SAN DIEGO MESA
EL CAMINO
at Southwestern
ORANGE COAST
at College of the Canyons
BYE
*at Saddleback
*MT. SAN ANTONIO
*at Fullerton (Fullerton HS)
*PASADENA
*at Palomar (Escondido HS)
Such ratings – no matter who they are
compiled by – carry little impact. Case
in point is Grossmont was rated No. 1 by The
Sports News a couple years back and fell
a half-dozen rungs shy of achieving the lofty
mark.
Arizona Western College out of Yuma is ranked
No. 1 by JC Gridiron in this year’s
preseason guessing. Blinn (Texas) is No. 2,
while El Camino, which lost to the Griffins
in the 2009 U.S. Bank Beach Bowl last fall,
is third.
Latest to ink a pact is cornerback ARTHUR HOBBS,
who signed with NCAA II University of Nebraska Kearney
of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
A 5-foot-11, 180-pound sophomore, Hobbs is the second
Griffin to join UNK this year. In January, corner
KENNY HILL transferred to UNK. Last fall, Hobbs made
20 tackles and had six pass breakups to help Grossmont
go 8-3 and win the U.S. Bank Beach Bowl.
As a senior at Mount Miguel High, Hobbs earned 1st-team
all-Grossmont South League honors.
Six-foot, 190-pound sophomore wide receiver NICK
HILL, a product of Patrick Henry High, has signed
with Central Methodist University in Fayette, Mo.
The Eagles play in the NAIA Heart of America Conference.
Last season Hill caught 17 passes for the Griffins
for 199 yards for an average of 11.7 ypg.
In another late signing, sophomore quarterback MATT
JARVIS (6-2, 230), an El Capitan alum, has signed
with NCAA II St. Cloud State University of the Northern
Sun Conference. Jarvis is a case of perseverance as
he returned to the Grossmont College huddle after
graduating from El Capitan in 2005.
In seven games at Grossmont, Jarvis completed 50
of 102 passes for 909 yards and 11 TDs last season.
Dawson, a 6-foot-3, 310-pound center out of Helix
High, has accepted a full ride to Division I-AA Lamar
University in Beaumont, Texas.
DeMartino, a 5-11, 205-pound graduate of Mt. Carmel,
will attend Utah State in Logan in the fall with four
years to play three. He led the Griffins (8-3) with
107 all-purpose yards last year as a freshman. DeMartino
averaged 91.8 yards rushing, scored 7 touchdowns and
caught 12 passes in nine games.
Clearly a multiple threat, DeMartino figures to be
a double threat for the Aggies. He joins former Griffins
teammate, receiver-kick return specialist XAVIER MARTIN,
who previously signed with Utah State.
“Joey is definitely a catch and run guy,”
Grossmont coach MIKE JORDAN said. “I think he
could make an immediate impact for them.”
Dawson has the size and experience to step into a
starter’s role at Lamar University.
A 6-foot-1, 225-pound linebacker, McAloney is a 2004
graduate of Monte Vista High. He received a four-year
college ride out of high school, but didn’t play.
Injuries haunted him for two seasons before he returned
closer to home where he played on the offensive side
of the football at San Diego Mesa College in 2008.
An All-Grossmont South League team defensive selection
as well as an All-East County pick as a prep senior,
McAloney finally found a home last season at Grossmont
College.
For the Griffins, McAloney accounted for 41 tackles
(24 solo), 2 interceptions, forced a fumble and recovered
a fumble, blocked a kick and made 3 pass break-ups.
The Towson Tigers, members of the Colonial Athletic
Association, went 2-9 in 2009. They return 10 linebackers,
yet all but one have sophomore experience or less.
The more experienced McAloney figures to step into
the Towson starting lineup right away considering
the Tigers will face powerhouse Indiana, as well as
upcoming foes Coastal Carolina and Villanova this
season.
This truth was again apparent when Griffins coaches
announced that both of the football team's sophomore
quarterbacks garnered scholarships from 4-year colleges,
with BRANDON FRICKE now headed to Central Michigan
while MATT JARVIS (El Capitan) is ticketed to St.
Cloud State in Minnesota.
Fricke, Jarvis and freshman DORIAN STATON took turns
as a starter for Grossmont (8-3 overall). Despite
the lack of continuity, the Griffins were in the hunt
for a state playoff berth to the final moments of
the regular season, then advanced to the U.S. Bank
Beach Bowl and defeated state power El Camino for
the school's fifth consecutive bowl victory.
In earning a Division I ride to the Mid-America Conference
school, Fricke (6-2, 200, Simi Valley HS) threw for
780 yards and 8 touchdowns in just five appearances.
Jarvis (6-3, 220) posted similar stats in seven games,
with 905 yards and 11 scores to gain his Division
II ride.
With the signing of the quarterbacks, Grossmont has
now placed 20 sophomores from the 2009 squad onto
rosters of 4-year colleges with scholarships (not
walk-on promises). Four more players are also in line
for potential offers, making it the best season for
advancing players since the Griffins captured the
J.C. Grid-Wire national championship after defeating
CC San Francisco for the state championship in 2005.
Current scholarship list:
GROSSMONT COLLEGE 'GRIFFINS'
2010 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS
More than 60 high school players participated last
season, yet there is still a generous player-to-coach
ratio, ensuring solid instruction and provide young
offensive linemen the opportunity to further develop
their fundamentals, skills and techniques for offensive
line play.
The camp is operated by Griffins line coach KEN WILMESHERR,
who has developed an All-American, an All-State selection
and a half-dozen All-Conference performers over the
past four seasons. Included is former Mount Miguel
High standout JUAN BOLANOS, who is expected to start
for San Diego State this fall.
Grossmont, the 2005 JC Grid-Wire national champions,
also has produced a pair of All-Academic linemen under
Wilmesherr.
Registration forms are available on the Grossmont
football webpage HERE, including a liability release/medical
consent form. The fee if $35, with an Early Bird rate
of just $25 if payment is made by Apr. 17.
All 2010 high school players (except incoming freshmen)
may participate. High school coaches are also welcome
to attend the techniques camp.
Both have accepted scholarships to play football
for the Vandals, who are attempting to make an immediate
turn-around after suffering through eight losing seasons
in the last nine years.
Football games are won and lost in the trenches,
and having a deep pool of steak-eaters to work with
is key. Grossmont College head coach MIKE JORDAN confirmed
that 6-foot-6, 310-pound standout offensive tackle
CHARLES WILEY made his intentions official by committing
to the Idaho this weekend. A two-year starter with
three years to play two at Idaho, Wiley joins a Vandal
offensive line looking to replace four starters.
Sack-happy Mauga was honored as a JC All-Southern
California pick and team defensive MVP. The 6-foot,
220-pound linebacker terrorized opposing offenses
for 15 sacks, 7 QB hurries, two picks and 72 total
tackles in 2009.
“He didn’t get Player of the Year in the
league but he probably should have,” said Jordan. “He’s very good off the edge, just a good
player all-around.”
Mauga is the fourth member of his family to play
football at a Division I school. MAGNUM MAUGA is a
starting defensive tackle at Utah State. DALLAS MAUGA
and RAINBOW MAUGA concluded their football careers
at Sacramento State.
The Griffins, the 2005 California state and national
champions, will remain in a conference that is essentially
the same at the highest level of the Southern California
Football Association after commissioner Jim Sartoris
made the announcement of a restructured, 3-tier alignment.
"The whole impetus for the change is the state
budget situation and the amount of playoff games needed
to crown a Southern California champion," said
Grossmont athletics director JIM SPILLERS. "We
used to need 14 games to win a state title –
the road is far less in the north – so the south
is working to emulate the north."
"It’s budget driven and matches the model
in the north."
Previously, 21 colleges were divided equally among
three conferences. Now the highest tier consists of
12 programs in two conferences, including Grossmont's
continued membership in the Southern Conference. The
Griffins are joined by holdovers in Palomar, Fullerton
and Saddleback, then welcome a pair of powerhouse
teams in defending state champion Mt. San Antonio
and Pasadena.
"There's so much competition in the south. Our
conference had two teams go to the playoffs and two
bowl teams – we had the strongest conference
based on those outcomes," added Spillers. "And
now we're adding two great programs."
"The top 12 teams are strong, but it also makes
geographic sense while achieving cost containment."
The committee, using a combination of recent two-year
records, a 2009 power ranking formula and geographical
considerations, placed the 37 member colleges into
three separate competitive divisions. Among the other
schools, 13 will be split into a pair of Tier 2 conferences,
with the remaining 12 playing in a pair of Tier 3
conferences.
The committee voted 9-1 in favor of the restructuring
measure.
"Our schedule won't alter too much. We'll have
one less conference game, yet one additional crossover
game," added the AD.
In addition, the playoff structure has changed slightly.
Instead of an 8-team tournament to determine a representative
to the state title game – a path of four total
contests – the Southland will hold a 4-team,
2-round event to gain a berth against the North. All
remaining top teams will advance to bowl games.
The four tournament teams will consist of the two
champions from the highest tier, plus the next two
top teams regardless of conference, division or tier,
giving all schools a legitimate opportunity to advance.
The wild card berths will be based on rankings by
the coaches' poll.
"Four teams now go to the playoffs to determine
the Southern California champion and the representative
to the state championship," Spillers added. "So
all schools must play a multi-tier schedule in their
crossover games. Otherwise, if you remove that chance
or that motivation that you could play for a state
championship, you hurt the program and football overall
in the long run."
The SCFA Executive Committee will continue to schedule
non-conference games on a regional basis, maintaining
local and historical rivals. Thus, Grossmont should
continue to meet Southwestern (a Tier 2 team) and
San Diego Mesa (which dropped to Tier 3), plus at
least two ballgames against the Tier 1 Northern
Conference, which now consists of Bakersfield, College
of the Canyons, Cerritos, El Camino, Allan Hancock
and Ventura.
"It's extremely important to football in the
San Diego County community for us to continue playing
Southwestern and Mesa. It's very important for these
rivalries to be sustained."
The Griffins defeated host El Camino, 27-22, last
season at the US Bank Beach Bowl in Torrance.
The final placement of colleges:
SCFA Conference Alignment
2010
National Division
(Tier 1)
Southern Conference
Fullerton
Grossmont
Mt. San Antonio
Palomar
Pasadena
Saddleback
Northern Conference
Bakersfield
Canyons
Cerritos
El Camino
Allan Hancock
Ventura
Central Division
(Tier 2)
West Conference
Antelope Valley
Citrus
Glendale
Long Beach
L.A. Harbor
Moorpark
East Conference
Chaffey
Desert
Golden West
Orange Coast
Riverside
Santa Ana
Southwestern
American Conference
(Tier 3)
Pacific Conference
L.A. Pierce
L.A. Southwest
L.A. Valley
Santa Barbara
Santa Monica
West LA
Mountain Conference
Compton
East Los Angeles
Mt. San Jacinto
San Bernardino Valley
San Diego Mesa
Victor Valley
Darby is one of 12 community college players –
10 from California – signed by Bulldogs second-year
head coach Dan Cocannouer.
Darby was the Griffins’ second leading tackler
with 64 stops. He also logged four interceptions and
recovered a fumble for Grossmont, which finished 8-3
and captured the US Bank Beach Bowl over El Camino.
An NCAA Division II school, SWOSU is coming off a
1-10 season where the Bulldogs started no fewer than
10 different freshmen at one time or another. The
Bulldogs 54-player travel roster was made up of 27
freshmen during the final two road games.
Cocannouer and his staff scoured the nation’s
2-year colleges looking for immediate help.
"We needed to get older and in a hurry,"
Cocannouer said. "With the amount of freshman
and sophomores we already have in place, it was important
to add kids that can provide some leadership and experience."
Cocannouer said his staff spent considerable time
poring over lists and watching hours of film from
schools in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and California.
"This group of players met all the criteria
we were looking for when we started this process,"
Cocannouer said. "They are all good character
guys and someone who really wants to be here and work
with us to make our program better."
A product of West Hills High, Darby proved his quality
character when he was selected the winner of Grossmont
College’s 33rd annual Joe Roth Memorial Award.
This award is given to the San Diego County community
college football player that best exemplifies the
high academic standards, athletic excellence, humility,
leadership, character and class that the late Joe
Roth exhibited during his All-America career.
Defensive end Ja’RODD WATSON will move on to
San Jose State, while nose guard JERICHO MAXWELL will
check in at New Mexico Highlands.
Defensive back ABRAHAM MUHEIZE, who has been dogged
with injuries the past two seasons, has landed at
Central Washington, after turning down bids from Florida
A&M, Texas State, Delta State (Mississippi), and
a return to Montana State, which originally landed
the 2005 CIF Player of the Year out of high school.
Central Washington posted an 11-0 record a year ago
– the best record in Division II football –
before falling in the NCAA national quarterfinals.
The Wildcats were the Great Northwest Athletic Conference
champions.
El Capitan graduate CODY FURR, a defensive end, has
accepted a football ride to Missouri Southern, a Division
II institution based in Joplin, Mo.
Others advancing to the next level are wide receiver
NICK HILL (17 catches, 199 yards) to Baker (Kansas)
University and tight end JOHN ADAMS to Southwest Missouri
State. Hill was the Griffins’ fourth-leading
receiver with 17 catches for 199 yards.
Grossmont College head coach MIKE JORDAN assures
there are more scholarships to come, including prize
pupil HOMER MAUGA, who has turned down offers from
major schools such as BYU and Indiana.
Hill, a defensive back, greyshirted at Grossmont
last season and is presently in Nebraska competing
for a starting job for the Antelopes as a true freshman.
During his senior year at St. Augustine, Hill was
set to go to Washington until Huskies head coach Ty
Willingham was fired.
CCCAA State Championship
Sat., Dec. 12
Mt. San Antonio 7,
College of San Mateo 6
It is believed that SDSU is also interested in linebacker
HOMER MAUGA. Of course, the 6-foot, 220-pound All-National
Division Southern Conference unanimous pick is also
being wooed by BYU, UTEP, Idaho State and Kansas State.
Syracuse, Rutgers, Nevada and Central Florida are
interested in defensive end Ja’RODD WATSON, while
offensive lineman CHARLES WILEY has received multiple
offers, including Eastern Michigan and Liberty University.
Offensive lineman BILLY DAWSON has been offered by
Idaho State.
Grossmont MVP and cover corner KYLE MONSON has BYU,
UTEP and UMass as well as multiple Division IAA and
Division II schools checking him out.
Wide receiver XAVIER MARTIN has been offered by Wyoming,
Utah State, and Massachusetts. Corner ARTHUR HOBBS
is also being looked at by UMass and a couple others.
Safety JONATHAN DARBY has trips set up to Liberty
and Stony Brook, while receiver MOHOMED FOFANA is
visiting Syracuse.
Grossmont head coach MIKE JORDAN said college coaches
are flooding his office every day looking for players.
The aforementioned are just a sampling of what has
been going on the past week.
