Clint Thomas Jr. shed a defender draped all over him and made an acrobatic catch.
“I am because we are,” he said. “That’s all in my head, man. Just doing whatever it took for the team just to finish and pull out the dub.”
Southwestern scored 10 second half points on a six-yard run by Silbor and a 38-yard field goal by Jacob Cuevas.
The Jaguars won just two games in a desultorily played 2024 but look like state champion contenders in 2025. Athletic Director Ron Valenzuela said the Jaguars are bowl bound.
“Time is the biggest factor,” he said. “Who we were last year is not who we are today. We recruited, and day by day we put in the work. And we are seeing it now.”
No time to lower the Boom!
