San Mateo to defend 3C2A State Football Championship against host Golden West on Saturday at Orange Coast
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COSTA MESA - Unbeaten Golden West College (12-0) is set to take on defending champion College of San Mateo (11-1) in the 3C2A (California Community College Athletic Association) football title game on Saturday at LeBard Stadium (Orange Coast College) in Costa Mesa. Kickoff is at 12 noon, with a free live stream available at Overnght.
Live stats will be available at the 3C2A website.
It is the first state championship game for the Rustlers, who are hosting the game at their district’s sister campus, which has a modernized stadium seating more than 7,000. This is the fourth straight finals appearance (and seventh overall) for visitor CSM, which won titles at home in 2022 and 2024. The Bulldogs are looking for their first official championship triumph on the road.
Top SoCal seed Golden West completed its first 12-0 campaign with a convincing 33-15 win over No. 2 seed (and Orange County neighbor) Saddleback College in the Southern California Football Association championship game -- at home in Huntington Beach last Saturday.
CSM won a fourth straight Northern California Football Conference title by downing visiting century-old rival Modesto JC, 38-7. The Bulldogs ran up 38 unanswered points on Modesto before the Pirates finally got into the end zone in the fourth quarter. That ended MJC’s NorCal leading 7-game winning streak.
RATINGS: The JC Athletic Bureau’s final 2025 regular season state coaches poll had Golden West No. 1 and CSM No. 2 – as both team survived the new 6-team regional playoffs.
COACHES: Golden West Coach Nick Mitchell has fashioned a 123-76 record in 19 seasons leading the Rustlers. That includes a previous SCFA league title in 2021. In the current decade, following the 2020 season interruption by COVID, Mitchell has posted five impressive winnings seasons for a 49-8 record.
CSM coach Tim Tulloch is 76-11 in seven seasons at the Bulldogs helm, with now six consecutive double digit win campaigns. He is 56-7 over five years in the current decade.
TOP DEFENSES CLASH: This will be a clash of the top two National Division defenses.
San Mateo leads all 3C2A team in defense, allowing just 13.0 points and 201.6 yards per game. Athough the Bulldogs have the leading pass defense, a 112.7 yard average, Golden West is best against the rush among all National Division teams with an 86.9-yard average. CSM is second at 91.9. The Rustlers allow just 17.5 points and 296.8 total yards per game.
Bay 6 League defensive player of the year Trevon Watson, a CSM sophomore cornerback, is also a top kick returner. He is a University of Oregon signee, one of eight Bulldogs who signed “early” this month, including a pair to top ten playoff schools. Offensive lineman Tyrell Miller signed with Alabama.
OFFENSIVE MATCH-UPS:
Golden West has an outstanding aerial attach. Freshman wide receiver Tanner Schmidt was named the Central League offensive player-of-the-year. He has caught 61 passes for 1,183 yards and 16 touchdowns (No. 2 in the state) – and has a 17th score on a punt return.
Freshman quarterback Kauna’oa Kamakawiwo’ole directs the GWC attack, completing 138 or 203 passes (68 percent) for 1,966 yards and 24 TDs – with a 184.4 collegiate efficiency rating. He has played in ten games since assuming the helm.
The Rustlers have a pair of 500-yard rushers in Aaron Mitchel (596 yards, 48.8 per game) and Kendric Thomas (565 yards, 47.1 per game).
CSM also has a young quarterback in Luke Alexander, who took the helm for conference play and has played in ten games. He has has completed 83 of 151 passes (55 per cent) for 996 yards and 12 touchdowns. He and Johnny Koett have combined for 1,864 yards and 19 TDs.
The Bulldogs like to rush. They have two dozen players who have carried the ball (in addition to two quarterbacks), for 2,365 yards. Three rushers top the 500 yard mark. They are Dominick Gonzalez, with 568 yards, a 6.8 average per carry (50.0 yards per game); Malakhi DeMoss, with 617 yards (68.3 per game); and Ali Collier, with 544 yards (54.4 per game).
KICKING: CSM has returning all-state place kicker Dieter Kelly, who leads the state with 18 field goals and is the career record holder in kick-scoring for the Bulldogs.
Mattheo Zavala has kicked six field goals for Golden West (with a long of 43 yards) and has 50 total points (including 32 of 34 on PATs).
Tickets for Saturday's game are available online in advance at the 3C2A tickets page.
Cash will not be accepted at the gate.
(Fred Baer, CCCSIA)