Football Update 2018: Jaguars in a New Terrain

In community college football, success brings major turnover. For the Jaguars, that means replacing 65 members from the 2017 American Mountain Division championship team— all while moving into a tougher division.

This new generation of Jaguars led by returning starters linebacker Cameron Hanson, quarterback Demonte Morris and linebacker Duran Miller look to continue their recent success and become predators in their new jungle.

The Jaguars moved to the National-Southern Division. Head coach Ed Carberry said the move will result in the team playing higher level of competition.

“Teams in this new conference are better coached and more disciplined,” he said. “Now we are not going to be able to rely on mistakes. We have to knock guys over to score.”

These new conference opponents are not new foes to Carberry. He explained the teams are actually programs he faced when he first became SWC’s head coach in 2007.

“We have kind of cycled our way back through, just a different paint job,” he said. “It was during a time where we were up and down, then we got really good.”

In recent years Carberry turned the Jaguar football program into a consistent winner. In fact, an early 40-7 win over Victor Valley College put Carberry ahead of Bob Myers as the all-time wins leader in Southwestern College football history with 75 victories, in five fewer seasons.

The Jaguars lost their first conference game against Saddleback College (4-3, 2-0), who currently sits at the top of the National-Southern Division. However, a 37-20 win over Grossmont College has set up a crucial game against Riverside City College (6-1, 1-0) October 27, which is ranked third in California.

They may be in a tougher division than before, but the program has transformed over the years into a quality football team well equipped to handle the rigors of the National-Southern Division.