Griffins enjoy outing at the Beach Huge 4th quarter topples El Camino, 27-22;
Grossmont's 5th straight bowl triumph
WEEK
12 SCOREBOARD
Sat., Nov. 21
SCFA
PLAYOFFS
Quarterfinals
So. California Bowl (1) at Mt. San Antonio 69 (8) L.A. Pierce 31
Golden Empire Bowl (4) at Bakersfield 24 (5) Allan Hancock 21
American Bowl (2) at Fullerton 49 (7) L.A. Harbor 19
National Bowl (6) Palomar 31 (3) at Cerritos 17
SCFA BOWL GAMES
US Bank Beach Bowl Grossmont 27 at El Camino 22
Western State Bowl at Saddleback 31 Coll. of the Canyons 20
Orange County Bowl At Orange Coast Golden West 37 Ventura 36 (OT)
Note – 'Super 7' Conference
teams posted a perfect 4-0
record in playoffs/bowls.
The Griffins scored over three straight possessions
to turn a 12-3 deficit into a 27-15 advantage. Meanwhile,
the defense limited the potent Warriors, who averaged
a state-best 40.4 points per game during the regular
season, to their lowest point total of the season.
The victory again added to Grossmont’s incredible
string of postseason victories away from Mashin-Roth
Memorial Field, as Saturday's (Nov. 21) verdict at
El Camino’s Murdock Stadium made its six wins
in nine outings dating back to 2003.
“In the second half, we played like a real team
and look how it turned out,” said sophomore left
tackle CHARLES WILEY, the main cog to an offensive
line which allowed Griffins running back DARRIN ALIX
to gain Offensive Player of the Game honors. "As
a unit, we destroyed their defensive line."
Wiley & Co. took charge just before switching
sides in the second half when Alix closed the third
period with a 20-yard burst through a gaping hole.
Grossmont, which collected just 159 total yards through
three quarters, then would post an additional 176
total yards in the final 15 minutes to overwhelm the
Warriors defense.
The scoring included touchdown passes by both Grossmont
quarterbacks.
DORIAN STATON found SEAN BURR all alone in the left
corner of the endzone for 12 yards on a fake draw
to take the lead at 17-15. On the next possession,
BRANDON FRICKE capped an 80-yard drive on an out-pass
to PATRICK MAULL, who turned the corner and raced
47 yards down the sideline.
"We've had that play all year, but never used
it until tonight," said Maull, who plays a hybrid
tight end role. "The first time we threw it,
they were all over it, but the next time, Brandon
found me."
And when TROY MUENZER capped the next drive with
his second field goal – a 34-yarder –
Grossmont owned a 12-point lead with 2:39 remaining.
The Griffins defense then helped run out much of
the clock by preventing anything deep as El Camino
needed 12 plays to finally score with 48 seconds remaining.
But the celebration began early when NICK HILL recovered
the onside kick, giving Grossmont its fifth consecutive
bowl win.
RECENT
GRIFFINS BOWL SUCCESS
Year
Bowl
Site
Result
2009
Beach Bowl
El Camino
df. El Camino, 27-22
2006
So. Calif. Bowl
Grossmont
df. Victor Valley, 49-7
2005
So. County Bowl
Southwestern
df. Glendale, 42-10
2004
Verizon Bowl
Chaffey
df. Chaffey, 26-7
2003
So. Calif. Bowl
Southwestern
df. Citrus, 38-28
Downing El Camino is by far the most momentous in
the bowling streak.
"We came here for a win and played a beautiful
game," noted defensive leader HOMER MAUGA, who
registered a sack among his team-high 7 tackles. "We
kept hyped up and gave 110 percent against a really
good team."
"It's a great way to end my career here."
Mauga, who finished with 15 sacks this season, has
received interest from more than half of Pac-10 Conference
schools, plus San Diego State and Central Florida.
Along with Mauga, MIKA VAIMASANUU and CODY FURR recorded
sacks, while JOSHUA UDEH also reached the quarterback,
with his takedown also causing a fumble.
An important momentum shift occurred late in the
third quarter.
A Muenzer punt of 45 yards barely landed inbounds,
then bounded back towards the center of the playing
field. El Camino's Andre Buford tried to collect the
football, but the muff was recovered by Grossmont
freshman ROLAND BROOKS.
"That punt return changed everything,"
El Camino coach John Featherstone told The Daily
Breeze. "That gave them so much momentum
and changed the complexion of the game."
Another key special teams play included a first-quarter
punt block, as DEREK HOLSAPPLE and KEVEN WOODS both
seemed to get a hand to the ball.
El Camino opened the scoring when Terran Williams
stripped the ball from a Grossmont running back, rumbling
84 yards for the score. The Warriors missed on the
2-point conversion try for a 6-0 lead.
Muenzer answered with a 25-yard field goal, but El
Camino’s Jeremy Tucker opened the second period
with a 7-yard TD run to cap a 75-yard march for a
12-3 lead.
Except for this El Camino drive and the final 70-yard
march when the Griffins played near-perfect prevent
defense, Grossmont yielded just 85 yards over the
remainder of the contest. Grossmont won the total
offense battle, 337-230.
“After that first drive, we never looked back,"
said Griffins middle linebacker ALEXANDER WONG, one
of the team's tackling leaders throughout the season.
"That little bit of adversity made us tighter.
“We proved that we play in the toughest conference
in the state, so even though we were one of the teams
on the playoff bubble just like El Camino, we still
wanted to prove we're No. 1.”
Added defensive end JA'RODD WATSON, “We had
to get it done upstairs, then we knew we could bust
on them. There was no need for crazy twists up front
– we just played solid basic Grossmont defense
to get it done."
Staton's first of two scoring strikes went to DUSTIN
DISCOL to trim the deficit to 12-10 by the intermission.
Alix finished with 142 rushing yards on 23 carries.
Fricke completed 11-of-25 passes for 130 yards and
a touchdown, while Staton was just 4-for-9, yet half
of his completions went for scores.
Maull, XAVIER MARTIN and JUSTIN SALUM each collected
three receptions. Martin also prevented a turnover
with a fumble recovery in the El Camino secondary.
A graduate of West Hills High, Darby was presented
the Griffins’ most coveted honor at Thursday’s
(Nov. 19) team awards banquet held at Marina
Village.
This award is given to the San Diego County
community college football player that best
exemplifies the high academic standards, athletic
excellence, humility, leadership, character
and class that the late Joe Roth exhibited during
his All-America career.
Roth, a gifted quarterback, guided the Griffins
to their only undefeated season and first state
championship in 1974. He led Cal to its only
Pac-10 championship in 1975 and was considered
a potential NFL first-round draft pick before
he died of cancer in February 1977.
The 6-foot-2, 200 Darby, who boasts a 4.0 grade-point
average, has 72 tackles, four interceptions
and one fumble recovery heading into Saturday’s
(Nov. 21) US Bank Beach Bowl against El Camino
in Torrance.
Sophomore KYLE MONSON, a unanimous All-Southern
Conference corner from Saugus, was selected
Grossmont’s Most Valuable Player. The 5-foot-7,
175-pound Monson led the conference with six
interceptions and a dozen pass break-ups. He
recorded 45 tackles in eight games.
Other award winners at the banquet were: outside
linebacker HOMER MAUGA (MVP-Defense); running
back JOEY DEMARTINO (MVP-Offense); linebacker
ELLIOT CHAPMAN (Defensive captain); tackle JUAN
BOLANOS (Offensive captain); kicker PAUL JONES
(Most improved player); quarterback DORIAN STATON
(top offensive freshman); ZACH MOORE (top defensive
freshman); and CHARLES BOLDEN (MVP-Special teams).
All of these awards were selected in a vote
by the Grossmont College players except the
Joe Roth Award, which was determined by the
coaches.
For Grossmont, it's a Beach Griffins headed to US Bank Beach Bowl
The Griffins (7-3), who lost their final two regular
season games to Santa Ana (13-10) and Saddleback (44-27),
saw their SoCal playoff hopes evaporate. But they
have received a challenging consolation prize by meeting
the Warriors (8-2).
“I think both of us thought we were going to
the state playoffs,” said former Griffins assistant
coach and long-time El Camino head coach John Featherstone.
“I know it is disappointing on our side, and
I’m sure Grossmont isn’t happy about it.”
Featherstone wants to make sure his players are “up”
for this game.
“I know our guys are disappointed,” he
said. “I’m sure Grossmont’s players
feel the same way. But these bowl games have a way
of becoming among the best we play all season. I expect
it will be that way again.”
El Camino’s losses were to playoff participants
Mt. San Antonio (42-26) and Cerritos (42-28).
“We were ranked No. 1 in SoCal for four weeks
and were the best defense in terms of turnover ratio,”
Featherstone said. “But we shot ourselves in
the foot too many times. Instead of forcing turnovers
like we had been doing in our first six games, we
started making the turnovers.”
Disappointed yes, but Grossmont is happy to have
one more game.
“We play in the toughest conference in Southern
California,” said Grossmont defensive coordinator
and former head coach DAVE JORDAN. “When (head
coach MIKE JORDAN) texted our players they seemed
happy to have one more chance to play. It should be
a great game.”
GRIFFIN GRAFFITI — Not one of the state’s
72 community college football teams went undefeated
this season... Grossmont defensive lineman JA’RODD
WATSON is the fourth Griffin to be invited to the
JC All-American Bowl, which pits the California CC
All-Stars against the NJCAA stars Dec. 12 in Chandler,
Ariz... Palomar (8-2), which gained a SoCal playoff
berth when the Griffins stumbled at Saddleback in
the regular season finale, opens postseason play at
Cerritos (9-1) in Norwalk Saturday (Nov. 21) at 7
p.m... Grossmont and El Camino have split four
previous meetings, with the Warriors registering a
56-13 blowout in the 2007 season opener – their
latest get-together.
For Griffins'
Mauga, Monson,
unanimous was obvious Both clear All-Conference picks
That means that Mauga, a 6-foot-0, 220-pound
outside linebacker, and Monson, a 5-8, 170-pound
cornerback, are eligible for all-state recognition.
Four other Griffins were recognized in voting
by the seven head coaches in the "Super
7" conference. Sophomore offensive tackle
JUAN BOLANOS (6-7, 330), sophomore wide receiver
XAVIER MARTIN (5-11, 205) and freshman running
back JOEY DeMARTINO (5-11, 190) were named to
the 2nd team offense.
Martin, the Griffins leading receiver with
338 yards and 5 touchdowns, would have obviously
padded his stats further had he not been hampered
by injuries in the last two games of the season.
Martin also returned kicks and averaged 107.2
all-purpose yards per game.
Despite missing two games DeMartino led the
Griffins in rushing, averaging 101.5 yards per
game with 6 touchdowns. He was also Grossmont’s
top all-purpose runner, averaging 118.5 yards
per game while scoring 42 points.
Rounding out Grossmont’s all-conference
selections was sophomore defensive tackle Ja’RODD
WATSON (6-3, 275), who was selected to the 2nd
team defense.
Southwestern College ’s record-breaking
freshman running back AARON HARRIS (Granite
Hills), was a unanimous pick to the All-American
Division, Mountain Conference 1st team, which
makes him eligible for all-state honors. Harris
broke the Jaguars single-season rushing record
with 1,169 yards and 14 touchdowns on 200 carries.
Other inlanders named to the All-American Division,
Mountain Conference 2nd team included San Diego
Mesa’s return specialist LARRY GIST (Helix)
and long snapper VICENTE STAFFORD (Granite Hills).
WEEK
ELEVEN SCOREBOARD
SCFA DIVISION I
Southern Conference
Saddleback 44, Grossmont 27
Fullerton 41, Santa Ana 7
Long Beach 42, Orange Coast 38
Palomar - bye Northern Conference
Pasadena 38, Glendale 22
Bakersfield 24, Canyons 9
Venutra 41, Moorpark 28
Allan Hancock - bye Central Conference
Mt. San Antonio 41, Chaffey 33
Citrus 26, Riverside 16
Cerritos 42, El Camino 28
Desert - bye
SCFA DIVISION II
MountainConference
Golden West 56, Southwestern 10
San Diego Mesa 33, Compton 12
SBVC 29, L.A. Harbor 21
Victor Valley 42, Mt. San Jacinto 36 PacificConference
East L.A. 52, Santa Barbara 46
Antrlopr Valley 41, L.A. Valley 10
west L.A. 25, L.A. Southwest 23
Santa Monica 49, L.A. Pierce 41
Saddleback halts Griffins' playoff hopes Bowl berth still a possibility for Grossmont
The visiting Griffins (7-3) saw their shot at earning
a position in the eight-team Southern California Regional
playoffs blown out the window with Saturday’s
(Nov. 14) loss at Saddleback 44-27.
The Gauchos scored 44 points in a span of 34 minutes
to finish the regular season 8-2 and tied with Palomar
(8-2) for second place in the National Division Southern
Conference at 4-2. The Griffins, who split six conference
contests to place fourth, beat Palomar 29-26 but lost
to last place Santa Ana. Palomar got the playoff
berth by virtue of its 27-21 triumph over Saddleback
last month.
Had Grossmont beaten Saddleback the Griffins would
be headed to the regionals. For awhile, the Griffins
appeared on a pace to do just that as they jumped
in front of the Gauchos 14-0 before the game was eight
minutes old.
Quarterback BRANDON FRICKE, who supplied the bulk
of the Grossmont offense, hitting 21 of 48 passes
for 270 yards and three touchdowns, lofted a 37-yard
scoring screen pass to running back JOEY DeMARTINO
to make it 7-0. Following a short Saddleback punt
and a pass interference call against the Gauchos,
the Griffins were on the march again. Fricke flipped
a 6-yard aerial to KENYON PETTIS in the endzone to
make it 14-0.
It took Saddleback 17 seconds to cut Grossmont’s
early lead in half. The Gauchos executed a double
pass to wide open 6-foot-8, 235-pound TJ KNOWLES that
covered 76 yards.
Two 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalties against Grossmont
provided the spark for Saddleback’s tying drive
that left the score at 14-14 with 3:49 left in the
first period.
The next two-plus quarters, however, would turn out
to be a nightmare for Grossmont as Saddleback scored
at will, churning out close to 350 yards of offense
over the last three quarters.
The first of two TROY MUENZER field goals –
this one from 23 yards – gave the Griffins a
17-14 edge at the close of the 1st quarter.
“This had a championship flavor, a playoff atmosphere,”
said Grossmont College defensive coordinator and former
head coach DAVE JORDAN. “It was a real good game
for 2 ½ quarters.”
KYLE MONSON, a 5-7, 175-pound corner who batted away
two passes and limited the Gauchos’ 6-8 giant
to 5 receptions, intercepted his sixth pass and returned
it 44 yards to set up a second Fricke-to-Pettis TD.
That scoring strike covered 20 yards, knotting the
score at 24-all with 6:52 left in the half.
