San Mateo downs Fresno City to advance to sixth straight NorCal Final
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
|
|
3 | 10 | 14 | 7 | 34 |
Team Stats
| Game Statistics | Fresno City | San Mateo |
|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | 128 | 166 |
| Rushing Yards | 72 | 280 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of Poss. | 22:19 | 37:41 |
- 3C2A Football Playoff Bracket
SoCal Championships
(1) Golden West, 56, (4) Ventura, 38 l Recap
(2) Saddleback 58, (3) Mt. San Antonio, 28 l Recap
NorCal Championships
(1) San Mateo 34, (5) Fresno City, 13
(2) Modesto 35, (3) Diablo Valley 7 l Stats
SAN MATEO – It will be a sixth straight Northern California Championship game for College of San Mateo football next Saturday after a decisive 34-13 victory over visiting Fresno City College.
Modesto JC defeated Diablo Valley, 35-7, in the other Northern California semifinal and will be revisiting the defending state champion Bulldogs again -- at 12 noon on Dec. 6. CSM defeated Modesto, 41-21, in a September non-league contest.
Dominick Gonzale rushed for 94 yards and Malakhi DeMoss added 72 yards of CSM's 280-yard ground total on Saturday. The Bulldogs totaled 446 yards, while their state-leading defense kept Fresno at just 13 points and 200 net yards. (CSM leads all 66 California CC teams with season averages just at those marks.) Fresno had only 72 net rushing yards, with no individual reaching 30 yards.
"The middle eight minutes were good," said CSM coach Tim Tulloch, referring to the final four minutes of the first half and the first four after the intermission. "We scored at the end of the half and had them turn it over coming out."
After a slow start, with a pair of Dieter Kelly field goals managing a 6-6 tie, CSM took charge before halftime, following the 2-minute timeout with a 55-yard drive. Luke Alexander threw two yards to Jalen Arnold for a 13-6 lead (including Kelly's kick) with just four seconds remaining. Alexander hit Kenyon Shabazz with key pass plays of 17 and 22 yards on the drive.
Fresno had won the opening coin toss and elected to give CSM the ball first and receive the second half kickoff. San Mateo took care of that strategy, first by driving downfield with the opening possession for a 36-yard Kelly field goal.
Following the halftime break, CSM forced a fumble on Fresno's first play, which DL Malakai Ross-Graves recovered on the Rams 21. Four plays later, Arnold took the ball on an 11-yard sweep for a 19-6 lead – and the eventual winning points.
CSM outscored Fresno, 21-7 in the second half. Alexander had a 34-yard TD throw to B Thurman and DeMoss ran 13 yards for a score.
Alexander was 16-of-28 passing for 166 yards and the two touchdowns.
Arnold had a great all-around day, catching four passes for 24 yards and a score plus the 11-yard TD run. Shabazz had four receptions for 54 yards.
CSM and century-old rival Modesto also met twice in 2024. Modesto gave San Mateo its only season loss, in their September non-league contest, but the Bulldogs took care of business in their NorCal title rematch, 27-22 -- and continued to bank a 17-game state (and national) leading win streak (including the state title win over Mt San Antonio). San Mateo's only loss in the past 21 contests was to San Francisco, 13-6, in a 2025 Bay 6 League showdown.
(Fred Baer, College of San Mateo Athletics)