San Jacinto football team displays dominance in win over Cajon
SAN JACINTO — The San Jacinto football team can deliver a devastating 1-2 punch on offense, and the Tigers' defense can throw haymakers, too.
Quarterback Jaylen Patterson, who wears jersey No. 1, and running back Jomini Ransom, sporting No. 2, combined to rush for 186 yards and four touchdowns in San Jacinto's dominating 28-8 victory over Cajon Friday in a nonleague game, handing the Cowboys their first loss of the season.
Ransom consistently tore through the heart of the Cowboys' defense, collecting 110 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. His runs set up Patterson, who scored three touchdowns on 12 carries while gaining 76 yards.
Patterson was efficient in the pocket as well, completing 6 of 10 passes for 125 yards that helped San Jacinto sustain several long drives. San Jacinto (2-3, with two losses by forfeit for using an ineligible player) gained 311 yards from scrimmage.
But ty was the San Jacinto defense, paced by Markus Jones and Daylen Love, that delivered the most devastating blows Friday night, corralling the Cowboys to 232 total yards.
Cajon was playing without quarterback Evan Powell, who continues nursing a knee injury suffered Sept. 13 against Newport Harbor. Cajon coach Nick Rogers said he is hopeful Powell will be ready for the Cowboys' Citrus Belt League opener at Beaumont Oct. 4.
On Friday, the Cowboys employed multiple players to take snaps, including running back Brandon Rivers, who gained 96 yards on 26 carries and completed all five of his pass attempts for 72 yards. Rivers' 1-yard run and two-point conversion run in the fourth quarter spoiled San Jacinto's bid for a shutout.
"Coming into it, we knew we had to stop the run," San Jacinto coach Aric Galliano said. "That was our main thing, whether (Powell) was playing or not. They do a great job of running the football, and we emphasized that. I challenged the kids this week, and they answered that."
The Tigers' next challenge comes at Jurupa Hills, which notched its first win on the season Friday, 30-27 victory over Rancho Mirage.
San Jacinto held a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter when Cajon started rolling. The Cowboys' quick-set offense reeled off 13 plays to set up first-and-goal at the San Jacinto 8-yard line. On third down, Love leaped to bat down a pass at the line of scrimmage, and Solomon Kupu stopped DJ Littles at the 2 on fourth down, and the Cowboys came up empty after a 17-play drive.
Cajon opened the third quarter with a 14-play march, converting twice on third down and once on fourth down, but failed to convert on fourth down from the Tigers' 21-yard line.
"Offensively we've got to finish drives. There are some things I could do differently coaching-wise, but at the end of the day we have to execute in there," Rogers said. "We made a lot of mistakes, and we were trying to get some stuff done. But I'm not going to use any excuses. San Jacinto did a heck of a job putting together a game plan, and we just didn't execute enough. This is why we play a preseason. This is a good thing to look at."