After that Grossmont’s offense went south. The
Griffins were unable to muster any kind of running
game and finished with a net 20 yards on 19 carries.
They totaled 290 yards for the night in glaring contrast
to Saddleback’s 453.
Trailing 31-24 after Jai Morris put Saddleback on
top, the Griffins made perhaps their biggest blunder
of the game right before the end of the first half.
CHARLES BOLDEN blocked a Saddleback punt, giving the
Griffins possession at the Gauchos 29. A 24-yard sprint
by DeMartino made it first-and-goal from the 5.
A second DeMartino rush took the ball to the 2-yard
line where the Griffins were assessed a 15-yard personal
foul penalty. Following back-to-back losses on running
plays Grossmont was suddenly back at the Saddleback
28, where Muenzer eventually missed a 45-yard field
goal.
“Our special teams really hurt us,” Jordan
said. “We gave up too much yardage on kickoffs,
our punting was inconsistent and we didn’t do
much on our own returns. You can’t get away with
sloppy play like that against a team like Saddleback.”
The Gauchos burned the Griffins out of the Wildcat
formation throughout the second half. And they brought
over some players from the defensive side that had
not shown up much in the previous games and films
thereof.
Defensive back Cameron Chadwick lined up as the featured
back in the increasingly popular Wildcat offense,
rushing for 54 yards and a touchdown as the Gauchos
racked up 212 yards on the ground.
Starting linebacker Kory Johnson was used at running
back and bullied Grossmont’s defense for 130
yards on 17 carries
The Saddleback defense wreaked havoc on Grossmont’s
quarterbacks Fricke and DORIAN STATON all night long.
They settled for four sacks but forced the duo to
throw too many balls away.
DeMartino chipped in a net 38 yards rushing and caught
five passes for 74 yards and the one score for Grossmont.
Linebacker HOMER MAUGA kept his sack string alive
with two against the Gauchos to go along with 8 tackles.
The sophomore standout has recorded sacks in seven
consecutive games, including 11 in the last six games.
Five of those were multi-sack efforts.
WEEK
TEN SCOREBOARD
SCFA DIVISION I
Southern Conference
Santa Ana 13, Grossmont 10
Fullerton 35, Long Beach 10
Palomar 41, Orange Coast 9
Saddleback - bye Northern Conference
Canyons 29, Pasadena 22 (OT)
Allan Hancock 28, Ventura 21
Glendale 41, Moorpark 27
Glendale - bye Central Conference
Mt. San Antonio 27, Cerritos 26 (OT)
El Camino 35, Citrus 26
Chaffey 10, Desert 7
Riverside - bye
SCFA DIVISION II
MountainConference
Southwestern 21, SD Mesa 19
Golden West 41, SBVC 21
L.A. Harbor 54, Mt. San Jacinto 10
Victor Valley 45, Compton 0 PacificConference
East L.A. 35, West L.A. 29
Santa Barbara 41, L.A. Valley 24
L.A. So'west 19, Santa Monica 18
L.A. Pierce 44, Antelope Valley 41
That may sound a bit cut throat, but a loss Saturday
(Nov. 14) when these teams conclude the regular National
Division Southern Conference season at the Gauchos’
Snakepit Stadium could spell the end for one of them.
Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
If Grossmont (7-2, 3-2) wins, the Griffins will clinch
a berth in the SoCal playoffs. If Saddleback wins,
idle Palomar advances to the SoCal playoffs. That
would leave Grossmont and Saddleback both groping
for a postseason bowl game. There are no guarantees
for gaining a bowl berth.
Saddleback (7-2, 3-2), which had a bye last week,
defeated the Griffins, 38-21, when the Gauchos offense
rolled up 478 yards last year. In that game, Saddleback
held a 20-minute advantage in time-of-possession despite
committing 12 penalties.
The Griffins played musical chairs at quarterback
last week in a stunning 13-10 loss to Santa Ana. MATT
JARVIS, BRANDON FRICKE and DORIAN STATON rotated taking
snaps. None of the trio was dominant. Fricke is listed
as the probable starter against Saddleback.
Gauchos QB David Ingram has passed for 1,263 yards
and 8 TDs by completing close to 53 percent of his
212 attempts. Saddleback is currently 11th in the
state in scoring, averaging 37.4 points-per-game for
the season. Grossmont is 15th, cranking out 35 points
per outing.
The Griffins rank 8th among state defenses permitting
268.3 yards and 18 points per game.
GRIFFIN GRAFITTI: Grossmont linebacker HOMER MAUGA
has been named the Southern Conference Defensive Player
of the Week for his 6 tackles and 2 sacks, a QB hurry
and a fumble recovery against Santa Ana. Mauga now
owns sacks in six consecutive contests, including
nine over the past five games – 4 were multi-sack
efforts... Saddleback leads the all-time series 12-4-1
(including one GC forfeit)... The game will be broadcast
live on the Gaucho Sports Network, starting at 6 p.m.
Windows Media Player is required to view the event
and you can purchase the streaming by visiting the
Gaucho Sports Network web page at the following LINK.
Any questions check Saddleback College website. The
play-per-view fee is $10... The Grossmont College
team banquet is Thursday, Nov. 19. For details and
reservations call (619) 644-7412.
Grossmont (7-2, 3-2 National Division Southern Conference)
stubbed its toe and did a pratfall in its final home
game Saturday (Nov. 7), falling to last place Santa
Ana, 13-10, at Mashin-Roth Memorial Field. Seven turnovers
and a muffed onsides kick proved costly as those miscues
led to 10 of Santa Ana ’s points.
Because of that untimely setback, the Griffins are
now facing a must-win situation when they close the
regular season Saturday (Nov. 14) at Saddleback (7-2,
3-2 NatSo) in Mission Viejo at 7 p.m. If the Griffins
are successful, they will tie idle Palomar for second
place in the National Division Southern Conference
behind champion Fullerton.
“It all hinges on the Saddleback game now,”
said Grossmont coach MIKE JORDAN said. At the very
least this game includes a bowl game invite to the
winner. The loser may be on the outside looking in.
Against Santa Ana, it was an afternoon of misfires
for the Griffins, who contributed to their demise
more than the Dons’ stout defense. Sure, the
Griffins outgained the visiting Dons (4-5, 1-4 NatSo)
by a 338-236 count, but could well have lost the game
on the final play of the first half. No question that
was a huge momentum boost for Santa Ana.
With BRANDON FRICKE – who hadn’t played
since week two due to injury – at the helm, the
Griffins, trailing 10-0 at the time, made one final
charge for the end zone as time was running out in
the first half. A 21-yard pass from Fricke to GREG
CORDER lanced what would be a 64-yard drive. Things
were well on schedule as the Griffins advanced the
ball to a first-and-goal from the 10-yard line. Three
plays later and less than a minute remaining, Grossmont
had positioned itself at the 1-yard line.
Grossmont coach MIKE JORDAN replaced the smaller
Fricke with 6-foot-2, 230-pound MATT JARVIS at quarterback.
At that point a QB sneak loomed obvious, and that
was the play call. Somehow Jarvis was unable to cover
the 32 inches needed to put Grossmont on the scoreboard
and Santa Ana pranced off the field with a 10-0 advantage
at the break.
“Obviously that was a big disappointment,”
Jordan said. “If we score there, who knows how
the second half turns out.”
Nonetheless, Grossmont started fast in the 3rd quarter.
On the Griffins’ third play following intermission,
Jarvis lofted a 60-yard scoring pass to JON MOLZEN
to put Grossmont on the board less than three minutes
into the second half.
When Santa Ana bobbled the ensuing kickoff DAMIEN
SMITH fell on the loose ball for Grossmont, giving
the Griffins possession at the Dons’ 18-yard
line. The golden scoring opportunity turned to bronze
when the Griffins had to settle for a game-tying 28-yard
field goal by TROY MUENZER.
Even in defeat Grossmont’s defense was rock
solid. The Griffins were led by outside linebacker
HOMER MAUGA, who recorded 6 tackles and 2 sacks, a
QB hurry and a fumble recovery. Mauga’s credentials
are worthy of conference player of the year as he
now owns sacks in six consecutive contests, including
nine over the past five games – four were multi-sack
efforts.
The problem was Grossmont’s offense kept putting
its defense in the hole. But time after time the Griffins
defenders came up with the big play down the stretch.
With the score tied 10-10 Grossmont’s CORY BELL
blocked a Chase Lansford (son of former California
Angels baseball standout Carney Lansford) field goal
attempt.
That set the Griffins’ offense in motion as
they drove to the Santa Ana 25-yard line where a 4th
down DORIAN STATON pass fell incomplete. Once again
Santa Ana stormed back down to Grossmont’s end
of the field only to see Lansford miss a 34-yard field
goal.
Credit for that miss belongs to Grossmont’s
special teams for putting on the pressure.
But the Griffins failed to capitalize and they were
forced to punt out of their own endzone. For the third
time the Dons stalked the red zone but were stopped
at the 3-yard line as the clock was winding down.
This time Lansford didn’t miss as he kicked
a game-winning field goal from 20 yards out with 20
seconds remaining.
Grossmont made one final charge as KI’ANIE BROOKS
returned a kickoff out of the endzone for 34 yards.
With 11 seconds left Jarvis connected with ALEX McLELAND
for a 21-yard gain that carried the ball into Santa
Ana territory. But McLeland fumbled after being tackled
and Santa Ana recovered to end the game.
Jarvis finished with 168 yards, completing 10 of
22 passes. He was sacked twice and threw three interceptions.
Fricke was 6 of 10 for 69 yards and was sacked twice.
JOEY DeMARTINO led Grossmont’s ground game with
89 yards rushing on 24 carries. A shortcoming for
the Griffins that must be shored up before they face
Saddleback is convincing their running backs that
they have to block to allow their quarterbacks time
to complete a pass.
If that doesn’t happen at Saddleback, it may
be a case of see ya next year.
Triumphant Sports has invited the top 85 football
players from around nation to compete in this
event, which pits the NJCAA All-American USA
Team against the CACC All-Americans from California.
A 6-foot-1, 230-pound sophomore linebacker,
Mauga has recorded nine sacks and averages seven
tackles per game for the Griffins (7-1). Mauga
is the first Grossmont College football player
to be invited to this postseason classic.
Triumphant Sports expects that more than 7,500
fans will attend this all-star football game.
GRIFFIN GRAFFITI — Offensive linemen CHARLES
WILEY (6-6, 305) and JUAN BOLANOS (6-7, 330)
will join OLB HOMER MAUGA in participating in
the 2nd annual National Junior College All American
Game.
No. 13 Griffins begin playoff drive,
host Santa Ana in home finale
This is the final regular season home game for Grossmont
(7-1, 3-1), which needs a win over the Dons (3-5,
0-4) and a season-ending win at Saddleback on Nov.
20. Should the Griffins execute a sweep they will
be guaranteed a berth in the playoffs.
While Grossmont is coming off a bye, the Dons, led
by defensive back Aaron Garbutt’s had 13 tackles,
succumbed to Long Beach 29-13. The Griffins lone setback
was 30-17 to conference-leading Fullerton. Santa Ana
ends the season hosting the Hornets.
Grossmont head coach MIKE JORDAN made it clear that
his Griffins have no reason to be cocky, considering
the visiting Dons are capable of springing an upset.
The coach doesn’t even think about Saddleback
at this juncture.
“Santa Ana is plenty good enough to beat us,”
Jordan said.
Not that Jordan believes that will happen. The fact
that the Griffins are coming off a bye is a wrinkle
he is not sure will be a plus or a minus.
“Our job is the task at hand,” Jordan said.
“We hope what is at stake will keep our kids
on edge.”
Grossmont has three quarterbacks in the running for
the starting job – BRANDON FRICKE, MATT JARVIS
and DORIAN STATON.
“It’s a dead heat right now,” Jordan
said. “Whoever has the hot hand will get the
ball. All three could handle the ball when all is
said and done.”
Jordan believes the Griffins are physically fit to
tackle the remainder of the season.
“I feel good about our chances,” Jordan
said.
RANKINGS — Grossmont is nationally ranked No.
13 by JC Grid-Wire and No. 12 in the JC
Gridiron.com Dirty 30. In the COA Southern California
Poll, the Griffins are tied with Santa Maria’s
Allan Hancock at No. 7.
GRIFFIN GRAFFITI — Santa Ana leads the all-time
series 7-4, including a last-minute 18-15 victory
last year... JOEY DeMARTINO is third in the conference
with 685 yards and 6 TDs on 103 carries... Freshman
QB DORIAN STATON is 4th in the conference with 159.4
yards per game... GC corner KYLE MONSON leads the
conference with 5 interceptions and safety JONATHAN
DARBY is third with four thefts... XAXIER MARTIN ranks
4th in kick return average with a 27.9 average on
15 returns... DeMartino is tied for third in scoring
averaging with six points per game.
SCFA playoff possibilities almost endless Griffins get bye while others will get eliminated
WEEK
NINE SCOREBOARD
SCFA DIVISION I
Southern Conference
Fullerton 20, Palomar 17
Saddleback 52, Orange Coast 14
Long Beach 29, Santa Ana 13
Grossmont - bye Northern Conference
Allan Hancock 55, Glendale 27
Bakersfield 44, Ventura 14
Pasadena 27, Moorpark 20
Coll. of the Canyons - bye Central Conference
Mt. San Antonio 42, El Camino 26
Cerritos 27, Coll. of the Desert 17
Chaffey 34, Riverside 14
Citrus - bye
SCFA DIVISION II
MountainConference
Victor Valley 42, San Diego Mesa 3
L.A. Harbor 72, Compton 0
Golden West 49, Mt. San Jacinto 21
SBVC 42, Southwestern 38 PacificConference
West L.A. 42, Santa Barbara 40
East L.A. 51, Santa Monica 37
L.A. Pierce 45, L.A. Valley 28
Antelope Valley 35, L.A. So'west 7
Yet, the Griffins remain on the bubble for one of
the eight coveted playoff positions, which will be
determined over the next three weeks.
Grossmont (7-1, 3-1) has a bye this week.
The Griffins return to action with their final home
game against upset-minded Santa Ana on Saturday (Nov.
7) followed by the regular season closing bout on
Nov. 14 against contender Saddleback (6-2, 2-2) in
Mission Viejo.
If the Griffins can execute a sweep, they’ll
be in. If they split – and include a win over
the Saddleback Gauchos in that great divide –
they may still make the grade.
The Gauchos hope to keep their playoff fire flickering
when they travel to Orange Coast (5-2, 1-2) in a must-win
situation against the Pirates on Saturday (Oct. 31).
The Southern Conference definitely has a slant of
Orange County favoritism to its scheduling –
at least as far a Grossmont College is concerned.
Long Beach, Fullerton, Orange Coast and Saddleback
all received a bye week prior to meeting the Griffins.
Advantage to the OC? No doubt.
