Southwestern’s late game rally November 3 against Golden West at Devore Stadium fell just short in heartbreaking fashion.
A fumbled snap squirted between the legs of Jaguars sophomore quarterback Marcus Hernandez to give Golden West prime field position at the Jags 22-yard line with just over a minute left in the game.
Golden West sophomore quarterback Beau Kalbacher took full advantage of the fumble with an18-yard touchdown pass to freshman receiver Jonathan Earl to clinch the 24-20 win for the Rustlers and erase the Jaguars’ 14 point comeback.
SWC head coach Ed Carberry said the loss will sit with his players for a long time.
“They will be 40 years old at a red light somewhere thinking about that game,” Carberry said.
The Jags offense struggled for most of the game, only scoring six points in the first three quarters.
Injuries and inexperience on the offensive line took a toll as the Jags were forced to use their third-string center after the starter suffered a knee injury. Carberry said shuffling players to new positions began the offensive tumble. Hernandez underscored Carberry’s point in his description of what went wrong.
“Two of our starting offensive linemen got hurt early and I did not have a lot of time to throw the ball,” Hernandez said. “We also had two running backs playing receiver, so we had to adjust.”
With the offense sputtering, the defense kept the Jaguars competitive by intercepting three passes and forcing a fumble.
Defensive coordinator Dionicio Monarrez said the defense set the tone early.
“I thought the defense came out and played really well,” Monarrez said. “We kind of took them out of their game, got some three and outs, and got a few turnovers to put our offense in great field position.”
The Rustlers led 7-6 at halftime and regained momentum in the second half, converting a third-and-long with a 43-yard pass from Kalbacher to sophomore receiver Ben Ratzlaff that put them at the SWC 21-yard line. But, Golden West could not capitalize on their field position, only coming away with a field goal that increased their lead to 10-6.
Freshman running back Deandre Daniels provided a late spark for the Jaguars, rushing for 57 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. He did not record a carry until late in the third quarter. Hernandez said Daniels’ impact was felt almost immediately when he entered the game.
“Deandre makes a huge impact on every game, and it was rough not having him,” said Hernandez. “You just know what he can do to the defense. When he finally came in, it was great, he just took a weight off everyone’s shoulders.”
Daniels accounted for 83 of the Jags’ 148 fourth-quarter yards.
Though Southwestern did not win their final regular season home game, they defeated Palomar for a 28-24 victory in the Beach Bowl in Devore Stadium on November 17.
