The Santa Rosa Junior College football team (2-2) pulled off a 20-17 nail-biting win that came down to the final drive against San Jose City College (1-3) Saturday afternoon.
Coming off of a loss to Monterey the prior week and having lost starting quarterback Jacob Porteous to injury, the Bear Cubs needed a win to regain momentum.
Porteous was seen in crutches and a knee brace on the sidelines Saturday afternoon. The team is yet to announce the extent of his injury.
Backup quarterback Bobby McGovern spoke about losing Porteous.
“Obviously, seeing Port go down hurts a lot,” McGovern said. “He’s been an incredible mentor, leader and brother to not only me but to all of my teammates as well.”
On the first drive of the game, Bear Cubs’ defensive back Dante Antonini intercepted a Jaguar pass at the San Jose 35-yard line, sending the bench and crowd into a frenzy.
However, the Bear Cubs couldn’t capitalize. SRJC kicker Anthony Calvillo missed a 31-yard field goal following the turnover. Later on in the first quarter, the Bear Cubs committed a running-into-the-kicker penalty on a punt attempt by San Jose that ended in a touchdown for the Jaguars.
San Jose added a field goal in the second quarter after an interception by Luther Glenn. The Bear Cubs’ coaches were visibly upset as they went into halftime.
After a strong defensive half that featured two turnovers and only 10 points allowed, the offense had to step up — and it did.
On the first drive, McGovern completed a 68-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jovon Scott, cutting the deficit to 10-7.
SRJC followed with a huge defensive stop in the red zone after the touchdown, fighting for a turnover on downs to stop the Jaguars.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Calvillo knocked down a 17-yard field goal, tying the game at 10. After forcing a punt, the Bear Cubs scored on another touchdown from Jovon Scott to make the score 17-10.
McGovern rose to the occasion in the second half, repeatedly getting timely and clutch completions.
“I’ve always prepared mentally and physically each week as if I am the starter, leaning on my o-line, and skills each play,” he said. “Everyone on the squad fuels me with such confidence, and it starts with my line. I wouldn’t have the ability to step up without them protecting me every rep, as well as my receivers and running backs making plays like they always do.”
The Jaguars ate eight minutes of clock after Scott’s touchdown, while also completing a 3-yard touchdown to tie the game at 17.
With 1:12 left on the clock, the Bear Cubs had one final drive. It started with a 41-yard kickoff return by Khai Dukes, putting the offense in great field position.
McGovern had 21 yards total for the last drive and gave the ball to Zion Williams for 19 rushing yards. The offense got into field goal range, setting up Calvillo to knock down the game-winning 24-yard field goal to give the Bear Cubs a 20-17 win.
“Every Thursday we have the motto ‘Tempo Thursday,’ and a big focus is our team’s 2-minute drill session where we compete in a real game situation, needing to score either a field goal or a touchdown,” McGovern said. “Our coaches did an incredible job preparing us for the moment and task that came our way today. Without them putting us in that situation, the job doesn’t get done today.”
The Bear Cubs will play Laney College at home on Sept. 27, looking to move above .500.
