Cats win third straight

The Saddleback football team improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in National Division Southern League play with a 24-13 win over Mt. San Jacinto College on Thursday night in Menifee.  The Bobcats never trailed in the game.

Saddleback started quickly when they pulled off some razzle dazzle to take an early lead.  The Bobcats ran a flea flicker pass with Tyler Dudden connecting to a wide-open Nicholas Gentilella for a 56-yard score to give Saddleback a 7-0 lead with 3:13 left in the first quarter.

The game then turned into a defensive battle until right before the half when Mt. San Jacinto tied the score at 7-7 with 1:40 remaining.  The Bobcats gave MSJC great field position when they threw an interception, and the Eagles cashed in five plays later when Donovan Harvey plowed in for a 1-yard score.

Saddleback wasn't ready to run out the clock, however, and engineered a 10-play drive that ended up in the end zone.  The Bobcats cashed in when Nicky Johnson lofted a ball high in the air that Gentilella grabbed for a 13-yard score with five seconds remaining on the clock.

Mt. San Jacinto cut the lead to 14-10 early in the fourth quarter when they drove down the field and kicker Sebastian Stapleton made good on a 37-yard field goal.  The Bobcats again responded quickly, driving 68 yards in 11 plays before finding paydirt when Johnson hit Joseph Walter on a 19-yard scoring strike.

Mt. San Jacinto was resilient, again making it a one-score game as Stapleton blasted a 48-yard field goal to cut the Saddleback lead to 21-13 with 10:40 remaining.  The Bobcats responded for a third straight time, driving 43 yards in nine plays before settling for a Manuel Maganda 28-yard field goal for a 24-13 advantage.

Saddleback finished with a 420-288 advantage in total yardage for the game.  The Bobcats had a balanced attack, finishing with 174 yards rushing and 246 yards through the air.

Johnson finished 14-of-22 for 150 yards passing and two touchdowns.  Gentilella had five catches for 115 yards receiving and two scores.  Darrien Campbell led the ground attack with 60 yards on six carries.

Saddleback's defense was stout for most of the night.  The Bobcats were continuously in the Eagle backfield, finishing with three sacks and 15 tackles-for-loss.  Noah Luginbill and Sedwrick Dunklin both led the team with seven total tackles while Jack Knudtson and Iosefa Tapeni were also outstanding.  Knudtson finished with six tackles, two tackles-for-loss and one sack while Tapeni had six tackles with 2.5 tackles-for-loss and one sack. 

Saddleback is now 5-1, which is the best start for the team since starting 9-0 in 2019.  The Bobcats will look to extend the three-game winning streak when they host San Diego Mesa College next Saturday.  Saddleback and Mesa are scheduled to start at 1:00 PM inside the stadium.