Bulldogs capture third straight Northern California title, host Mt. SAC in State Championship Dec. 14
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Modesto (9-3) | 0 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 22 |
|
San Mateo (11-1) | 7 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 27 |
SAN MATEO – Lolo Mataele ran for 3 touchdowns and 147 yards to help carry No. 1-seeded College of San Mateo to a 27-22 win over No. 3 Modesto Junior College in the Northern California Football Conference (NCFC) Championship on Saturday at College Heights Stadium.
The Bulldogs captured their third consecutive NorCal championship and will play for a state title next Saturday (Dec. 14) when they host Southern California champion Mt. San Antonio College in the 3C2A State Championship.
Mt. SAC, seeded No. 1 in Southern California, knocked off CSM nemesis Riverside City College, the South's No. 2 seed, 37-35 in a thriller in Walnut on Saturday night. The Mounties will bring a perfect 12-0 record to San Mateo next week.
On Saturday, Mataele's six-yard touchdown run at the 11:07 mark in the fourth quarter extend the Bulldogs' lead to 27-16 and proved to be the game-winner against Modesto. The run also made CSM history as the rushing TD was Mataele's 20th of the year, setting a new Bulldog single-season record.
Mataele also had touchdown runs of 11 and 3 yards. The latter sent CSM into the locker room with a 14-7 advantage at halftime.
Dieter Kelly was also solid, booting second-half field goals of 48 and 38 yards, and was a perfect 3 for 3 on extra point attempts.
The CSM defense terrorized Modesto quarterback Luke Weaver. He was sacked nine times in the contest and was also intercepted once.
John Gayer had a monster game with 4.5 sacks on his way to 7 tackles and a forced fumble. Trevon Watson totaled 6 tackles, an interception, and was in on a sack while Nehamaiah Musika had 3 sacks and 6 tackles.
CSM heads into the state championship game with an 11-1 overall record. The Bulldogs will look to capture their second state title in program history after last winning it in 2022.