CSM seeks first football state championship, hosts Riverside Saturday at noon

Photo by Patrick Nguyen / @patrophoto
Photo by Patrick Nguyen / @patrophoto
December 8, 2022
College of San Mateo hopes to parlay a fourth appearance in the California Community College Athletic Association football championship game on Saturday into the first official state gridiron crown as a fitting celebration of 100 years of athletics.
 
The Bulldogs (11-1), who first fielded a football team in 1922, host state top ranked and undefeated Riverside City College (12-0) in the 12 noon game, which will be live streamed on baosn.tv.
 
As the top seed in Northern California, CSM took the regional crown without allowing a touchdown, 30-0 over Modesto JC and 30-5 over American River. The Bulldogs gave up only 32 net yards in the NorCal title game with ARC, setting a school defensive record for fewest yards allowed in any game. That included a net of minus 39 yards rushing, second best in school history.
 
TOP DEFENSVE VS. NO. 1 OFFENSE: It will be a classic match between the state's top defensive and offensive teams. CSM has given up only 154 points, an average of 12.8 points over 12 games, leading all 67 California Community Colleges, in both divisions. Riverside leads the National Division scoring 43.9 points per game. The Tigers lead all CCC's with 7,091 yards in 12 games and pace the National Division with a 590.9 per game average. That includes a pacesetting 390.6 yard passing average.
 
MOLENI THREATENS CSM RECORD: CSM has the Bay 6 offensive player of the year in sophomore running back Ezra Moleni, also the leading rusher in both playoff games. He now has 1,168 rushing yards this season, No. 3 on the all-time CSM list. That is just 85 yards shy of the San Mateo record of 1,253 yards by (future) Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman in 2005. No. 2 is George Naufahu with 1,193 yards in 2013 – just 25 yards ahead of Moleni.
 
Moleni leads the National Division with 16 rushing touchdowns and Northern California with a 97.3 yards per game rushing average.
 
All Bay 6 quarterback Richie Watts ranks third in the state in both collegiate efficiency rating (162.1) and completion percentage (65.0). He has completed 160 of 246 passes for 2,104 yards and 20 touchdowns, with just two interceptions.
 
The Bulldogs also have returning all-state placekicker Gabe Plascencia, who leads Northern California with 83 points this season and is San Mateo's all-time record holder.
 
CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: This is CSM's seventh consecutive state playoff appearance.
San Mateo first played in – and hosted – the 2009 CCCAA championship game at College Heights. Mt. San Antonio eked out a 7-6 victory, in the rain. CSM lost at Fullerton in the 2017 finale, 16-12, a game later declared no contest due to the Hornets eligibility issues. Riverside won the 2019 championship game with the Bulldogs in Sacramento, 31-14.
 
RANKINGS/POLLS NOTES: Riverside was No. 1 and CSM No. 3 in the JC Athletic Bureau's final regular season poll of coaches. Riverside is currently No. 1 in the updated Massey ratings, with CSM No. 2, including playoff games. They are also 1-2 nationally, according to Massey. California has 67 of the USA's 121 2-year college football teams. The top team outside of California (and only undefeated) is No. 32 Hutchinson CC, Kan. (11-0). So, Saturday's CCCAA showdown could also be called the mythical national title game.

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--Fred Baer, CSM Sports Information