For now, the Griffins must make like cheerleaders
and root for the nationally-ranked No. 10 Palomar
Comets (7-1, 3-1), who host No. 12 Fullerton (6-1,
3-0) Saturday (Oct. 31) at Escondido High School.
Kickoff in the crucial contest is 6 p.m.
Here’s the deal. Grossmont handed Palomar its
lone loss, 29-26, but Fullerton dropped the Griffins
30-17. Thus, a Comets win over the Hornets would lock
the Southern Conference title into a three-way tie
between Grossmont, Palomar and Fullerton.
Should that potential tie hold down the stretch,
one of those three teams will probably wind up on
the outside looking in when the SoCal berths are announced.
The odd-team out would likely land a post-season bowl
game, however.
As many as 14 teams remain in the running for those
eight berths heading into this weekend.
GRIFFIN GRAFFITI — Quarterback MATT JARVIS,
tight end JACOB PODPORA and linebacker HOMER MAUGA
were selected National Division Southern Conference
honorable mention players of the week.
Orange Coast Pirates-Grossmont
Griffins (Slideshow by Donna Rohmer)
No notice? No problem for
Grossmont quarterback Jarvis 4 long TD passes, 367 yards
sinks Orange Coast, 43-12
He didn’t have 24 hours to get nervous even
though he was leading the Griffins into a must-win
situation against the Pirates (5-1, 1-1) from Costa
Mesa.
Add to a possible case of butterflies for Jarvis that
this was to be only his second start since 2005 –
when he was a senior at El Capitan – one could
see the pressure was on.
OTHER
VIEWS
Orange
County Register inc. Fullerton-Saddleback coverage SignOn
San Diego Costa
Mesa Daily Pilot "The Pirates were plagued by an inefficient
passing game and an overmatched secondary in
what was their most lopsided loss in 73 games.
Not since Palomar topped them, 43-6, in
2002, have the Pirates been beaten so thoroughly."
No worries – Jarvis was magnificent. And so were
the Griffins, who pulverized the Pirates, 43-12, to
maintain a share of second place in the "Super
7" conference.
The 6-foot-3, 230-pound Jarvis, who last started
against Southwestern in Week 3, completed 16
of 30 passes for a career-high 367 yards and four
touchdowns.
“The line did a great job of letting me drop
back and pick people apart,” said Jarvis, who
has appeared in all but two of Grossmont’s eight
games. “We were coming off a tough loss last
week (at Fullerton ) so we know we have to win out
to make the (state) playoffs and have a shot at winning
our conference.”
On the Griffins’ third play from scrimmage Jarvis
connected with a wide open JACOB PODPORA with a 50-yard
touchdown play. In the next series Jarvis led the Griffins
to a 20-yard field goal by TROY MUENZER, and suddenly
it was 10-0 with 4:47 left in the 1st quarter.
After basically spinning their wheels the remainder
of the 1st half Jarvis dialed long-distance in the
3rd quarter, hitting KENYON PETTIS with a 60-yard
scoring strike and then finding Podpora in the open
again to complete a 61-yard TD pass.
With little more than seven minutes into the 2nd
half Grossmont had a commanding 24-3 lead.
“He throws a real accurate downfield ball,”
said coach MIKE JORDAN. “When we protect him
we have the receivers who can catch the ball.”
Jarvis’ final touchdown pass came on a 37-yarder
to ALEX McLELAND, expanding the Griffins lead to 30-3
with 2:29 remaining. But he still wasn’t through.
On the ensuing series he hooked up with PATRICK MAULL
on a 42-yard pass. JOEY DeMARTINO took over from there,
jogging the final five yards to turn the game into
a rout, 36-3.
Podpora, an unheralded tight end, caught more passes
in this game than he had in his first five games combined,
finishing with 6 receptions for 156 yards and the
two scores.
“It’s always exciting to catch the ball,”
said Podpora, a former Santana High defensive end.
“Usually as the tight end, you expect the safety
to be back there to hit you. When I caught that first
ball I was bracing to get hit, but there was nobody
there. So I just kept on running. On the second touchdown
I got a great block by DUSTIN (DRISCOL).”
Quarterback NICK CARY came off the Grossmont bench
to guide the Griffins over the last 7½ minutes.
He completed 2 of 4 passes for 49 yards, including
a 33-yard touchdown connection with MOHAMMED FOFANA.
Cary was also the Griffins second leading rusher with
7 yards on 2 carries.
DeMartino topped the Griffins’ run game with
52 yards on 16 carries.
If not for wholesale substitutions the Griffins would
have kept Orange Coast out of the endzone. The Pirates’
offensive showing consisted of two field goals until
they finally scored a touchdown with 55 seconds left.
Grossmont’s HOMER MAUGA once again proved that
he is one of the top linebackers in community college
football with 8 tackles – 4 of them for losses
– and a pair of sacks.
Mauga now owns sacks in five consecutive contests,
including seven over the past four games – three
were multi-sack efforts.
Griffins corner KYLE MONSON had another big game.
The 5-foot-7, 175-pound freshman recorded 8 tackles
and his 5th interception of the season. A second theft
that he returned 39 yards for an apparent touchdown
was nullified by a penalty.
CORY BELL accounted for 2 of the Griffins’ 4
interceptions and JONATHAN DARBY picked off his 4th
of the season. WINN McALONEY and CHARLES BOLDEN each
blocked a kick.
Grossmont will have Halloween weekend off before
welcoming Santa Ana on Saturday (Nov. 4).
It's must win time for both Griffins, Orange Coast With one loss each, there's no more room for
mistakes
Bottom line though is this is a must-win for both
squads if they have aspirations of earning a berth
in the 8-team Southern California playoffs.
Orange Coast (5-1, 1-1 National Division–Southern
Conference), out of Costa Mesa, will tackle the Griffins
(6-1, 2-1 (NatSo) on Saturday (Oct. 24) at Mashin-Roth
Memorial Field at 1 p.m.
Front-running Fullerton put the squeeze on Orange
Coast 38-10 before whipping the Griffins 30-17 last
week.
Grossmont leads the Southern Conference in total
offense with 440.6 yards and 37.4 points per game.
The Griffins look to JOEY DeMARTINO (87-633, 5 TDs,
126.6 ypg), who ranks 2nd among the Southern Conference
rushers and is finally back at full strength.
Quarterback DORIAN STATON, the circuit’s No.
3 quarterback, has completed 80 of 140 passes for
964 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’s also rushed
for 152 yards and 3 scores.
Versatile XAVIER MARTIN, averaging 129 all-purpose
yards with 6 touchdowns, is the Griffins’ leading
receiver with 27 catches. He is also a threat returning
kickoffs and punts.
Defensively Grossmont ranks No. 3 in the conference,
allowing 275.3 yards and 19.9 points per game.
Orange Coast is last in total offense, generating
just 280 yards and 19 points a game.
“I don’t care what their stats say, Orange
Coast ’s offensive line is huge – about
325 pounds a man,” said Grossmont defensive coordinator
DAVE JORDAN. “They are capable of moving the
ball and putting up points. We’re going to have
to beat ‘em with our quickness.”
That starts with linebackers HOMER MAUGA, ELLIOT
CHAPMAN and WINN McALONEY, along with corner KYLE
MONSON and safety JONATHAN DARBY.
GRIFFIN GRAFFITI — The University of Wyoming
coaching staff attend Thursday’s practice at
Grossmont... Orange Coast leads the all-time series
14-4-1, but the Griffins won 21-13 last year... Grossmont
is ranked 9th in Southern California and 14th in the
state... OCC is No. 18 in the state and 11th in Southern
California... The Griffins and OCC are tied for second
in the circuit with 21 sacks apiece.
SCFA
DIVISION I
Southern Conference
Fullerton 30, Grossmont 17
Palomar 41, Santa Ana 27
Saddleback 28, Long Beach 24
Ornage Coast - bye Northern Conference
Bakersfield 52, Moorpark 14
Canyons 14, Glendale 6
Allan Hancock 38, Pasadena 23
Ventura - bye Central Conference
Cerritos 21, Citrus 16
El Camino 42, Desert 20
Mt. San Antonio 45, Riverside 12
Chaffey - bye SCFA DIVISION II
MountainConference Southwestern
51, Mt. San Jacinto 49
Golden West 18, San Diego Mesa 7
L.A. Harbor 27, Victor Valley 13
San Bernardino Valley 42, Compton 14 PacificConference
Antelope Valley 35, West LA 10
East L.A. 41, L.A. Valley 40
L.A. Pierce 24, L.A. Southwest 0
Santa Monica 16, Santa Barbara 13
However, when deciding what determined Saturday's (Oct.
18) "Super 7" Conference ballgame is one ingredient
not found wearing green. Hornets running back Kenny
Turner again proved to be one of community college football's
most elusive backs, rushing for 153 yards and a pair
of touchdowns in a 30-17 decision at Fullerton Union
District Stadium.
Turner's ability to spin out of tackles or make defenders
miss – especially against an opponent already
suffering when it comes to making key stops –
led to several big plays to move Fullerton (5-1, 2-0
Southern Conference) a half-game ahead of Grossmont
(6-1, 2-1 SC) in the standings in a battle of the
circuit's two remaining undefeated ballclubs.
"We have opportunities arise, we just try to
take advantage of each of them," said Turner,
"With our line, we can make big plays. I just
do whatever I can with the ball."
The most significant of those plays capped the first
half moments after Grossmont bounced back from a 10-0
deficit to seemingly tie the game going into the intermission.
Following a muffed punt which gave Fullerton possession
on the Griffins-39 with 12 seconds left, Turner took
off with the ball towards the left sideline. He busted
through two tackles as he turned up field, spun through
two other tacklers near the 10, then fell into the
end zone with another Grossmont defender draped on
his back.
The touchdown not only gave Fullerton the lead for
keeps at 17-10, the momentum swing never returned
to the Griffins, who were shutout until the final
minute of the ballgame.
"We just couldn't wrap up, thus we allowed some
cheap touchdowns," said Grossmont defensive back
KYLE MONSON, who registered an interception –
his fourth in two weeks – to key the team's first-half
comeback. "Sure they had the trick field goal,
but they got us for some plays, too."
Following an early field goal in the first quarter,
Fullerton lined up for a second boot early in the
second quarter. However, holder Matt Heady, the Hornets'
second-string quarterback, jumped up after taking
the snap and floated a 23-yard TD pass to Justin Dunford.
Grossmont coaches barked that the play was illegal,
since the receiver never was in the huddle; he just
barely stepped onto the field without checking to
at least the numbers painted on the field (the "sleeper"
play of sneaking a player onto the playing surface
in front of a team's bench was long ago outlawed).
Getting burned on a trick play only woke up the Griffins,
who scored 10 points over their next two possessions.
The string started when DORIAN STATON tossed a deep
rainbow pass, as KENYON PETTIS got behind the Hornets
secondary to catch the ball in stride for the score
it make it 10-7. A few minutes later, a quarterback
sack by JA'RODD WATSON forced Fullerton to punt. Grossmont
eventually cashed in that break to tie it on a 34-yard
field goal by TROY MUENZER.
"We kept our composure after the fake field
goal," noted Watson, who posted a shared sack
with teammate MATT NILMEYER. "But not all the
plays are going to go your way. We just need to work
harder together."
"I don't expect to lose any more games this
season – we should see Fullerton again (in the
playoffs)."
The second half was Fullerton's, starting with a
25-yard TD pass to Dunford late in the third period,
although Grossmont shared visions of a comeback similar
to the Chaffey game in Week 4 when a missed extra
point kept the door open enough for a rally –
this time, on a blocked PAT by ZACH MOORE.
But on the first snap of the fourth period, Turner
rambled for a 29-yard score, making up for his 61-yard
TD rush from moments earlier which was chopped down
to a 41-yard gain due to a downfield penalty on the
Hornets.
MATT JARVIS, Grossmont's back-up quarterback, hit
BRANDON CHAMBERS on a 26-yard cosmetic tally with
1:00 remaining. Otherwise, the Griffins collected
just 244 total yards, leaving the defense on the field
for more than 60 percent of the ballgame.
Still, several of Grossmont's top individual defenders
again posted solid outings. Included were a pair of
sacks by HOMER MAUGA, while ELLIOT CHAPMAN posted
11 tackles (7 solo).
Staton completed 14 of 27 passes for 159 yards, including
a pair of completions for 77 yards to Pettis. Running
back JOEY DeMARTINO was limited to 48 yards on 13
carries.
Grossmont will host Orange Coast (5-1, 1-1 NatSo)
– its third straight league opponent coming off
a bye – on Saturday (Oct. 24).
Sat.,
Oct. 17
Grossmont (6-0, 2-0) at Fullerton (4-1, 1-0)
At Fullerton (HS) District Stadium, 6 p.m.
Super 7 leaders meet
is all the buzz when
Griffins faces Fullerton
This is a pivotal game for the Griffins (6-0, 2-0),
who lead the division going in. Fullerton (4-1, 1-0)
is the only other team among the “Super 7”
without a defeat.
“You can’t look past anybody in this conference,”
Grossmont coach MIKE JORDAN said. “Everybody
has good players and all are capable of winning on
any given day. Obviously, Fullerton is among the best
in this elite conference.”
Fullerton opened division activity by bowling over
Orange Coast 38-10. The Hornets also own an impressive
70-17 romp over Moorpark, but folded their wings in
a 26-13 loss to College of the Canyons.
The unofficial motto at Grossmont is “find a
way.” And so far, despite different inadequacies,
the Griffins have done exactly that. Injuries have
caused some inconsistency, but Grossmont appears to
be at full strength.
One thing that has stung the Griffins each of the
past two seasons is the schedule has worked against
them. Every week Grossmont’s conference foe is
coming off a bye prior to tackling the Griffins.
“Having two weeks to prepare for a team is a
definite advantage,” Jordan said. “But it’s
just something we have to deal with. We’ll be
ready.”
GRIFFIN GRAFFITI — For the fifth time in six
weeks, the Griffins have captured one of the three
National Division Southern Conference player of the
week awards. Freshman corner KYLE MONSON was selected
the Defensive Player of the Week for his three interceptions
in last week’s win over Long Beach... Linebacker
ANDREW WONG and JERICHO MAXWELL received honorable
mention... Fullerton OT John Cullen (6-6, 280) is
rated the fifth-best Division I college prospect by
Rivals.com. Hornets DE Joel Bonomolo (6-3,
245) is rated the 17th-best prospect at his position
by Rivals.com.
DID YOU KNOW? Grossmont’s second football game
in its inaugural 1962 season was at Fullerton and
televised locally by Los Angeles’ KCOP Channel
13. For the record, the Hornets won that one 22-0...
Fullerton leads the all-time series 13-4, including
a 44-15 victory last year.
Grossmont
21, Long Beach 9
The Griffins have "fun,
fun, fun;" surf past Beach. (Photo by Donna Rohmer)
Long Beach Vikings at Grossmont
Griffins (Slideshow by Donna Rohmer)
Turns out they were fortunate not to be licking their
wounds after claiming a 21-9 National Division Southern
Conference win over the pesky Vikings at Mashin-Roth
Field.
