MSJC football team wins fifth straight game, 35-10

MSJC defensive back Carsten Mamaril breaks up a Grossmont pass. (Photo by Rick Rowell)

Press release from Mt. San Jacinto College:

The Mt. San Jacinto College football team won its fifth straight game on Saturday over visiting Grossmont College, 35-10, to open American Mountain League play.

The Eagles started fast as they forced Grossmont into a three and out on their opening drive of the game, then responded by going 45 yards in six plays to score the game's first points. The first touchdown of the day came on a 10-yard run by Matthew Caldera and MSJC had a lead they would not give up. MSJC then scored on their second possession of the afternoon when Robert Coleman connected with Taliq Brown for a 7-yard TD pass and after Nathaniel Peterson's second extra point the Eagles led, 14-0.

Grossmont got on the board with 11 minutes to play before halftime with a field goal, but the Eagles answered back with a quick three-play drive capped by a 50-yard scoring strike from Coleman to Roland Hazard midway through the period to push the lead to 21-3. After a Griffon score three minutes before halftime, MSJC once again drove down the field quickly and with just one second to go before the break, Coleman threw his third touchdown pass of the day, this time to Taylor Tosches, and the Eagles led 28-10.

The MSJC defense then put up their third straight second-half shutout as both teams’ offenses stalled a bit in the final 30 minutes. The Eagles did manage to put one more score across the goal line late in the fourth quarter when Jaylen Magee made a nice leaping catch on a Coleman pass to make the final score 35-10.

The Eagle defense, which was coming off a shutout against Orange Coast last week, allowed just 215 total yards of offense from Grossmont and made three interceptions. Steven Bradshaw led the charge with 12 total tackles and a sack while Tevita Halalilo had 7 tackles, two for negative yardage. Carsten Mamaril picked off two Griffon passes while Marcus Brooks came up with another for MSJC.

Coleman finished his day 31 of 51 passing and had 4 TDs. Jevin Dorsey made 8 catches for a game-high 99 yards, while Brown had a game-best 10 receptions. Coleman again spread the ball around as eight different Eagles made a catch in the contest.

The win makes the Eagles 5-1 overall on the season they are now 1-0 in league play. MSJC hits the road on Saturday for a game against Victor Valley College, before returning home for a showdown with College of the Desert. This Saturday's game in Victorville will be held at Victor Valley High School and is set to kick off at 1 p.m.

Roland Hazard cruises into the end zone with a touchdown reception. (Photo by Rick Rowell)