CSM strikes quick to topple DVC, 56-7, in 1st place B6 showdown

College of San Mateo averaged 52 yards on its first three ball touches and never looked back, rolling to a 56-7 victory in its first place Bay 6 League showdown with visiting Diablo Valley College Saturday afternoon at College Heights Stadium.

The victory avenged last season's only narrow loss (23-21) by the 2022 state and national champion Bulldogs, who now share the league lead at 2-0 with state top-ranked City College of San Francisco (who they host in the Nov. 11 Bay 6 finale).

Jeremiah Patterson returned Saturday's opening kickoff 90 yards and the Bulldogs were up, 7-0, just 15 seconds into the game. DVC netted only two yards on a quick 3-and-out possession and San Mateo needed only two plays to score again. Matthew White ran around the left side for 57 yards to the nine on first down and Jullius Tikiosuva rushed for the remaining yards on the next play go give the Bulldogs all the points they needed -- with a 14-0 lead just two minutes into the game.

CSM, however, continued to roll – to a 35-0 halftime advantage. That allowed many back-up players to gain needed experience in the second half.

Playing only in the first half, Bay 6 passing leader Anthony Grigsby completed 8-of-10 passes for 135 yards and two touchdowns: 46 yards to Anthony Freeman and 9-yards to Terence Loville. Tikiosuva also finished a 66-yard San Mateo drive with a 3-yard TD run just into the second period.

White rushed for 103 yards on 13 carries, which was more than the total offense output by the Vikings. It all wasn't perfect, however.

"They made more yards on penalties (105) against us than on offense (98)," said CSM coach Tim Tulloch. "We need to gain experience."

He was still pleased with San Mateo's total offense of 418 yards, while holding the Vikings under 100 yards.

There were ten penalties against the Bulldogs for those 105 yards, while Diablo Valley was called eight times for 85 yards – one of the few areas the Vikings had any advantage. They netted a minus 22 yards rushing against the CSM defense, which recorded seven sacks and had a dozen tackles for loss. Jermaine Hargraves had five (all solo) tackles. Nate Carr had two sacks. Johno Price intercepted a pass on his own 15-yard line to thwart the only first half Diablo Valley drive, returning it 55 yards. Kalen Woods also intercepted a pass.

Grigsby has now passed for nearly 2,000 yards this season (1.939) and 18 touchdowns, despite playing only half of San Mateo's first two one-sided league wins. He has a 164.4 college efficiency rating, among the best in the state.

His backups have even better ratings, however, although not officially ranked. Raymond Price completed all five of his passes against DVC for 61 yards and a 22-yard TD to KB Boone-Nelson. Price has a 194.7 season rating on his limited efforts, 9-of-11 for 93 yards and two scores. Alex Grado, San Mateo's top back-up, completed 3-of-7 passes for 24 yards against the Vikings, including a 5-yard TD toss to Nico Caruso. Grado's season totals are 209 yards and three TDs with a 187.3 rating.

--CSM (6-1 overall) next visits cross-bridge rival Chabot College in Hayward on Saturday, Oct. 28, at 1 p.m.