NO. 4 USA RANKED CSM IN REMATCH VS. AMERICAN RIVER SAT FOR NORCAL FOOTBALL TITLE

Contact: Fred Baer, COLLEGE OF SAN MATEO Sports Information            baerf@smccd.edu

Bulldogs ranked No. 4 in USA, No. 3 in California:

CSM IN REMATCH VS. AMERICAN RIVER SAT FOR NORCAL FOOTBALL TITLE

College of San Mateo's 2017 state football championship hopes ride on two successful trips to Sacramento – on Nov. 25 and Dec. 9.

Those are the dates and locations of the respective Northern California Football Conference and California Community College Athletic Association championship games.

No. 2 Northern California seed CSM (10-1), currently ranked No. 4 nationally, will play at No. 1 seed  American River (10-1) in Sacramento Saturday (Nov. 25) at 6 p.m. for the Northern California championship. That will be a rematch of San Mateo's only loss, 21-20, to the now No. 3 nationally ranked Beavers on a blocked PAT kick with a minute remaining in their Sept. 30 game. Saturday's winner will represent the north in the CCCAA Championship game on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 9, at Sacramento City College's Hughes Stadium.

In their last 17 games, Coach Larry Owens Bulldogs have gone 15-2, the only other setback coming in the 2016 state playoffs. The retiring coach has a record of 129 wins and 90 losses in 21 seasons at the helm.   

ARC defeated Laney, 41-35, in their playoff opener last Saturday. Bay 6 league champion San Mateo scored a 52-3 win over visiting College of the Siskiyous, runner-up to American River in the NorCal League, fell to San Mateo, 52-3.

STATE QUARTERFINALISTS ARE ALSO 1 to 4 NATIONALLY:

The CCCAA has the majority (68) of the USA's JC/CC football programs and the surviving state quarterfinalist are also ranked one through four nationally:

Current jcfootball.com national rankings (Nov. 23):

1.Fullerton (11-0); 2. Riverside (10-1); 3. American River (10-1), 4. San Mateo (10-1); 5. Arizona Western (9-0).

CSM finished the regular season ranked No. 3 in California in the JC Athletic Bureau's state coaches poll.

 San Mateo-Siskiyou game recap and CSM season statistical notes:

Game MVP Rajae Johnson caught six passes for 204 yards and two spectacular first half touchdowns against the Eagles.

The Bulldogs scored the only touchdown they needed on a first quarter 18-yard Miles Kendrick to Johnson pass and moved out to a 24- 0 halftime advantage on a 95-yard hook-up between that duo. Kendrick completed nine of 18 passes for 280 yards, 219 in the first half. He had 325 total offense yards.

It was a game of big San Mateo plays.

CSM thwarted the most extensive Siskiyous drive of the game, 73 yards at the start of the third quarter, when Jordan Hendy picked off an Eagles pass at his own five yard line for a 95-yard pick-6 romp.

On San Mateo's next possession, Raymond Sanders completed an 80-yard drive with a 7-yard TD run -- and the Bulldogs were up, 38-0.

Kendrick suffered a knee bruise on that series, however, and left the game. Shawn Akina took over and completed both of his passes attempts for 73 yards, including a 58-yarder to Elijah Harper that made it 45-0 by the end of the third quarter.

After CSM starting running back Cameron Taylor had done his job -- rushing for 52 yards and his 15th TD of the season -- Sanders finished the game with 92 yards on 11 carries (8.4 average).  

San Mateo had 541 yards of total offense and limited Siskiyous to 257. The Eagles had only 53 net yards in the first half. CSM continues to pace all Northern California teams in scoring, with a 45.1 point average, and in total offense (469.8 yards per game).

 CSM FROSH QB DUO ARE STATE'S MOST EFFICIENT PASSERS: Akina improved his passer efficiency rating to 183.7, the best in the state – just ahead of official NorCal leader (third in the state) Kendrick at 180.7. Akina has thrown for 895 yards and seven TDs this season but does not have enough attempts to officially qualify as the state ratings leader. They also top state quarterbacks with 50 or more completions in average yards per attempt: Akina at 11.5 and Kendrick at 11.2. Kendrick has passed for 1,766 yards and has a total offense of 2,179 yards, with 23 touchdowns responsible for.  

JOHNSON PACES STATE RECEIVERS: Johnson, a 6-4, 215-pound freshman, leads all CCCAA pass receivers with a 26.0 average per reception and tops Northern California with 108.8 yards per game. He has caught 13 TD passes.  His 1,197 receiving yards ranks No. 2 on CSM's all-time list behind California Community College Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame honoree Mario Ballesteros (1,383 yards in 1985). Ballestrasse had a national record 361 receiving yards in a 1985 game against DeAnza.

The Bulldogs have another top receiver in sophomore Jared Latu, out of San Mateo High, with 42 receptions for 714 yards and eight scores. He has also completed his only pass attempt for a 64-yard touchdown -- which computes to an astronomical 967.6 passer rating

STATE PUNTING LEADER WATTS SETS CSM KICK-SCORING RECORD: In addition to continuing to lead the state with a 44.2-yard punting average, CSM sophomore kicker Justin Watts is now the Bulldogs all-time career kick-scoring leader with 158 total points. He has kicked for 82 points this season (No 5 in the state) -- six points shy of the Bulldogs record of 88 by Kenny Anderson in 2011.

Linebacker Colt Doughty and lineman Mike Mounga led the CSM defense against Siskiyous with six tackles apiece. DB Jalen Hicks and lineman Nathan Talakai joined Hendy in picking off Eagles passes.

SCFA PLAYOFF RESULTS: In Saturday's Southern California Football Association playoff games, defending state champion Fullerton (11-0) defeated Saddleback, 33-21, and Riverside (10-1) turned back Ventura, 49-33.

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JC Football.com Top 10 - Nov. 23, 2017

• By Kevin Lustgarten - 

 Rank, School, Record

1. Fullerton, (11-0)

2. Riverside, (10-1

3. American River, (10-1)

• Next: San Mateo (10-1) (playoffs)
• Beat Laney, 41-35 (playoffs)
• Beat Sierra, 45-28
• Beat Butte, 34-7
• Beat Feather River, 59-8
• Beat Sacramento, 38-24
• Beat Siskiyous, 33-7
• Beat San Mateo, 21-20
• Beat Fresno, 42-35 (OT)
• Lost to San Francisco, 40-26
• Beat Modesto, 55-49 (OT)
• Beat Diablo Valley, 67-0

4. San Mateo, (10-1)

• Next: at American River (10-1) (playoffs)
• Beat Sisiyous, 52-3 (playoffs)
• Beat Diablo Valley, 45-14
• Beat Santa Rosa, 66-21
• Beat San Francisco, 42-31
• Beat Contra Costa, 57-6
• Beat De Anza, 58-12
• Lost to American River, 21-20
• Beat Butte, 51-12
• Beat Fresno, 21-19
• Beat Sierra, 37-36
• Beat Modesto, 47-7 

5. Arizona Western (9-0) 

6. East Mississippi, (10-1)

7. NW Mississippi, (8-2)

8. Snow, Utah (9-1)

9. Iowa Western, (10-1)

10. Laney, (9-2)

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