The Griffins, who led only 7-3 nine minutes into
the third quarter, finished with a season scoring
low.
“We’re a pretty tight team,” said
linebacker ALEXANDER WONG. “We don’t like
pointing fingers to adversity. We pull together, not
blaming anybody.”
Even though they didn’t sparkle, Grossmont did
manage to produce 421 yards against a Long Beach crew
that came in allowing 546 yards per game.
Bottom line: Grossmont is 6-0 and leads the National
Southern Division with a 2-0 mark. The Griffins will
take on the second-place Fullerton College on Saturday
(Oct. 17). Kickoff from Fullerton (Union HS) District
Stadium is 6 p.m.
The only finger Wong needed was one to signify that
he was No. 1 in tackles as he led the Griffins with
13 stops.
A transfer from San Jose State, the 5-foot-10, 230-pound
Wong exhibited extraordinary quickness all afternoon,
making tackles as far downfield as 40 yards.
“I attribute my playing style to being disciplined
and not trying to do too much,” Wong said. “I
just play within the scheme and play hard. You have
to play with your heart and go get ‘em like they
stole something from you.”
Grossmont intercepted 4 passes – 3 of them by
corner KYLE MONSON. Two of the thefts by the 5-7,
175-pound freshman from Saugus came in the endzone,
stalling potential Long Beach scoring drives. It appeared
that Monson had a third pick in the endzone, but his
catch was ruled out of bounds. He also picked off
a pass near midfield.
“I thought I was inbounds and I should have
had four interceptions,” Monson said. “But
we’ll just have to look at the films and see.”
At his size Monson realizes that nearly every receiver
he is matched up against is going to be taller.
“I know they think they’re picking on me
because they can send their taller receivers out on
a shorter corner, like me,” Monson said. “But
that doesn’t bother me. Based on some of the
routes they try to run, it comes down to knowing what
they want to do, and anticipating where they want
to put the ball.”
For Monson it’s a matter of positioning and
somehow he always seems to wind up on front of the
receiver, which can cause the offensive player to
try to go over Monson’s back. And that can lead
to offensive pass interference.
Grossmont blocked a field goal and a punt. The field
goal rejection, made by JERICHO MAXWELL on the final
play of the 1st half was picked up by MARKUS PEIRCE-BREWSTER,
who rambled 25 yards before lateraling to HOMER MAUGA,
who traveled an additional 25 yards before tossing
the ball to CORY BELL who advanced another 20 yards
to the Long Beach 10-yard line before he was knocked
out of bounds with two seconds to play.
Unfortunately for Grossmont, the referees failed
to stop the clock, so the half ended with the Griffins
clinging to a 4-point lead.
OTHNIEL MAIAVA blocked a punt in the 3rd quarter
after the Griffins had extended their lead to 14-3
on a 20-yard touchdown pass from DORIAN STATON to
PATRICK MAULL. A product of Helix High, Maull did
some fancy dancing to shake two Long Beach tacklers
on his way to the endzone.
DARRIN ALIX capped a nine play, 81-yard scoring drive
with a 5-yard run to make it 21-3 with 5:33 left in
the game.
RAMON JUDKINS led the Griffins’ running game
with 83 yards on a dozen carries.
WEEK
SIX SCOREBOARD
SCFA DIVISION I
Southern Conf./'The Super 7'
Grossmont 21, Long Beach 9
Palomar 27, Saddleback 21
Orange Cst. 33, Santa Ana 27 (3OT)
Fullerton - bye Central Conference Mt. San Antonio 55, Citrus 0
El Camino 24, Chaffey 13
Desert 41, Riverside 40 (OT)
Cerritos - bye Northern Conference
Ventura 26, Pasadena 20
Canyons 31, Moorpark 7
Bakersfield 31, Allan Hancock 24
Glendale - bye SCFA DIVISION II
Mountain Conference
All have byes Pacific Conference
L.A. Pierce 62, West L.A.
55 (OT)
All others have byes
Staton completed 20 of 36 passes for 225 yards and a
touchdown. Staton’s 1-yard run accounted for Grossmont’s
only touchdown in the 1st half. It was setup by an interception
and 22-yard return by WINN McALONEY with 2:44 left in
the 1st quarter.
However, Staton was sacked four times as Long Beach’s
defense did not live up to its miserable press clippings.
“It’s like every game in our conference,”
said Griffins coach MIKE JORDAN. “It’s gonna
be tough. And it’s not going to get any easier
the rest of the way.”
Asked if last week’s 29-26 victory over Palomar
may have sapped the Griffins’ emotions for this
joust against the Vikings (1-4, 0-1 NatSo), Jordan
acknowledged “Yeah, we were maybe a little flat,
which we talked about before this game. But we were
still functional. We won the game, right?”
(Photo by John Fajardo,
Long Beach Post)
SATURDAY
Long Beach City College
at Grossmont College Mashin-Roth Memorial
Stadium, 1 p.m.
Imperfect Griffins place
perfect record on the line,
play ball with The Beach
Although far from perfect in their means to arrive
at the halfway point in the season unbeaten, the Griffins
(5-0, 1-0 SC) always seem to find a way to finish
on top. That’s a mark of a championship football
team.
It’s also a bit risky. Teams that repeatedly
walk the tightrope as do these Griffins, have been
known to trip.
No question the Griffins – ranked No. 7 in the
state and No. 4 in Southern California – are
heavily favored to handle the visiting Vikings (1-3,
0-0 SC) this weekend.
But there are no givens. Victories are earned not
granted.
Grossmont, which has been blanked in four of its
last eight quarters, should welcome a chance to rack
up some points against a LBCC team surrendering an
average of 56.5 points in four games. But the Vikings
can put the ball in the endzone, as they are averaging
close to 30 points per game. So the Griffins might
be surprised if they attempt to win this one in cruise
control.
Freshman quarterback DORIAN STATON has been a pleasant
surprise for the Griffins, and figures to draw the
starting nod for the second week in a row.
Running back JOEY DeMARTINO (74-585, 5 TDs) ranks
third among state rushers, while versatile receiver-return
specialist XAVIER MARTIN is a threat wherever he lines
up.
Defensively, the Griffins’ front seven is well
regarded. Linemen JERICHO MAXWELL, CODY FURR, Ja’RODD
WATSON, and linebackers HOMER MAUGA and ALEXANDER
WONG are among Grossmont’s defensive leaders
GRIFFIN GRAFFITI — Sophomore strong safety JONATHAN
DARBY was the fourth Grossmont player to earn National
Division-Southern Conference Player of the Week honors.
Darby, a product of West Hills High, was recognized
for making 12 tackles in the Griffins triumph over
Palomar... Grossmont vanquished the Vikings 33-7 a
year ago, but LBCC leads the all-time series 7-5...
Of Long Beach’s 19 touchdowns, 16 have come through
the air... All three of LBCC’s losses have come
to undefeated teams – Los Angeles Harbor (71-43),
El Camino (65-20) and Cerritos (47-10). The Vikings
edged West Los Angeles 44-43 two weeks ago and had
a bye last weekend.
SCFA DIVISION I
Southern Conference
'The Super 7'
Grossmont 29, Palomar 26
Saddleback 42, Santa Ana 38
Fullerton 38, Orange Coast 10
Long Beach - bye Central Conference Cerritos 31, Chaffey 14
Desert 17, Citrus 10
El Camino 41, Riverside 16
Mt. San Antonio - bye Northern Conference
Bakersfield 34, Pasadena 13
Allan Hancock 19, Canyons 16
Ventura 20, Glendale 13
Moorpark - bye SCFA DIVISION II
Mountain Conference
L.A. Harbor 56, Southwestern 51
San Bernardino Valley 14, Mesa 10
Golden West 21, Victor Valley 9
Mt. San Jacinto 27, Compton 2 Pacific Conference
L.A. Pierce 35, East L.A. 27
Antelope
Valley 55, Santa Monica 0
L.A. Valley 34, West L.A. 20
Santa Barbara 28, L.A. Southwest 3
“I knew this was one we had to win,” said
the 6-foot, 220-pound sophomore. “I didn’t
go to bed ‘til about 2 a.m. because I was doing
a lot of studying and working on my hand techniques.”
Turns out Mauga was in on 7 tackles and recorded
3 sacks as the visiting Griffins edged Palomar, 29-26,
at Escondido High School.
“I had to play a role but they didn’t seem
to know when I was coming,” Mauga added. “So
I did a pretty good job of disguising it.”
Grossmont (5-0, 1-0 SC) used a 26-0 scoring run in
the second quarter to take a 29-10 halftime lead.
Quarterback DORIAN STATON contributed scoring passes
of 14 yards to JON MOLZEN and 20 yards to MOHAMMED
FOFANA to close out the period that began with JOEY
DeMARTINO’s 13-yard scoring burst. DARRIN ALIX
also delivered a 46-yard scoring dash on his first
carry of the game.
As smoothly as that quarter went, the Griffins were
shut out in the second half. It was the second week
in a row that Grossmont was held scoreless over a 30-minute
stretch. Chaffey blanked the Griffins in the first half
a week ago. Grossmont came back to win that game by
a single point.
Palomar (4-1, 0-1 SC), ranked No. 7 in the nation,
narrowly missed pulling a reversal on the Griffins
in the division opener.
Slowly Grossmont’s offense ground to a near
standstill as Palomar made it a three-point game.
A major reason was the loss of leading rusher DeMartino,
who finished with 97 yards on 24 carries.
“When Joey pulled his hamstring, we didn’t
want to take any chances so we pulled him out of the
game (for all of the 4th quarter), and that changed
things,” said Grossmont coach MIKE JORDAN.
The Griffins, leading 29-19 with 3:48 remaining,
began to see control of the game slipping through
their hands after the Comets stopped Staton a yard
short on a 4th-and-11 scramble at their own 10-yard
line.
That seemed to pump new life into the Palomar offense
as quarterback Nate Ong completed three straight passes,
covering 90 yards to make it a 3-point game. Martavious
Lee made a fine catch for the final 29 yards and the
TD with 2:27 remaining. Earlier in the game Lee dropped
two passes – one of which would have been a sure
touchdown.
Palomar had to use all three of its timeouts as the
Griffins attempted to run the final 2:25 off the clock.
Grossmont came up 22 seconds short, leaving the Comets
with one last chance, starting at their own 37-yard
line.
“They were playing blitz every down and we were
trying to get first downs and keep possession,”
Jordan said. “We might have got conservative
a little too soon.”
Palomar would launch six more passes. With :02 left
the Comets had the ball at the Grossmont-43. They
had the option of trying a 60-yard field goal or going
for a Hail Mary pass. They went for the latter and
Ong’s pass landed out of bounds at the 2-yard
line as time ran out.
“That was a hard one,” Jordan said of the
narrow victory. “Luckily, we got off to a good
start. The second half was a little bit disappointing
for us, but we did what we wanted to do as far as
controlling the ball.”
Staton completed 16 of 27 passes for 152 yards and
also rushed for 61 yards on 11 carries.
“He managed the game real well – threw
some nice balls,” said Jordan. “And he got
out of some bad situations with his speed. He did
a great job, especially considering this was his first
start.”
XAVIER MARTIN had 6 receptions but could never break
loose, settling for 41 yards total. Alix finished
with 66 yards on 10 carries.
Although there were 65 passes thrown by the two teams,
only Grossmont’s MATT NILMEYER came down with
an interception.
CODY FURR and CORY BELL had fumble recoveries for
the Griffins.
“This is a huge start to our league season,”
Grossmont safety JONATHAN DARBY declared. The 6-foot-2,
200-pound sophomore racked up a team high 12 tackles.
Hometown flavor in Super 7 opener
between nationally-ranked unbeatens
Both enter the contest at 4-0, and each
thinks they are pretty good. Of course, it’s all
relative considering they play in the toughest conference
in the state. All seven members of the Super-7 conference
have won a state title in the past.
“Just because you’re 4-0 right
now doesn’t mean you invented the game,” said
Palomar coach JOE EARLY. “Since this is the conference
opener, both of us are trying to get the same thing
– a leg up. Add to that, this is a renewed rivalry
with a lot of emotion.”
Early notes that a fast start is not essential
but is close to it.
“I don’t look at the rankings
that much but I know that 6 of our 7 seven teams are
ranked either nationally or in the state,” he added.
“One thing’s for sure, there aren’t going
to be any easy ones from here on out.”
Grossmont crushed Palomar 49-3 last season
and the Comets haven’t forgotten.
“We have a lot of kids that played
in that game and they haven’t forgotten that Grossmont
is one of the teams that kept us out of the state playoffs
last year,”
Early pointed out. “We know what’s
at stake.”
Early also noted that the Comets have
started their last three seasons at 4-0 only to stumble
in game five.
Grossmont coach MIKE JORDAN recognizes
that Palomar is the best team so far that the Griffins
will face.
“They have a big offensive line that
blocks very well,” Jordan said. “They throw
a lot of different looks at you. In a lot of ways they’re
like us.”
Unpredictable?
Offensively the Griffins are led by running
back JOEY DeMARTINO (162.7 ypg, 5 TDs), wide receiver/return
specialist XAVIER MARTIN (164.3 ypg, 5 TDs) and a big
offensive line anchored by tackle JUAN BOLANOS (6-foot-7,
330 pounds).
Just who will start at quarterback for
the Griffins will always be a last minute decision.
“DeMartino is about the best runner
we’ve ever had,” said Jordan. “He’s
so elusive that he’s a breakaway threat every time
he touches the ball. So we’ve got to find a way
to get him the ball as much as possible.”
Linebackers HOMER MAUGA, ELLIOT CHAPMAN,
WINN McALONEY and ALEXANDER WONG, plus defensive backs
KYLE MONSON, ARTHUR HOBBS and JOSHUA UDEH, along with
safety JONATHAN DARBY and defensive lineman Ja’RODD
WATSON are among the mainstays of the Grossmont defense.
Palomar, which, like Grossmont has taken
its lumps at the QB position, is counting on Nate Ong
to call the signals against the Griffins.
The Comets have a horde of running backs
led by Orenzo Davis (87.5 ypg, 3 TDs) and Tyler Lavea
(66 ypg, 2 TDs). Lavea is also an excellent receiver
although his statistics don’t reflect that.
Palomar’s defense ranks with the
best in the state, led by safeties Tevan McCaskill and
Chris Boudreaux who combined for 17 tackles in the victory
over COD. Linebackers Gator Pugh, Tyler Seau, Matt Segi
and DeMarcus Williams give the Comets a solid linebacking
corps.
The Griffins scored four touchdowns over
the final 19 minutes, including a trio of fourth-quarter
touchdown passes by quarterback DORIAN STATON in dealing
Chaffey a stunning 28-27 defeat last Saturday (Sept.
