Grossmont Wins Conference Opener at Home
Giffins Roll in Second Half to Defeat Southwest College, 34-14
By Jim Lowder,
JCFootball.com Correspondent
El Cajon, CA The Southwestern College Jaguars (0-3, 0-1 Foothill Conference) led Grossmont (1-2, 1-0 Foothill) at the half, but Grossmont dominated the second half to take the game 34-14 before an appreciative home crowd. There were several interesting moments and noteworthy accomplishments for both teams along the way.
Southwestern came into the G-House ready to play, with sophomore defensive back Derrick Perrault (5-8, 165) returning a Griffin fumble 79 yards for a touchdown to open scoring in the second quarter.
Grossmont answered with a 38-yard Brett Haase (6-2, 175) field goal, followed by a 26-yard Luis Gonzales (6-3, 203) touchdown reception. SWC answered back in the closing moments of the first half with a 12-play, 61 yard drive capped by a 1-yard Kenslow Smith (5-8, 210) touchdown run.
First half mistakes contributed significantly to Jaguar and Griffin successes and missed opportunities. The Grossmont fumble denied G-House a trip to the house on their first venture inside the SWC red zone, and giftwrapped the Jags' first score. Not to be outdone, a Jaguar personal foul gave the Griffins 1st and 10 on the Southwestern 23-yard line, which led to the first Grossmont score.
Later, from 9 yards deep into his own end zone on what could have been an Abel Perez touchback, Jeremy Young (5-9, 185) made a fantastic read on the SWC kickoff coverage and hesitated, a-la-Devin Hester, before bolting through an over-run Jaguar coverage team to the Griffin 47. With great field position and time left on the clock, quarterback Blake Sutton (6-5, 215) connected on a 38-yard strike to Luis Gonzales for a 1st and 10 on the Southwestern 15, but all was negated by an illegal block on the next play to take Grossmont out of striking distance and run out the clock.
At halftime, the stats were roughly even, Southwestern led 14-10, and it was anybody's game. At least it was exciting!
The Jaguars opened the second half by pinning Grossmont on their own 20-yard line with another magnificent Perez kickoff, this time for a touchback.
However, the seeds of the Grossmont victory were sown on this first Griffin drive of the second half. Although the Griffs were not successful in scoring on this drive, Garen Demery (5-10, 170) broke a 17 yard run to get the offensive squad near midfield before the momentum was squandered with the first of two Blake Sutton interceptions.
Nevertheless, the stage was set for a relentless Grossmont rushing attack which netted 202 yards on the ground in the second half alone, and gave Sutton and head coach Michael Jordan the ability to control the rest of the game and wear down the Jaguar defense.
Demery led the Griffins with 100 yards on 16 carries for a touchdown and no fumbles. Chris Daniels (5-8, 170) followed closely behind with 91 yards and a touchdown on 8 carries. The pair led eight Grossmont rushers, including the quarterbacks.
Sutton was 13 of 30 for 167 yards, 2 interceptions and the aforementioned touchdown toss to Gonzales, one of three Gonzales receptions for a total of 73 yards. Although Sutton's completion percentage and yardage did not meet last week's standard, the completions were again widely distributed, this time among 8 Grossmont receivers. Wide receivers Elijah Brown (5-10, 165) and Jeremy Young snared 2 receptions each, as did tight end Kyle Marsom (6-3, 250), contributing to the 167-yard Griffin receiving total.
In a fresh new twist, backup quarterback Andrew Ruiz contributed 23 yards rushing on 2 attempts. Only in the game for a handful of plays, once in the first half when Sutton got his bell rung, and again late in the second half, Ruiz demonstrated crisp decision-making, excellent mobility, and precise pass delivery. Although 0-2 on passing for the game, Ruiz' passes were catchable, including one under severe pressure by the Southwestern defense. Ruiz will be one to watch.
