The Mounties took on the Bobcats of Saddleback College on the road on Oct. 9. The Mounties had their previous football game against Allan Hancock College postponed due to COVID-19 protocols, and were coming off their first home win at the new Hilmer Lodge Stadium on Sept. 25.

The beginning of the game was an interesting one for the Mounties.

Mt. SAC was able to put points on the board within the first minute of the game with a little bit of luck. They scored on a fumbled catch from quarterback Alex Flores to wide receiver Dakota Warfield that was luckily recovered by another receiver, Reginald Anderson, for a touchdown.

Saddleback seemed discombobulated after the Mounties score, which could be seen in the first drive for the Bobcats as the ball was intercepted by Mounties defensive back Dedric Luton in just two plays. This setup offered the Mounties prime position to score again.

On the first play of their second drive, the Mounties would score again off of a 57-yard pass from Flores. This time Flores connected with wideout Shemar Savage for a second touchdown, putting the Mounties at 14-0 in the first two minutes of the game.

This offensive barrage continued through the rest of the first quarter as the Mounties would score one more touchdown off of another 15-yard pass by Flores. Reaching tight end Joseph Bongono, this drive would give the Mounties a 20-0 lead in the first quarter.

The second quarter was the polar opposite from the Mountie domination that made up the first. Unable to score on their first drive of the quarter, Saddleback capitalized on this possession and scored their first points of the game.

The Mounties offense would go cold again and turned the ball over on downs. This would help the Bobcats score yet again as Saddleback found another hole in the Mounties defense and scored on a 34-yard pass from Bobcat quarterback Drew Nash to wide receiver Kalynd Coats.

This cut the lead 20-12 with the Mounties still up at halftime.

Both teams were looking to take real command of the game after halftime. In the third quarter, Saddleback scored on a one-yard rush that cut the lead to one point before Flores responded with a touchdown pass to Anderson closing the quarter 27-19.

The real drama continued into the fourth quarter.

Saddleback evened the score at 27-27 on a six-yard passing touchdown before Mounties Kicker Noah Carlton was able to successfully kick a 37-yard field goal to regain the lead 30-27. With the Bobcats’ critical stop to force the field goal, Saddleback scored on their next drive as it ended in a 3-yard passing touchdown. This let the Bobcats take the lead for the first time all game at 34-30 over Mt. SAC.

Yet the Mounties would have time on their side.

With eight minutes left in the quarter, Mt. SAC would convert on a long drive as they slowly picked at the Bobcats’ defense until they reached the red zone. With five minutes left in the quarter, Flores would find wide receiver Jordan Erby for a five-yard flick taking back the lead at 36-34.

This would be the dagger to seal the game.

Saddleback got the ball back one more time in the quarter, but the Mounties defense held on and stopped the Bobcats from advancing. With the Mounties regaining possession, they ran out the last three minutes of the game to take the win.

With a nice 3-0 start for the season, Mountie football will play against El Camino College in an away game on Oct. 16.