SAN JOSE >> Most football coaches will tell you, it’s extremely difficult to win with three turnovers. But there the youth-laden Cabrillo College Seahawks were Saturday, on the road and in contention, driving for the go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter.

It was their fourth turnover that killed them. San Jose City defensive back Tanner Jones ripped the ball from running back Kobe Hatten’s grasp and raced 10 yards to pounce on the loose ball, as the Jaguars held off the Seahawks 17-14 in the teams’ Coast Conference opener in front of a couple hundred fired up fans.

It was a stinging loss for the Seahawks, who have just two sophomores on their roster.

“Close isn’t good enough though,” said Justin Hansen, the Seahawks’ first-year head coach. “It wasn’t what we wanted. We’re not here looking for moral victories. The boys played hard and they know that. They know we love them and care about them, but, again, this isn’t a sport where we’re trying to play good and trying to play close. So, yeah, it wasn’t good enough today.”

San Jose City (2-2, 1-0) jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. The Jaguars, behind the arm of sophomore quarterback Jared Julian, marched 64 yards on nine plays on their first offensive series. His legs weren’t too shabby either: He avoided a sack and scored from 16 yards out on a third-and-5 play.

The Jaguars extended their lead on Roland Legaspi’s 37-yard field goal with 1:24 left in the opening stanza. The score was a shot in the arm for Cabrillo’s relentless defense given that SJCC started the series on the Seahawks’ 40-yard line.

The Seahawks’ defense bailed out their offense time and again. Cabrillo quarterback Oscar Magana threw the first of his three interceptions on the next series, and Yasir Talib-Harrison was on his way to recording a pick-six when Hatten caught him from behind for a touchdown saving tackle at the Seahawks’ 6-yard line. SJCC turned the ball over on downs at the 3-yard line.

SJCC made it 17-0 early in the second quarter. Andre Nice, a Scotts Valley alum, returned a punt to Cabrillo’s 35 and Julian connected with receiver Casey Collins, another Falcons alum, on the very next play.

Cabrillo (1-4, 0-1) prevented the Jaguars from capitalizing on Nicholas Morris’ interception in the second quarter. Kenyon Vaughns recorded a sack to help force SJCC to punt, and the Seahawks offense fed off the momentum.

Magana completed a pair of big gain passes to Hatten and Brandon George to set up Hatten’s 2-yard scoring run and cap a three-play, 55-yard drive.

In the third quarter, the Seahawks caught a break when Legaspi’s 44-yard field goal hit struck the crossbar and bounced back into the end zone.

But Cabrillo’s offense was struggling to regain the form it showed on its scoring drive.

Early in the fourth quarter, SJCC’s Jaqualyn Greene recorded an his team’s third interception. Again, Cabrillo’s defense came up big. Matt Flores-Ortiz recorded a sack and Jacob Zielin, playing with a cast on his left hand, recorded an interception on the next pay.

“Everybody’s dog is here; everyone has that competitive in them. Everybody likes to work,” Hatten said. “The defense gave us every opportunity just to get out there on offense and score. Offense, we just have to work harder to get the points up.”

Cabrillo made good on the turnover. It marched 75 yards on 12 plays with Hatten scoring from 1 yard out with 5:31 remaining.

“I’d say it’s believing in each other,” said Hatten, when asked what the Seahawks learned about themselves. “Fighting and keeping our heads up and everything, just working.”

The Seahawks forced SJCC to punt and Cabrillo was looking for the go-ahead score when Jones, a Soquel alum, made the game-saving takeaway for the Jaguars.

“Great game, emotional game,” Jones said. “Love to compete against them. They’re a hard team.”

SJCC earned a first down before kneeling on the ball to kill the game clock and secure the win.