CSM grabs 4 quick turnovers for 24-0 lead; takes 66-7 Bay 6 opening win at Laney

OAKLAND – Taking advantage of four first quarter turnovers, College of San Mateo took a quick 24-0 lead and rolled to a 66-7 Bay 6-League opening victory at defending co-champion Laney College Friday night.

The reigning state and national champion Bulldogs (5-1 overall) stopped Laney (1-5) on its second play for a 23-yard loss, resulting in a fumble recovery on the 2-yard line that CSM linebacker Jerry Gaoteote recovered and jogged over the two stripes for a touchdown less than four minutes into the game.

Defensive back Jermaine Hargraves intercepted Laney quarterback Marcus Sanders on the next official play to set-up the Bulldogs for their next score, a 47-yard field goal by Caleb Ojeda.

San Mateo stopped Laney on its next possession, on the third play, when Fynn Williams picked off Sanders and returned the interception 34 yards for a touchdown. Williams also co-led the Bulldogs defense with seven tackles.

Laney's fifth possession of the quarter was also disastrous. A lost fumble on the first play was recovered and returned three yards by CJ Lindsey to put the Bulldogs up, 24-0, with 3:03 left in the first quarter.

San Mateo drove 80-yards with its next possession for a 31-0 lead on a 15-yard TD pass from Anthony Grigsby to Jeremiah Patterson just after the quarter break. Grigsby threw for touchdowns on the next two CSM possessions, 42 yards to Patterson and 43 yards to Anthony Freeman – for a 45-7 advantage just under seven minutes before halftime.

That also proved to be all the action state passing leader Grigsby would see, finishing completing 10-of-12 passes for 161 yards and the three scores. A trio of Bulldog signal callers threw six TD passes in the game.

The CSM defense produced four turnovers and a pair of 3-and-out series by Laney in the first quarter. The Eagles had only one first down in the first half – that coming on a 75-yard TD run by Simeon Milan, who escaped around the right corner and outran San Mateo pursuers. That was the Bulldogs lone defensive lapse. They limited Laney to 129 net yards in the game.

Alex Grado saw extensive back-up action at quarterback, completing 7-of-11 passes for 129 yards and a pair of second half touchdowns – 34 yards to Freeman and ten yards to KB Boone-Nelson. Raymond Price completed 4-of-5 attempts for 32 yards, including a 22-yard TD to Fidel Pitts.

Ojeda was perfect kicking. In addition to a season long field goal, he connected on all nine extra point tries to add 12-points to his Bay 6-leading kickscoring mark.

Linebacker Cyrus Durham shared the game lead with seven tackles, four resulting in losses -- and a sack.

--San Mateo returns home for the first time in a month, hosting now current league co-leader Diablo Valley (1-0) on Saturday, Oct. 21, at 1 p.m. DVC was the only team to defeat CSM during its 2022 state and national title run.