Akina drives ’Dogs in Bay 6 opener

The opening kickoff pinned Santa Rosa (0-1, 4-2) to its own 5-yard line, and the Bulldogs defense responded by forcing a three-and-out to give its offense favorable field position after a punt to midfield. This set a trend of long fields for Santa Rosa vs. short fields for CSM that repeated itself on the following four possession changes of the opening quarter.

CSM turned five of its six first-quarter possessions into scores, needing just 105 yards of total offense in the opening stanza to do so.

“I really thought the guys, coming off the bye week, we really made a lot of progress over the past two weeks,” CSM head coach Tim Tulloch said. “They started the first half with the right mindset and we were ready to play.”

Bulldogs quarterback Kamalii Akina returned to action for the first time since Week 1, when he opened non-conference play suffering a tear to the acromioclavicular joint of his throwing shoulder on the seventh down of the season.

“I wasn’t quite a hundred percent (Saturday) but I wanted to get out there for my sophomore year,” Akina said of his return.

The 5-11, 180-pound sophomore out of St. Francis-Mountain View hit the ground running, setting the tempo with precise passing strikes while spreading the offense from sideline to sideline.

This is an area where the Bulldogs have been limited with freshman Terrell Carter at quarterback, with the hyper-athletic talent joining CSM in Week 2 in the wake of Akina’s injury. Carter’s late arrival as a Division I transfer from San Jose State forced CSM to streamline its play calling.

“[Akina] has been with us for two years,” CSM offensive coordinator Bret Pollack said. “… He knows all the wrinkles and reads.”

Akina was a modest 6-of-11 passing for 97 yards and added four rushes for seven yards. He totaled two touchdowns passes and one rushing score, however, while having a hand in all three of CSM’s first-quarter TDs.

“I think Coach P (Pollack) is confident in the way I can make reads, and I’m confident in my ability to make my reads,” Akina said.

CSM took its first possession from its own 49-yard line, with Akina throws of 11 and 5 yards helping advance into field-goal range. Sophomore kicker Cesar Silva converted game’s first score with a 42-yard field goal, giving the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead.

Another Santa Rosa three-and-out — capped by a third-down sack of quarterback Jake Simmons by CSM freshman linebacker Sione Taufalele — gave the Bulldogs the ball back at the Bear Cubs’ 28. After a 22-yard pass from Akina to sophomore receiver Elijah Harper with a crisp fastball on a slant pattern over the middle, CSM scored on a 3-yard Akina run to up the lead to 10-0.

After another three-and-out, CSM scored on first down with a short pass underneath to freshman receiver Connell Ryans, who galloped 41 yards for a score.

CSM sophomore cornerback Andre Neal’s second interception of the game set up Akina’s next scoring strike, a 21-yard TD pass to freshman David Hernandez for a 21-yard TD. Silva capped the first-period scoring spree with a 28-yard field goal with 56 second to go in the quarter.

“[Akina] made good decisions,” Tulloch said. “When we make good decisions, we move the ball and play well.”

The Bulldogs defense pitched a shutout in the first half. The only points Santa Rosa scored in the half came on CSM’s first possession of the second quarter. With Carter rotating in at quarterback, and the Bulldogs pinned to their own 3-yard line, a shotgun snap out of the back of the end zone gave Santa Rosa a safety.

With Akina back at QB to finish the half though, CSM advanced on its final possession before the break. A 39-yard pass from Akina to freshman Jalen Lampley moved the ball into Santa Rosa territory at the 29. After a pass interference penalty advanced CSM into the red zone, Akina connected with Harper for a 14-yard scoring pass to send the Bulldogs into the locker room up 34-2.

CSM’s defense surrendered its first points of the day midway through the third quarter. Santa Rosa moved the ball 73 yards on nine plays, culminating on a fourth-down look for a 16-yard touchdown pass from Simmons to sophomore receiver Lucas Triplett to cut the lead to 34-9.

The Bulldogs responded with their only big run play of the day. Sophomore running back Rashaan Fontenette led all rushers with 10 carries for 83 yards, a majority of which came via a 57-yard run right up the gut for a touchdown with 5:49 remaining in the third quarter.

Fontenette was CSM’s primary back, with sophomore Cam Taylor unavailable due to injury. Taylor — the Bulldogs’ team rushing leader averaging 78 ground yards per game — suited up and practiced prior to the game, but did not play. Pollack said it was a game-time decision.

While it didn’t seem like CSM’s offense, by virtue of its efficient first quarter, had much of anything to fix, Pollack said there was.

“There is but [Akina] did a great job,” Pollack said.

All three of CSM’s quarterbacks, including sophomore Matt Adamkiewicz, saw action in the game. Despite competing for playing time, the three have developed quite the camaraderie, according to Akina.

“We’ve got a really close, tightknit group in the quarterback room,” Akina said. “So, that really helps. … All three of us are able to go out there and make a big play.”