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Mesa College football coach Gary Watkins will make history on Saturday, when the underdog Olympians travel to Riverside to open the California Community College Athletic Association football playoffs.
This is the first time that Mesa has reached the playoffs since becoming eligible in 2018.
And Watkins is the first Black head coach to lead a team into the eight-team 3C2A playoffs since they originated in 2008.
The 8-2 Olympians are the No. 3 seed in the four-team Southern California Regionals. Riverside City College is 9-1 and the No. 2 seed going into the 1 p.m. game. Riverside defeated Mesa 62-41 on Nov. 9 in a National-Southern Conference game also played at Riverside.
“They are very explosive,” Watkins said of the Tigers. “Certainly, we have to play better. We need to be mistake free and get after their quarterback.”
Mesa’s offense is led by freshman quarterback Jax Leatherwood. The Scripps Ranch High School graduate has completed 186 of 325 passes for 2,145 yards and 24 touchdowns against 11 interceptions.
He’s surrounded by former San Diego high school standouts. Dazure Paggett (Lincoln) has 51 catches for 439 yards and six touchdowns; his former Hornets teammate, Jalil Tucker, has 36 catches for 558 yards and nine scores. Conor Lawlor (Scripps Ranch High School) has 29 catches for 446 yards and six touchdowns and Troy Bassler (University City) has 25 grabs for 270 and one score; both are freshmen.
Sophomores Danny Davis (San Pasqual) and Santiago Salas (Mission Hills) pace the running game. Davis has 118 carries for 435 yards and four touchdowns, while Salas has 98 rushes for 356 yards and a touchdown and 19 catches for 204 yards and two scores.
The defense is led by sophomore safeties Jayden Cortell (Eastlake) and Brandon Worsley (Mission Hills); sophomore cornerback Jaydin Jackson (Eastlake); freshman linebacker Cooper Mau (LaCosta Canyon), and sophomore lineman Christian Mota (San Marcos).
Watkins is in his seventh season at Mesa College and his sixth as the head coach. He has a 40-23 record.
“I’m not about personal accolades,” said Watkins. “It’s our players, our staff.”
Mesa athletic director Ryan Shumaker calls Watkins “a rockstar football coach.”
“He has brought a hard-working, do-it-the-right-way approach,” Shumaker said. “His overall contributions to our college community go above and beyond what anyone could ask for.”
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