25) in Rancho Cucamonga.
Staton, who staggered to a 3-for-11 passing
start in relief, made a torrid closing, completing 9
of his final 10 aerials for 170 yards, including a 42-yard
strike to ALEX McLELAND with 1:01 remaining to tie the
game 27-27. TROY MUENZER’s PAT provided the Griffins
with the game-winner.
“Grossmont’s like most times,”
Early said. “There are times they look very good
and other times they look not so good. Considering they
were down 21-0 in the 2nd half (against Chaffey) and
came back to win – that’s something you have
to take notice of. That’s the mark of a good team.”
Meanwhile, Palomar’s visit to Palm
Desert was no picnic, as the Comets railroaded the Roadrunners
of College of the Desert 17-7. Davis rushed for 127
yards on 14 carries, including a 3-yard touchdown run
with 6:42 left in the game to clinch the victory.
RATINGS GAME — The Comets
hold the edge over the Griffins in every community poll.
From a national perspective, Palomar is ranked No. 7
by J.C. Gridiron.com of Lake Forest, Wash., and No.
8 by JC Grid-Wire.com of Seattle... Grossmont is ranked
No. 16 in the nation by the JC Grid-Wire and No. 17
by J.C. Gridiron.com... In the California Community
College Football Coaches Association state poll. Palomar
is No. 5, Grossmont No. 8... In the California Community
College Southern Regional State Football Poll, released
by the California Community College Athletic Association
and the California Community College Football Coaches
Association, Palomar is ranked No. 3. Grossmont is No.
5.
GRIFFIN GRAFFITI — For the
third consecutive week the Griffins captured one of
the major Southern California Football Association National
Division Southern Conference’s top three awards
when freshman quarterback DORIAN STATON was tabbed the
offensive player of the week. Staton came off the bench
to throw three TD passes to complete Grossmont’s
win over Chaffey... Other Griffins recognized by the
conference for the Chaffey game were safety JONATHAN
DARBY and wide receiver-return specialist XAVIER MARTIN...
Palomar leads the all-time series over Grossmont 14-10...
There have been some thrillers in this series, none
more memorable than the 4th annual South County Bowl
at Southwestern College. Palomar pulled that one out
20-19 with 1:12 remaining.
Grossmont
28, Chaffey 27
Grossmont Griffins at Chaffey
Panthers (Slideshow by Donna Rohmer)
Griffins running back Joseph
DeMartino (21) races
around right end and down the sideline en route
to a 31-yard touchdown romp to get Grossmont
on the scoreboard late in the third quarter. (Photo by Donna Rohmer)
Which perhaps makes the ballclub's fourth-quarter rally
all the more remarkable.
The Griffins scored four touchdowns over the final
19 minutes, including a trio of fourth-quarter touchdown
passes by quarterback DORIAN STATON in dealing host
Chaffey a stunning 28-27 defeat at Grigsby Field.
Staton, who overcame a miserable 3-for-11 passing stint
in relief, suddenly found the On Switch in the final
15 minutes. His torrid closing saw the Helix High product
complete 9 of his final 10 aerials for 170 yards, including
a 42-yard strike to ALEX McLELAND with 1:01 remaining.
"It's deceptive speed," mused McLeland, a
Scripps Ranch alum. "But really, it's all about
route-running there. And it was a new up-route we just
added this week – it got them good for the crucial
touchdown."
The PAT kick by TROY MUENZER gave the lead to Grossmont
(4-0), which trailed 21-0 late in the third period.
Chaffey (2-2) had one last opportunity, but instead
of attempting a go-ahead 39-yard field goal with 15
seconds to play, the Panthers took one shot at the end
zone from the Griffins-22. However, with two defenders
in the area, safety JONATHAN DARBY registered the victory-clinching
interception for a touchback. It was Darby’s third
theft of the season.
“I knew they were going to throw the hitch-and-go
because they've been going with hitches all game,"
said Darby. "The quarterback threw the ball a little
too far and I was exactly where I was supposed to be."
The Grossmont defense did everything possible to keep
the contest close while waiting for the team's offense
to awaken, but the hosts still mounted a 14-0 lead.
The Griffins completed just 1-of-9 passes between two
quarterbacks in the first half, but the lone catch was
fumbled following a mere 3-yard gain. It also setup
a short 15-yard TD drive for a 7-0 first-quarter lead,
then Chaffey’s Daimion Stafford registered a 63-yard
punt runback in the second period.
“In the first half our past protection wasn’t
picking up their blitzes,” Grossmont head coach
MIKE JORDAN said. “They had us stymied until we
made some adjustments at halftime.”
Chaffey, which also rotated quarterbacks throughout
the contest, saw A.J. Springer run a draw up the middle
when the Griffins blitzed to the outside, skating 31
yards untouched to gain a 21-0 lead.
But the momentum swing again was initialized by the
Grossmont defense, this time by a pair of Bay Area products.
A big hit by linebacker ELLIOT CHAPMAN (San Francisco)
forced a fumble which was recovered by ALEXANDER WONG
(San Jose).
Two plays later, Griffins running back JOSEPH DeMARTINO
went around right end on a 31-yard TD score, finally
breathing life into the offense with 3:49 left in the
third.
"It was rough coming in after I pulled my hammy
(hamstring) last week," said DeMartino, who rushed
14 times for 123 yards. "But coach gave me the
go tonight and we finally made it happen."
"We kept pushing and the line kept blocking –
that's all you can ask for."
On the next series, Grossmont, which gained just a
single first down – by penalty – in the first
half, suddenly moved the chains over four straight plays.
Included was a 16-yard burst by DeMartino, plus a trio
of Staton completions. He found former Helix teammate
PATRICK MAULL for 9 yards, SEAN BURR for 25 more, then
a 37-yard TD hookup with XAVIER MARTIN to make it 21-14.
"As one of the team captains and leaders, I have
to set the tone and set the team on fire," said
Martin. "This team is not a fluke."
"We hope to play 11 more games (including a state
playoff run) starting with Palomar next week, but it'll
be tough because Palomar's secondary is filled with
Pac-10, D-1 material."
Chaffey, the longtime rival of the Griffins during
the teams' era in the Foothill Conference (which ended
in 2007), got one score back but missed the conversion
which gave Grossmont the opening needed to complete
the comeback.
The next drive, aided by a pair of Panthers penalties,
saw Staton find MOHAMMAD FOFANA on a 5-yard TD pass
with 8:32 left.
Southland
Scoreboard
WEEK FOUR
Non-Conference Grossmont 28, Chaffey 27
Coll. of the Canyons 26, Fullerton 13
Long Beach 44, West L.A. 43 Orange Coast 10, Glendale 6
Palomar 17, Coll. of the Desert 7
Saddleback 24, Mt. San Antonio 14 Santa Ana 51, Moorpark 36
Cerritos 36, Ventura 35
El Camino 40, Bakersfield 24
Allan Hancock 48, Citrus 23
Pasadena 38, Riverside 7 Mountain Conference
San Diego Mesa 38, Mt. San Jacinto 27
Southwestern 13, Compton 6
L.A. Harbor 35, Golden West 32
Victor Valley 41, San Bernardino Valley 29 Pacific Conference
Antelope Valley 32, Santa Barbara 7
East L.A. 41, L.A. Southwest 3
L.A. Valley 34, Santa Monica 30
Grossmont's defense, which yielded just 117 yards through
the air, saw defensive end JA'RODD WATSON lead the pass
rush with 2.5 sacks.
"We were able to make a push and keep us in the
game," said Watson. "It was only a matter
of time before the offense got going. All three units
– defense, offense and special teams – were
going pretty good at the end."
So what is needed for the Griffins to avert a slow
start entering next week's conference opener at cross-county
rival Palomar?
"Starting out slow is nothing new to us –
we have to get the jitters out," added McLeLand,
a transfer from the University of New Mexico. "But
we always find a way to comeback and win."
Added DeMartino, "We're trying to become a first-half
team, too."
CCCFCA
Coaches'
Southland Poll
1.
El Camino 2. Mr.
San Antonio 3. Fullerton 4. Palomar 5. Bakersfield 6. Saddleback 7. Cerritos 8. Grossmont 9. Allan
Hancock
10. Orange Coast
11. Ventura
12. L.A. Harbor
13. Glendale
14. Pasadena
15. Canyons
The Griffins arrive in town with a 3-0 record, while
the Panthers stand in at 2-1.
These teams have one common opponent in Southwestern.
The Griffins riddled the Jaguars 59-20, while Chaffey
succumbed to Southwestern 21-7.
Whatever that means is debatable. Despite their unblemished
record, the Griffins have walked a treacherous line,
as they’ve been turnover laden (15) and penalty
prone (41-407).
Chaffey is paced by running back Jahmal Rover (44-267)
who scored two TDs in last week’s 20-12 win over
Mt. San Jacinto in a game that was scoreless at halftime.
Panthers’ QB Michael Leonard (23-41, 265 yards,
2 TDs) hit Del Wilson with the victory-clinching touchdown
in that contest.
Perhaps the word that describes the Griffins best is
inconsistent. They closed out Southwestern by scoring
the final 36 points.
Another mystery is who will start at quarterback. Will
the Griffins have their third different starter in four
games or will MATT JARVIS make his second straight start
under center. Freshman DORIAN STATON may get the call
for his first collegiate start. The season starter,
BRANDON FRICKE, is out of the mix with an injury for
now.
Defense remains Grossmont’s trump card. Take your
pick... this unit – led by outside linebacker HOMER
MAUGA, middle LBs ELLIOT CHAPMAN and WINN McALONEY,
and safety JONATHAN DARBY – is loaded.
GRIFFIN GRAFFITI — For the second week in a row
a Grossmont athlete was selected the Southern California
Football Association Player of the Week. Defensive end
Ja’RODD WATSON, a 6-foot-2, 285-pound sophomore
out of La Jolla High, tied a Griffins record with three
fumble recoveries... Jarvis and running back DARRIN
ALIX (20 carries, 138 yards) were also SCFA honorable
mention... Grossmont leads this series 15-9, including
51-16 last year... The Griffs have beaten the Panthers
seven in a row (once in the state playoffs) since suffering
a 43-35 loss in triple-overtime in 2002.
Grossmont
59, Southwestern 20
Southwestern Jaguars at Grossmont
Griffins (Slideshows by Donna Rohmer)
(Slideshow by Travis Downs)
Fumble fortunes
for Watson DE recovers 3 fumbles; Griffins post 36 straight
points to paste visiting
Southwestern, 59-20
And the 6-foot-2, 285-pound sophomore didn’t score
single point as the Griffins smashed visiting Southwestern
59-20 in a non-league game Saturday (Sept. 19) at Mashin-Roth
Memorial Field.
The graduate of La Jolla High recovered a Grossmont
record three fumbles which led to 17 Griffins points.
For good measure Watson forced one of the turnovers
and also registered the Griffins’ only sack of
Southwestern quarterback Cody Peterson.
“We shut them down with our quickness and speed,”
Watson said of the Jaguars (1-2). “Our main focus
in practice this week was gang tackle – get everybody
to the ball to be successful. I feel like we accomplished
that today. We were focused for the task at hand.”
Recent
Scores
GC vs. SWC
Year
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
59
10
34
49
31
45
76
39
28
20
14
14
6
6
9
34
16
17
Pts
371
136
Avg
41.2
15.1
Southwestern coach ED CARBERRY, who saw his Jaguars limited
to 54 yards passing and 203 yards overall, agreed.
“The front seven guys in their defense are really
tough,” he said. “They stopped our run and
kept the pressure on our quarterback. That’s a
pretty tough combination to beat if you’re on the
offensive side.”
The majority of Southwestern’s yardage came on
long runs by AARON HARRIS, who bolted 35 yards on the
first play from scrimmage and scored on a 69-yard run
early in the 2nd half. Other than those two breakaways,
Harris had 21 carries for 20 yards.
“That running back of theirs (Harris) likes to
do a lot of talking,” added Watson. “But we
held him down. He and his teammates were talking about
how they beat us last year (14-10), so we had to get
some vengeance for that game. The way we stopped him
was we pretty much took away the perimeter game and
attacked him in the backfield before he could get going.
Harris officially finished with 23 total carries for
124 yards. He scored both of Southwestern’s touchdowns.
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good running
back, but we came prepared for him today,” Watson
said of the freshman sprinter out of Granite Hills.
Grossmont’s secondary also put the clamps on Southwestern’s
George Bell, a preseason All-American wide receiver.
Bell caught 6 balls for 19 yards.
The Griffins forced six turnovers, including interceptions
by JONATHAN DARBY and DAMIEN SMITH.
Outside linebacker HOMER MAUGA led the Griffins with
9 tackles – 5 for losses.
Due to an injury to first-string quarterback BRANDON
FRICKE, sophomore MATT JARVIS drew the starting call
from head coach MIKE JORDAN. Up to then, Jarvis’
contributions had been in a relief role during each
of the Griffins first two games.
Jarvis had not started a football game since his senior
season at El Capitan in 2005.
“At first it was kind of weird, at first,”
Jarvis said. “I was nervous because it’s been
awhile since I’ve been in this role.” After
a sluggish beginning he picked up the pace as the Griffins
erased an early 10-0 deficit.
The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder had a hand in five touchdowns
in his three quarters – passing for three and rushing
for two. He completed 12 of 27 passes for 209 yards,
including scoring strikes to XAVIER MARTIN (63 yards),
MOHAMMED FOFANA (28 yards) and JON MOLZEN (32 yards).
Jarvis scored on a pair of quarterback sneaks from 1
yard out.
Like Jarvis, Molzen played his high school ball at
El Capitan.
“We never played together there because I graduated
before he got to El Cap,” Jarvis noted.
Grossmont was playing without JOEY DeMARTINO, the No.
2 rusher in Southern California. He was sidelined with
a tight hamstring.
Freshman DARRIN ALIX (Patrick Henry) picked up the
slack, rushing for a game high 138 yards on 20 carries.
“We didn’t have our heads on straight in
the 1st half,” said Alix, noting that Grossmont
was heavily penalized and seemed out of synch. “We
were just not quite clicking.”
Grossmont was whistled for 20 penalties, causing them
220 yards in walk-offs; Southwestern was flagged a dozen
times for 76 yards.
SOUTHLAND
SCOREBOARD
WEEK
THREE
Sat., Sept. 19 Grossmont 59, Southwestern 20 Palomar 27, San Diego Mesa 17
Bakersfield 43, Santa Monica 0
Coll. of the Canyons 59, L.A. Valley 7
Cerritos 47, Long Beach 10
Chaffey 20, Antelope Valley 12
Citrus 32, L.A. Southwest 24
El Camino 57, Compton 0 Fullerton 70, Moorpark 17 (FC: school scoring
record; old mark: 68, vs. Cypress, 1967, 68-8)
Glendale 10, Riverside 7
Allan Hancock 42, L.A. Pierce 17
L.A. Harbor 47, Santa Ana 45
Mt. San Antonio 32, Victor Valley
20 Orange Coast 24, Golden West 21 (GW misses
FG on final play)
Pasadena 49, East L.A. 27 Saddleback 52, San Bernardino Valley 0
Ventura 35, Santa Barbara 7
Coll. of the Desert 31, Mt. San Jacinto 17
The Griffins (3-0) tied the game 10-10 on a 21-yard field
goal by Fofana and took the lead on the first of Jarvis’
touchdowns. Then Fofana and Jarvis teamed up for their
TD pass and pushed the Griffins’ lead to 23-10 at
halftime.
