Southwestern, Mesa Meet in Hall of Fame Bowl

SAN DIEGO — Southwestern and San Diego Mesa will once again try to decide which is the best community college football team in San Diego County when the two meet in the second National Football Foundation Hall of Fame Bowl tonight at 7:30 on Glen Broderick Field in Balboa Stadium.

Southwestern and San Diego Mesa tied, 22-22, in a Mission Conference game earlier this season. They also tied for second in the league with 6-2-1 records. Riverside (8-1, 9-1) won the league title and will play Glendale (10-0), the top-ranked team in the state, in the PONY Bowl tonight at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. Riverside is ranked No. 5 in the state.

No. 14 Mesa (6-2-2), which is the only team to defeat Riverside, and No. 17 Southwestern (6-3-1) each feature an outstanding wide receiver.

DeAngelo Mitchell, who played at San Diego High, has caught a school-record 70 passes for 1,000 yards and a state-leading 14 touchdowns for Mesa. Southwestern’s Robert Claiborne, who played at Mount Miguel, has caught 62 passes for 1,111 yards. Both are school records.

The first National Football Foundation Hall of Fame Bowl also featured two top passing teams from the county. The result? Southwestern and Grossmont tied, 35-35.