No. 7 Bulldogs edge No. 14 American River 17-14 at home

SAN MATEO – Dieter Kelly's 51-yard field goal with 10:50 to go in the fourth quarter proved to be the game-winner in No. 7 state-ranked College of San Mateo's narrow 17-14 win over No. 14 American River College on Saturday afternoon at College Heights Stadium.

Kelly's kick bested his previous season-long of 50 yards. He is 7 for 8 on field goal attempts this season. His lone miss was a 39-yard try in Week 1. Kelly has nailed a pair of 50+ yard attempts as well as from 48 yards this season.

The Bulldogs built an early lead and had to withstand a third-quarter surge by the Beavers to hold on for the win.

CSM would get momentum on its side immediately. Hassan Mahasin took the game's opening kickoff from his own end zone and ran it back the distance of the field for an impressive 100-yard return for a touchdown.

The game remained 7-0 until late in the second quarter. Lolo Mataele ran in for his sixth touchdown of the season, this time from a yard out, to extend the CSM lead to 14-0 with 27 seconds to go before halftime.

American River finally got on the board in the third quarter. The Beavers got a 2-yard TD run from Akil Sohan to cap a 12-play, 65-yard drive to open the second half. And just moments later, ARC capitalized on a CSM fumble that led to 15-yard touchdown pass from Jett Harris to Jadon Anderson to tie up the game 14-14 at the 6:21 mark in the third.

After Kelly nailed his 51-yard field goal to give CSM the 17-14 lead, the Bulldogs' defense tightened up in the fourth and came away with a big play to force a turnover. With American River driving near the Bulldogs' red zone, Trevon Watson picked off Harris' pass at the CSM 15-yard line to end a potential scoring drive with 5:36 left in the fourth.

The Bulldogs halted the Beavers on their final drive of the contest. With ARC at the San Mateo 36, CSM stopped a rush for no gain and forced three straight incomplete passes to close out the Beavers and secure the win.

Odera Okaka totaled 10 tackles to lead the Bulldogs' defense. On offense, Mataele led CSM on the ground with 19 carries for 70 yards.

CSM improved to 3-1 overall. The Bulldogs are back in action next Saturday (Oct. 5) when they host Fresno City College in a 2 p.m. non-league game.