Southwestern closed the lead, scoring 10 points in
the opening two minutes of the third quarter in an attempt
to make a game of it. But after that it was all Grossmont
as the Griffins scored the final 36 points.
Freshman quarterback DORIAN STATON led the Griffins
in the 4th quarter, completing 7 of 10 passes for 73
yards and a touchdown. He also scored once.
Ten Griffins caught at least one pass and eight contributed
to the rushing totals.
“In the second half we did a better job of banding
together,” Alix said. “And it showed on the
scoreboard.”
'The Super 7' Standings
Grossmont
Palomar
Fullerton
Orange Coast
Saddleback
Santa Ana
Long Beach
Grossmont rolls in with a 2-0 record having outscored
San Diego Mesa and College of the Desert by a composite
108-27. Southwestern (1-1), meanwhile, recovered from
a 55-0 season-opening pounding at the hands of Palomar
before rebounding to drop Chaffey 21-7.
Freshman quarterback Cody Peterson (22-37, 185 yds,
TD) took over for injured Steven Carroll and made his
first collegiate start a memorable one. Peterson had
a hand in all three Southwestern scores against Chaffey.
Granite Hills alum AARON HARRIS scored two touchdowns
for the Jaguars against the Panthers and aims to run
over the Grossmont defense. In two starts, Harris has
rushed for 165 yards on 36 carries as well as averaging
12 yards on four kickoff returns.
Defensive end Jared Jackson and linebacker Andrew Feaster
are Southwestern’s defensive leaders.
Grossmont running back JOEY DeMARTINO is the Griffins’
top offensive threat with 365 yards rushing (second
highest in So Cal) and 3 TDs on 36 carries in two games.
Wide receiver XAVIER MARTIN (9-147, 3 TDs and 278 all-purpose
yards) is a breakaway threat.
Just who will start at quarterback is always a mystery
at Grossmont. BRANDON FRICKE, who completed 15 of 30
passes for 203 yards and 4 TDs in the rout of Desert,
was chosen the Southern California Football Association
Offensive Player of the Week. Martin caught 6 passes
for 127 yards and 3 TDs in the win over COD.
Defensive leaders for Grossmont include end HOMER MAUGA
(Helix), tackle La’RODD WATSON (La Jolla), linebacker
ELLIOT CHAPMAN (Mater Dei), safety JONATHAN DARBY (West
Hills), linebacker WINN McALONEY, corner ARTHUR HOBBS
(Mount Miguel), and JERICHO MAXWELL (Crawford).
Griffin Graffiti — Quarterbacks Fricke,
DORIAN STATON (Helix) and MATT JARVIS (El Capitan) combined
for seven TD passes against Desert, tying a Grossmont
team record set against Arizona Western in 1974 and
matched against Mt. San Jacinto in 2005 and 2007...
Southwestern’s George Bell, a preseason All-America,
has 15 catches for 216 yards... The Griffins and Jaguars
have the longest running series in San Diego County
history, with Grossmont holding a 23-13-1 lead... The
Jaguars edged the Griffins 14-10 last year to snap an
eight-game losing streak to Grossmont... SC’s Abel
Perez is 3-for-3 on PATs, and three of his five kickoffs
have resulted in touchbacks.
Polished Griffins dump Desert 7 TD passes would equal NFL mark
But that’s where the Grossmont College Griffins
stand, two games into the season, after dusting College
of the Desert 61-14 in a non-league contest on Saturday
(Sept. 12) at Mashin-Roth Field.
The Griffins have produced 1,135 yards in back-to-back
lopsided victories.
In their conquest of the Roadrunners out of Palm Desert,
the Griffins jumped in front 20-0 and led 54-7 before
Desert would score a second touchdown with 6:11 remaining.
WEEK TWO SCORES
Sat., Sept. 12
Grossmont 61, Coll. of the Desert 14 Fullerton 37, L.A. Pierce 21 Orange Coast 26, L.A. Southwest 9 Palomar 23, Victor Valley 7 Saddleback 72, Mt. San Jacinto 7 Santa Ana 44, San Diego Mesa 13
El Camino 65, Long Beach 20
Cerritos 66, Santa Monica 2
Glendale 35, East L.A. 26
Allan Hancock 10, Reedley 3
L.A. Harbor 47, Citrus 14
Mt. San Antonio 33, Golden West 14
Pasadena 53, Compton 0
Riverside 40, San Bernardino Valley 17
Santa Barbara 17, Coll. of the Canyons 14
Southwestern 21, Chaffey 7
Ventura 27, Antelope Valley 11
West L.A. 27, Moorpark 12 BOLD are National/South
teams
Sophomore quarterback BRANDON FRICKE, who struggled miserably
with turnovers in the season opener, had a little more
polish to his game against the Roadrunners (1-1). He completed
15 of 30 passes, including touchdown strikes to XAVIER
MARTIN of 29 and 30 yards.
Martin, who hails from Joppa Town, Md., caught 6 passes
for 127 yards and 3 touchdowns.
“That’s the Fricke I know,” Martin said.
“I chalk up his slow start to first-game jitters.
It’s all about trust. We trust him and he needs
to trust us. Just like I always tell him, ‘you
put the ball where it’s supposed to be and I’ll
get under it.’ I’ll sell out for every ball
thrown.”
The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Fricke, who played his high
school football in Simi Valley and lives during the
offseason in Chico, also lofted scoring passes of 6
yards to MOHAMMED FOFANA and a 24-yarder to El Capitan
grad JON MOLZEN.
“I was pretty nervous last week,” Fricke
admitted. “I was more comfortable and definitely
improved my focus this week.”
The Griffins tested Fricke’s patience early against
Desert by giving the ball up on fumbles in two of their
first three possessions.
“I was concerned a little bit, but this is a long,
60-minute game out there,” Fricke said. “We
can’t just get down on one or two turnovers.”
By the time Fricke retreated to the sidelines Grossmont
was sitting on a 33-7 cushion with 8:19 to go in the
3rd quarter.
“I felt I was throwing the ball better today,”
he said. “I was making the right reads. I felt
pretty good after making that first touchdown (pass
to Martin). Everything started coming a lot easier after
that.”
Fricke didn’t grow up in a passing offense at
Simi Valley.
“We were mainly a running team because we had
an all-everything tailback who is now at Cal,”
the quarterback said. “So we ran the ball at least
60 percent of the time.”
Fricke said adjusting to the passing game at Grossmont
hasn’t been that difficult.
“Throwing the ball is what I’ve trained to
do and prepared to do,” he said. “Yeah, I
like this offense at Grossmont a lot more because we
throw more. But we also have a good running game that
helps open things up a lot. Our running backs were great
today, just like they were last week.”
The leader of the Griffins’ backfield pack was
once again freshman JOEY DeMARTINO, who rushed for 179
yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. In little more
than six quarters of play DeMartino has rushed for 365
yards and 3 touchdowns on 36 carries. Do the math –
it’s about 10 yards per run.
DeMartino scored on a 61-yard burst against Desert.
“Joey, he’s a great runner,” Fricke
said. “You saw his power today and his speed is
obvious.”
Eight Griffins shared in Grossmont’s 245 rushing
effort.
Freshman DORIAN STATON – out of Helix – came
off the bench to relieve Fricke, completing 4 of 8 passes
for 60 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown connection
with PATRICK MAULL and one to Martin for a 32-yard score.
Once again the Griffins played three quarterbacks.
Sophomore MATT JARVIS (El Capitan) completed 3 of 4
passes for 57 yards, capped by a 23-yard scoring toss
to tight end SEAN BURR.
“The main reason we played a lot better is we
stopped turning the ball over,” said Griffins head
coach MIKE JORDAN. “It’s just a matter of
hanging onto the ball because we know we have guys who
can make plays.”
Nearly overshadowed by the Grossmont offensive onslaught
was another superlative defensive stand by the Griffins.
Led by former West Hills safety JONATHAN DARBY (6 tackles,
one interception) and end JARROD WATSON (4 tackles,
one sack, fumble recovery), the Griffins rationed the
Roadrunners to 176 yards on 70 plays.
Other Grossmont standouts included NATHAN TURNWALL,
who made a circus catch of an interception, and El Capitan’s
CODY FURR, who had 4 tackles and a sack. Mount Miguel
product ARTHUR HOBBS broke up 3 passes and recorded
4 tackles for the aggressive Griffins.
Although the Griffins walked off the field with a season-opening
47-13 win over San Diego Mesa last week, it clearly
had markings of a Charles Dickens novel labeled “A
Tale of Two Cities.”
Eight turnovers – second highest total in Grossmont
history – allowed Mesa to maintain a headlock on
the Griffins into the second half. Yet, the Olympians
led only 10-6 with 29 minutes to play.
The Griffins got a better grip on things and totaled
570 yards against Mesa for the evening as they bulldozed
last year’s state playoff participant.
A year ago, Grossmont pulled a similar number when
these teams collided. In Palm Desert turnovers once
again plagued the Griffins. The Roadrunners, who capitalized
on three Grossmont miscues to lead 24-0 in the first
quarter, maintained a 40-14 advantage midway through
the third quarter.
The Griffins made a belated charge and still had a
chance to win with less than two minutes remaining,
but failed to execute an onsides kick.
Even in defeat Grossmont outgained Desert, 472-300,
in total offense.
A memorable defeat indeed.
Desert opened this season by knocking off San Bernardino
13-6 in overtime. Gaston Bailey caught a 9-yard touchdown
pass from quarterback Cameron Epting for the winning
score. It was Bailey’s only catch of the game.
Epting went 12 for 21 with 106 yards and the touchdown
pass.
The Roadrunners rely more on their defense and the
kicking of Brett Symonds, who connected on field goals
of 32 and 39 yards.
Grossmont’s JOEY “Jay-Mar” DeMARTINO
ran wild over Mesa with 186 yards and two touchdowns
on 20 carries and ranks second among SCFA rushers. DORIAN
STATON and MATT JARVIS came off the bench to spark Grossmont’s
comeback against Mesa after starter BRANDON FRICKE sputtered
through the first half.
Defensively, Grossmont limited Mesa to minus-13 rushing
and a total of 135 yards.
GRIFFIN GRAFFITI — Three members of the
Griffins – DeMartino, end HOMER MAUGA, and linebacker
ELLIOT CHAPMAN – have been recognized as SCFA Southern
National Conference Players of the Week for the Mesa
game... Grossmont leads the all-time series over Desert
13-7-3.
Grossmont Griffins at San Diego
Mesa Olympians,
Mancheser Stadium, Cathedral Catholic HS (Top slideshow by Ed Piper;
Bottom slideshow by Donna Rohmer)
WEEK ONE SCORES
Grossmont 47, San Diego Mesa 13
Bakersfield 33, Fresno 14
College of the Canyons 27, Antelope Balley 17
Cerritos 49, East L.A. 7
Chaffey 17, Mt. San Jacinto 12
College of the Desert 13, San Bernardino Valley
6
El Camino 46, L.A. Southwest 12 Fullerton 41, Compton 6
Glendale 51, West L.A. 29
Allan Hancock 42, Santa Barbara 6
L.A. Harbor 71, Long Beach 43
L.A. Pierce 37, Moorpark 20
Mt. San Antonio 35, Pasadena 30 Orange Coast 44, Santa Monica 28 Palomar 55, Southwestern 0 Saddleback 33, Golden West 23 Santa Ana 38, Citrus 7
Ventura 35, L.A. Valley 13
Victor Valley 27, Riverside 14 BOLD are National/South
teams
ONLY
ONE MEDIA SOURCE HAD ALL SOUTHLAND SCORES FROM WEEK
ONE by the very next day. Not JCFootball.com,
Not JC Athletic Bureau (they called us for scores...
lol ), Not JC Grid-Wire, no newspaper, even the
SCFA own website, which still doesn't list all scores
some five days later... it was, of course, East
County Sports.com.
No
Ordinary Joe
Griffins RB Joseph DeMartino
plows over San Diego Mesa. (Photo by Donna Rohmer)
Another Griffins romp over Mesa Big second-half propels Grossmont
Let’s just say that Saturday’s (Sept. 5)
season opener against San Diego Mesa at Cathedral Catholic
High was not a thing of beauty. But it wound up a convincing
47-13 victory for the Griffins.
Six first-half turnovers helped Mesa take a 10-6 halftime
lead. It most certainly could have been worse if not
for the Griffins defense.
One might think that Grossmont head coach MIKE JORDAN
would have been screaming at the top of his lungs at
intermission.
Recent
Scores
GC vs. Mesa
Year
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
47
31
66
58
64
70
24
48
13
14
17
0
3
7
17
28
Pts
409
99
Avg
51.1
12.4
Not so.
“I didn’t really say much,” Jordan recalled.
“I mean, with all those turnovers we made we were
still only four points behind. I told the guys ‘Just
hang onto the ball and make the plays you’re capable
of making.’”
And that’s exactly what happened in the 2nd half.
Despite turning the ball over on the first play of the
3rd quarter, the Griffins caught fire and completely
dominated the final two quarters.
It’s almost scary to think how many yards and
points the Griffins might have rolled up had they been
able to maintain control of the ball for four quarters.
In spite of making eight turnovers in the game, Grossmont
finished with 570 yards (304 rushing, 266 passing) on
91 plays.
On the flip side, Mesa mustered just 135 yards on 63
plays. All 13 of the Olympians’ points were the
result of Grossmont turnovers.
“We knew we had a pretty solid defense, and I
think that showed today,” Jordan said. “The
only problem our defense had was our offense kept putting
them in bad field position.”
Mesa ’s only touchdown came on a 3-yard drive
after a Grossmont fumble in the 1st quarter.
The Griffins pushed the Olympians back for a net minus-13
yards rushing on 27 attempts. That total is the third
lowest in Grossmont College history. The Griffins set
the mark of minus-31 yards on 31 attempts against Mt.
San Jacinto in 1984.
One of the stamps of success administered by Grossmont
in this go-round was the play of the Griffins linebackers,
led by ELLIOT CHAPMAN, WINN McALONEY and HOMER MAUGA.
Although no Griffin logged a record number of tackles,
Chapman registered a couple of bellringers with knockout
hits on Mesa receivers.
Mauga was simply too quick for the Mesa line to block
and made two sacks, consistently rushing Mesa quarterback
Mike Hachadorian (15-36-2, 148 yards) into throwing
the ball away.
