San Mateo and Mt. San Antonio advance to 3C2A Football State Championship after victories

Bulldogs capture third straight Northern California title, host Mt. SAC in State Championship Dec. 14

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.

(CSM Athletics)

The Mt. SAC Football Team Is Headed to the State Championship

WALNUT - De'shon Thompson put the Mounties on the board early, with a 33-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Noah Fuailetolo to give the team an early 7-0 lead. Riverside answered quickly with a 59-yard touchdown pass from Brady Jones to Marquis Monroe, tying the game at 7-7. Just moments later, Mt. SAC's Adrion Boyd electrified the crowd with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, though the extra point was missed, making it 13-7.

In the second quarter, Thompson struck again, catching a 47-yard touchdown pass from Fuailetolo to extend the lead to 20-7. But Riverside's Devyne Pearson countered with back-to-back rushing touchdowns (36 yards and 1 yard), putting the Tigers ahead 21-20. However, the Mounties regained the lead just before halftime when Juwan Grant pulled in a 17-yard touchdown pass from Fuailetolo, giving Mt. SAC a 27-21 advantage.

The third quarter saw Riverside's Brady Jones score a 7-yard touchdown, pushing the Tigers back into the lead at 28-27.

With the game on the line, Samuel Green Jr. powered into the end zone with a 2-yard rushing touchdown, and kicker Matthew Fidone nailed the extra point to reclaim the lead at 34-28 in the fourth quarter. But Pearson wasn't finished, adding another 12-yard rushing touchdown, putting the Tigers back on top at 35-34, with just over three minutes remaining. Under immense pressure, Fidone nailed an incredible 48-yard game-winning field goal with under two minutes left, putting Mt. SAC up 37-35.

The Riverside City Tigers had one final opportunity to turn the game in their favor, but the Mt. SAC defense rose to the occasion, proving to be the champions that they are. On a crucial fourth down, with tension in the air and the home crowd on their feet erupting in chants of, "Defense! Defense! Defense!" the Mounties made the stop of the game, denying the Tigers any chance of reaching the end zone.

With this pivotal play, Mt. SAC secured the 3C2A Southern California Football Association Regional Championship in a nail-biting 37-35 victory. This win also ended Riverside's streak of advancing to the State Championship for the fourth consecutive year, while it puts the Mounties one win away from a state title.

(Mt. SAC Athletics)