Top-seeded Bulldogs headed back to NorCal championship after 41-7 win over American River

SAN MATEO – College of San Mateo will play for its fifth straight Northern California championship after the No. 1-seeded Bulldogs cruised to a 41-7 victory over No. 4 American River College in the NCFC semifinals on Saturday at CSM's College Heights Stadium.

CSM got off to a slow start on Saturday against American River as the Bulldogs were forced to punt on their first four drives of the contest. But San Mateo finally got the offense to click midway in the second quarter.

A big 40-yard reception from CSM quarterback Dominic Ingrassia to KB Boone-Nelson sparked the offense while four American River penalties helped move the ball downfield. Lolo Mataele busted through from two yards out for a touchdown to get the Bulldogs on the board with a 7-0 lead at the 3:04 mark.

Moments later, Dieter Kelly knocked a chip shot in for a 28-yard field goal with 8 seconds remaining in the half to send the Bulldogs into the break with a 10-0 lead.

After some halftime adjustments, the Bulldogs finally broke the game open in the third quarter with long plays paying off. Mataele ran in for his second touchdown of the game, this time from 66 yards out to make it a 17-0 lead with 13:10 on the clock.

Ingrassia connected with Jaelin Green for the 59-yard TD and hit Boone-Nelson for a huge 71-yard touchdown to nearly knock out ARC with a 31-0 advantage with 5:12 to go in the third.

Kelly booted a 30-yard field goal and John Stowers ran for a 31-yard TD to close out the scoring in the fourth for the Bulldogs.

CSM totaled 427 yards of offense while the defense gave up 196 yards and just 8 first downs to the Beavers.

Ingrassia completed 10 of 18 passes for 221 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions. Boone-Nelson was the top target of the game as he hauled in 4 receptions for 123 yards and a TD while Mataele carried the ball 13 times for 95 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Malaki Teo led the Bulldogs' defense with 6 tackles and a sack. RJ Whitten grabbed an interception, his second of the season.

The Bulldogs, now 10-1 overall, will host No. 3 Modesto Junior College next Saturday (Dec. 7) in the NCFC Championship with the winner moving on to the 3C2A State Championship on Dec. 14 at the site of the Northern California representative.

Modesto handed San Mateo its lone loss of the season, a 23-20 setback in Week 3 on the road.

Modesto needed two overtimes to defeat No. 4 Fresno City College 31-28 in its NorCal semifinal on Saturday. The Pirates enter next week's championship game with a 9-2 overall record.