“We started off real bad but we ended up pretty
strong,” said Mauga. “We’re gonna be
a great team. It’s just gonna take us a little
time to get everything to mesh like it did tonight.”
McAloney also had six tackles and an interception where
he actually stole the ball from a Mesa receiver.
“I couldn’t wait for this season,” said
McAloney, who sat out last year after transferring from
Mesa to Grossmont. “I just took the time to get
my grades up and work in the weight room.”
Both have proved beneficial.
“I appreciate being taken in by this team,”
he added. “I feel comfortable here.”
Once the Griffins found the stick’em for their
offensive hands they ran roughshod over the Olympians
with their 12th straight victory over Mesa.
JOEY DeMARTINO ran wild against the Olympians, stacking
186 yards and 2 touchdowns on 20 carries. His yardage
total is the 6th best rushing count ever by a Grossmont
back. DeMartino scored on runs of 74 and 7 yards, which
gave Grossmont a 13-10 lead midway through the 3rd quarter.
Grossmont totaled 304 yards rushing on 48 carries,
involving nine ball carriers.
Three Grossmont quarterbacks – BRANDON FRICKE,
DORIAN STATON and MATT JARVIS – combined to complete
26 of 43 passes for 266 yards.
Mesa didn’t roll over in the first half as it
kept the pressure on Fricke, who threw three interceptions
during the first two quarters.
“We didn’t provide him with very good protection
in the first half, so he was always under pressure,”
Jordan said. “He’s been bothered by shin splints
so he’s hobbling around a little bit and that’s
why we took him out.”
To begin the 2nd half Grossmont made a couple of key
changes on its offensive line and it made a glaring
difference.
Staton, who took over for Fricke, provided the 2nd
half spark with his superior agility and quickness.
He completed 7 of 11 passes for 95 yards, including
a 32-yard TD strike to JON MOLZEN.
Jarvis connected on 5 of 9 passes for 63 yards, including
a victory-capping 24-yard scoring toss to KENYON PETTIS
with 3:58 remaining.
Not to be overlooked was the 89-yard kickoff return
by XAVIER MARTIN in the waning seconds of the 3rd quarter
to give Grossmont a 26-13 advantage.
Grossmont opens its home season on Saturday (Sept.
12) when it hosts College of the Desert in Mashin-Roth
Field. Kickoff is 1 p.m.
JC Grid-Wire
Preseason Top 25 (8-28-09) — 1. Mississippi
Gulf Coast; 2. Mt. San Antonio; 3. Blinn (Texas);
4. Butler (Kan.); 5. El Camino; 6. Fullerton;
7. Navarro (Texas); 8. Georgia Military; 9.
East Mississippi; 10. Fresno. Others: 14.
Palomar; 17. Grossmont; 20. Saddleback;
25. Santa Ana.
Note: In the Aug. 27 season opener, No. 1 MGC
lost to Northwest MS, 30-25.
SCFA National/Southern Conference Preseason
Media Poll (8-28-09) — 1. Saddleback
60 points (3 first-place votes); 2. Palomar 58
(3); 3. Fullerton 56 (4); 4. Grossmont 36;
5. Santa Ana 33; 6. Orange Coast 24; 7. Long
Beach 13.
No. 17 Griffins open vs. Mesa Game moved to Cathedral Catholic
The game was originally slated for Mesa’s new
synthetic surface field, but the stadium construction
was not completed.
“We have a lot of older freshmen in the skill
positions,” Grossmont coach MIKE JORDAN said.
BRANDON FRICKE will make the start at quarterback for
the 17th-ranked Griffins, who are coming off a 5-5 season.
He was 4-for-6 passing with a couple of touchdowns in
last week’s scrimmage.
J.C.Grid-Wire/J.C.Football.com preseason All-American
JUAN BOLANOS (6-7, 330) returns to anchor the offensive
line.
“We did some good things in our scrimmage, some
not so good,” Jordan said.
Former Monte Vista High standout and Mesa College transfer
WINN McALONEY will make his first start for the Griffins
as an inside linebacker. He’ll be flanked by returning
sophomore linebacker ELLIOTT CHAPMAN. Returning defensive
end HOMER MAUGA should also make an impact.
GRIFFINS GRAFFITI — Grossmont leads the all-time
series 21-15-1... The Griffins have won 11 in a row
over the Olympians, including 31-14 last year... Mesa
’s last win came in the rain 28-27 in 1993 on a
two-point conversion with 0:07 remaining.
Griffins Notepad: SNM tabs G-House at nation's best
The Griffins’ coaching staff looks upon that recognition
as flattering, but little else. Grossmont, which finished
5-5 a year ago, is still in the process of building
its team.
It’s a long time before the Griffins kick off
the season Sept. 5 at San Diego Mesa College, so who
knows who has what in terms of player personnel.
Scholarships — Grossmont must have set
some sort of record when all three of last season’s
tight ends signed Division I scholarships. KYLE HIPP
(Cathedral Catholic) is headed for New Mexico State,
converted linebacker A.J. CAZARES (Chula Vista) is bound
for Northern Arizona University and KYLE HOWARD (Hilltop)
is on his way to Northwestern State (Natchitoches, La.).
Other late signings include freshman defensive back
LARRY PARKER (St. Augustine) to San Diego State
University; GAREN DEMERY (Valhalla) to St. Francis
of Fort Wayne, Ind.; corner LUIS VILLAVICENCIO (Point
Loma) to the University of San Diego; and safety AUSTIN
BEDART to NAIA Southern Oregon (Ashland, Ore.).
Parker was a man of many choices. An All-Southern Conference
National Division selection in his freshman season,
Parker received scholarship offers from the University
of Houston, BYU and Louisville. He wanted to stay closer
to home and was prepared to play his sophomore season
at Grossmont College.
When SDSU made a scholarship pitch, Parker was sold.
So far Grossmont has landed a dozen scholarships, including
Patrick Henry kicker BRANDON BOGOTAY (Georgia), Christian
High’s CHAD O’DONNELL (Idaho State) and El
Cajon Valley safety ABRAHAM MUHEIZE (Delta State).
Ex-Charger joins staff — Former San Diego
Chargers linebacker CARLOS POLK has joined the Grossmont
College football staff. He will coach the Griffins’
outside linebackers this season.
Polk, a 4th round pick out of the University of Nebraska
by the Chargers in the 2001 National Football League
draft, played seven seasons in San Diego before concluding
his career with the Dallas Cowboys in 2008. During his
stay with the Chargers, Polk was named Special Teams
Player of the Year in 2002 and was tabbed the Most inspirational
Player in 2007.
Another addition to the Griffins coaching staff is
LUI FUGA, a 6-foot-1, 301-pound four-year starter as
a defensive tackle at Hawai'i. Fuga, signed by the Chargers
as an undrafted free agent in 2007, has taken over chores
as Grossmont’s defensive line coach. He could well
still be playing with the Chargers had an injury not
ended his career a year ago.
Griffins kicker Brandon Bogotay
signed a full-ride scholarship
with the University of Georgia. (Photo by Tori Mills)
That’s what makes the Bulldogs’ scholarship
award to Grossmont College freshman kicker BRANDON BOGOTAY
so special.
“We’re excited to have Brandon joining our
2009 signing class and look forward to him competing
on our kick off, field goal and extra point teams,”
Georgia head coach Mark Richt said.
Bogotay arrived at Grossmont College last fall as a
virtual unknown. The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder was a four-year
starter and all-league soccer player at Patrick Henry
High School. Football was merely a secondary adventure
when he was in high school.
Bogotay came into his own in his only football season
with the Griffins. In 2008, he was successful on 15
of 23 field goal attempts and ranked third in the state
in kick scoring with 72 points.
Georgia’s football tradition attracted Bogotay,
who also had a scholarship offer from Hawaii on the
table.
“I want to play at the highest level I can and
Georgia gives me that opportunity,” Bogotay said.
“I was so excited when they offered that scholarship
that I went out and bought as much Bulldog gear as I
could find.”
Grossmont College defensive coordinator and special
teams coach DAVE JORDAN recalls when Bogotay first walked
onto the Griffins’ Mashin-Roth Memorial Field.
“He could barely kick the ball between the uprights,”
Jordan said. “But he was a worker, you could tell
that from the start. He was willing to spend hours perfecting
his kicking technique.”
Bogotay said all he did as a football senior at Patrick
Henry was kick off.
“I had so much fun at Grossmont College,”
he said. “I never saw myself playing college football.
I never dreamed it would get me where I’m going.”
More than its football tradition wooed Bogotay to Georgia.
“When I made my (official recruiting) visit back
there (Athens, Ga.), I was amazed,” Bogotay said.
“There are so many trees, tall trees. And the facilities
are brand new, top notch.”
Bogotay noted the expanded football facilities, which
include three practice fields.
“Things are a lot more intense and organized at
Georgia,” he said. “The whole town is passionate
about football.”
Bogotay visited the Hawaiian Islands first, which one
might think would catch his eye. But Georgia got the
final word.
“Hawai'i is nice, but too laid back for me,”
he said.
Sounds like Bogotay is ready for the big time.
Griffins safety Abraham Muheize
signs with Florida A&M Univ. (File photo by Tori Mills)
“I was looking for a school that really wanted
me, one that would let me come in and play right away,”
Muheize said. “FAMU fit the bill in all areas.”
Another attraction to the NCAA Division I-AA university
is FAMU will face the University of Miami (Fla.) in
week five (Oct. 10) at Dolphin Stadium.
“That’s pretty exciting,” said Muheize,
the Griffins defensive MVP of a year ago. “It doesn’t
get much bigger than that.”
FAMU is directly across the street from Florida State
University.
“When I tripped to Florida A&M I loved it,”
Muheize said. “They have so many alumni that are
still part of the program. The support for football
is unbelievable.”
Muheize said people he’d never met came up to
shake his hand and welcome him to the FAMU family.
“I don’t know where they got them but a lot
of people said they’d seen my highlight films and
that’s how they knew of me.”
A handful of other schools also expressed interest
in Muheize. Probably No. 2 on that list was Texas State
in San Marcos, Texas.
“The guy who recruited me out of high school for
Montana State is on the Texas State staff,” Muheize
said. “He wanted me to come there, but the head
coach apparently didn’t agree.”
The 6-foot, 190-pound Muheize led the Griffins in tackles
with 136 tackles, notched seven career interceptions
and blocked five punts.
At FAMU, Muheize will be playing for the legendary
coach of the Rattlers, Joe Taylor, who posted more than
200 victories during his lengthy career. The Rattlers
were 9-3 a year ago.
Muheize, who holds several records as a running back,
quarterback and defensive back at El Cajon Valley High,
was a two-year starter for the Griffins after bouncing
back from Montana State. His 4,050 yards passing as
a senior remains a San Diego CIF record.
A Kinesiology major, Muheize hopes to “go into
coaching some day.”
Grossmont College DE Chad O'Donnell (95, left),
pictured with LB Jesse Swann,
accepted a scholarship at Idaho State. (File photo by Tori Mills)
O'Donnell accepts
starting DE role
with Idaho State
Instead, the 6-foot-2, 260-pound defensive end out
of Christian High has accepted a football ride to Idaho
State University in Pocatello, Idaho. The Bengals, coming
off a dismal 1-10 season, expect O’Donnell to start.
“Yeah, I know people might think I’m crazy
for passing up a chance to play at Oklahoma or ASU,”
O’Donnell said. “But that’s just it.
How much would I play if I went to either of those places?
I don’t want to sit on the bench.”
DE Chad O'Donnell (95, left)
gets held
by a San Diego Mesa College player. (File photo by Tori Mills )
That’s a moot point now. O’Donnell will call
Idaho State home for the next two years. He plans an accounting
major.
“This is a nationally renowned college for accounting,”
said O’Donnell. “And I’m really excited
about the opportunity I’ll have in football.”
“Unlike those bigger schools, I don’t feel
like I’m just a number here.”
O’Donnell played both ways in the trenches at
Christian High, but specialized on defense at Grossmont.
He spent two seasons with the Griffins where he logged
58 tackles and 6 sacks last season and earning All-Southern
Conference as a sophomore.
Three other East County products have one more year
at Idaho State – fullback KEN CORNIST, running
back KENYON BLUE and JASON WRIGHT. All three are products
of Helix High.
BOAT LOAD OF UNDECIDED
Grossmont College freshman defensive back LARRY PARKER
(St. Augustine) is a hot ticket, but seems to be a bit
choosy about who wants him to come their way. The speedy
Parker has already turned down offers from the University
of Houston and BYU.
The Griffins freshman place-kicker BRANDON BOGOTAY
turned down a scholarship offer from Nevada-Reno.
More opportunities are sure to spring up for these
two in the future.
Grossmont’s All-American tight end KYLE HIPP and
safety ABRAHAM MUHEIZE are still shopping around. Muheize
had Texas State and Florida A&M on his list, while
Hipp has yet to identify who is courting him.
SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIA FOOTBALL ALLIANCE
2009 CONFERENCE ALIGNMENT
NATIONAL DIVISION (Top 2 teams from each conference advance to
state playoffs)
Southern Conference
Central Conference
Northern Conference
Grossmont
Palomar
Saddleback
Orange Coast
Santa Ana
Fullerton
Long Beach
Chaffey
Citrus
College of the Desert
El Camino
Mt. San Antonio
Riverside
Victor Valley
Allan Hancock
Bakersfield
College of the Canyons
Compton
Glendale
L.A. Harbor
Moorpark
AMERICAN DIVISION (Conference champions only advance to state
playoffs)
Pacific Conference
Mountain Conference
Antelope Valley
East L.A.
L.A. Pierce
L.A. Southwest
L.A. Valley
Santa Barbara
Ventura
West L.A
Cerritos
Golden West
Pasadena
Mt. San Jacinto
San Bernardino Valley
San Diego Mesa
Santa Monica
Southwestern
EL CAJON (2-2-06)
– Derrell Hutsona is pictured after accepting
his J.C. Grid-Wire National
Co-Offensive Player of the Year Award at a special
on-campus celebration Wednesday afternoon (Feb.
1). Also presented to the Grossmont College football
team were: its third straight Foothill Conference
title trophy, a second straight Southern California
Bowl plaque, the trophy for its second Southern
California Playoffs Title in three years, plus
the public display of the COA State Champioship
Trophy. Of course, the J.C. Grid-Wire National
Title Trophy (pictured below) was re-presented
and placed on public display, while the all-conference,
all-state and all-America winners were honored,
along with players who received scholarships from
four-year college and universities. In addition,
head coach Dave Jordan (below,right) accepted
his state and national Coach of the Year awards. (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)
The father-son
coaching combination of Mike
(son, left) and Dave Jordan pose with the J.C. Grid-Wire National Championship Trophy,
awarded to the school at ceremonies on the Fletcher
Hills campus Wednesday (Feb. 1). (Photo by Greg Eichelberger)