One of the most impressive aspects of this productive Grossmont offense is the variety of air and ground weapons contributing to the overall balance of the attack.
The young Griffin defense, which had been harshly tutored earlier in the season against El Camino and Palomar, apparently took some of the lessons to heart against Southwest College. Grossmont hounded SWC quarterback Westling far more relentlessly than the mere 4 recorded sacks would indicate and made key stops on third down, forcing 9 punts and three field goal attempts � all unsuccessful. It could have been ten sacks were it not for Westling's excellent decision-making, fleet feet, and swivel hips.
The Griffs allowed the SWC offense to penetrate into the red zone only once the entire game. Once inside the 10, it took the Jags four tries starting from the 6 yard line finally put the ball into the end zone, but credit is due to the Jaguars for their lone sustained drive of the day, in which Westling was 5 of 7 for 57 yards and Smith punched the ball into the end zone.
There were no Jaguar red zone penetrations in the second half. All four G-House sacks were recorded after the break, as was Luis Villavicencio's interception and 56-yard return for a touchdown, to take the wind out of Southwestern's sails. The relentless defensive pressure on quarterback Westling helped the young Grossmont defensive backs finally come into their own against Southwestern, with Villavicencio and Darryl Feemster (5-10, 165) tallying 12 broken-up pass plays between the two of them.
Rock solid special teams again provided Grossmont with a competitive edge. Pat Oberg's long snaps were flawless. Brett Haase continued his impressive and consistent punting, making 5 boots for 209 yards and a 41.8 yard average, including a 56 yard beauty which pinned the Jaguars on their own 5 yard line. Haase converted 4 of 4 extra points to remain perfect on point after attempts, and knocked down 2 of 3 field goals (39 longest) to lead the Griffins in scoring. He also contributed 7 kickoffs for a very respectable 56 yard average, including a high but short squib which provided a chance for a turnover just before the end of the first half.
In contrast, Southwestern punter Martin House was unable to utilize his big leg to Jaguar advantage, forced to punt out of bounds in the second half to keep the ball away from the dangerous Jeremy Young. Young contributed 84 yards in returns, including the aforementioned 47-yard kickoff return and a 22-yard punt return from the Grossmont 11 to the 33, which not only got the Griffs out of potential danger deep inside their own red zone, but also initiated an 8-play scoring drive. The result was Grossmont's first touchdown to keep the Griffins in the game in the first half.
All news was not bad for Southwestern College. In addition to the 79-yard fumble recovery return for a touchdown, the Jags went toe-to-toe with Grossmont on the Griffs' home turf for two full quarters, led at the half, caused some turnovers, and held Grossmont to roughly the same dismal passing statistics as did the vaunted El Camino defense. Moreover, SWC quarterback Drew Westling, a Tulsa bounceback, was a scoring threat every time he touched the ball. He completed 29 of 54 passes for 294 yards to help his team maintain their Foothill Conference position atop the pass offense statistics.
In this game, the Griffins made fewer mistakes in key situations, were better able to capitalize on a greater number of opportunities than the Jaguars, and controlled the ball with a running game.
To be sure, the improved G-House defense provided opportunities that have here-to-fore been unavailable to the Griffins, but the big difference in the game was the Grossmont ability to run the ball and control the game in the second half. This running game, coupled with overall superior special teams play and timely defensive stops, all bode well for the Griffins in upcoming conference play. A key test will be whether or not the Griffins can replicate today's success against Foothill opponents on the road. We will get a chance to find out over the next two weeks as Grossmont travels first to San Bernardino Valley and then to perennial Foothill Conference arch-rival, Chaffey College.
The next kickoff for Grossmont (1-2, 1-0 Foothill) is 7 p.m. Saturday the 22nd of September at SBVC against the Wolverines (0-2, 0-0 Foothill) who had a bye this week.
SWC next faces Chaffey College (1-2, 0-1 Foothill Conference) at home for a 5 p.m. kickoff.
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