College of San Mateo Bulldogs can’t stop City College in battle for Bay 6 Conference title

CSM was on the march and was eyeing a thrilling come-from-behind victory.

Who Bottari didn’t see was San Francisco defensive back Murvin Kenion III, who was playing a zone five yards more shallow. Kenion stepped in front of the pass and pulled down the interception at the 30-yard line to halt the Bulldogs’ drive.

The Rams were still celebrating the turnover when quarterback Jack Newman took a knee in victory formation to seal a 31-27 San Francisco victory before 5,000-plus fans at College Heights Stadium on the CSM campus Saturday afternoon.

“Luke led us down to put us in position to score,” CSM head coach Tim Tulloch said. “That kid (Kenion) made a play.”

The loss ended CSM’s 24-game, regular-season winning streak, dating to the final five games of the 2018 regular season. The Rams also ended the Bulldogs’ five-year reign atop to the Bay 6 Conference — the toughest conference in Northern California.

That play was the final touch on a game that lived up to the pregame hype. In a battle of the No. 1 and No. 3 teams in the state, it was the third-ranked Rams who made just a few more plays than the top-ranked Bulldogs. San Francisco (10-0) led by 14 points, 31-17, when Newman hit Jeffrey Weimer on a 17-yard slant for a touchdown with 16 seconds left to play in the third quarter.

Weimer finished with a game-high nine catches for 112 yards.

CSM was down, but not out as the Bulldogs put together a fourth-quarter rally. Starting on their own 45, the Bulldogs put together a nine-play, 55-yard drive that bridged the third and fourth quarters. Bottari, who completed 17-of-30 passes for 247 yards, hit Mason Starling for a 27-yard gain and then, facing fourth-and-goal at the Rams’ 6, Bottari found Starling streaking across the back of the end zone for a 6-yard scoring strike as the Bulldogs cut their deficit to 31-24.

The CSM defense then bowed its collective necks, forcing a San Francisco punt on the Rams’ next series, which the Rams’ punter shanked and appeared to set up CSM in prime position at the San Francisco 35-yard line.

But the Bulldogs were flagged for an illegal substitution-12 men on the field penalty, allowing the Rams to re-punt the ball.

CSM got the ball back at its own 32.

Again, it was Bottari that got the Bulldogs cooking. He used a deft shovel pass to Jalen Lampley that went for 18 yards. Bottari then scrambled for an 11-yard first down and hit Starling again for 9 more yards.

Facing a third-and-long from the Rams’ 24, Bottari scrambled out of trouble and had a wide open Kevin Sielski inside the San Francisco 15, but the two could not hook up and CSM settled for a 41-yard field goal from Gabe Plascencia to cut the Bulldogs’ deficit to 31-27 with 6:26 to play.

The CSM defense needed another stop and it eventually got it after San Francisco moved from its own 22 to the CSM 24. Facing fourth-and-inches, the Bulldogs stopped Newman on a quarterback sneak to get the ball back and give the CSM offense one more shot to win the game.

Bottari hit Tre Hines for a 14-yard gain on the first play and then facing third-and-10, the Bulldogs picked up a first down on an 18-yard underneath screen pass to the Rams’ 44.

Two plays later, Kenion made the final play of the game.

“We gave ourselves a chance to win,” Tulloch said. “It was one of those classic, two good teams battling. Just two teams going back and forth.

“We were resilient.”

CSM certainly had its chances throughout the game. The Bulldogs defense came out firing, with Noah Lavulo notching one of CSM’s four sacks on day. Lavulo would finish with a pair as the Rams were forced to punt.

CSM started its first drive at its 37, with a 17-yard catch from Starling and a 23-yard catch-and-run by Tre Hines to give the Bulldogs a first down at the Rams’ 20.

CSM would go no further, however, as Plascencia booted a 37-yard field goal for a 3-0 CSM lead.

The Rams punted on their next possession and the Bulldogs appeared to pull off the first big play of the game as punt returner Lampley broke a couple tackles, spun out of two more and went 62 yards to the end zone.

A CSM block in the back as the 48, however, negated the score and the Bulldogs ended up punting. The Rams took advantage of the break and responded with a nine-play, 68-yard scoring drive with Shawn Allen going into the end zone from a yard out for a 7-3 San Francisco lead.

It turned out to be a sign of things to come for the Rams. The CSM defense took away the Rams’ propensity for the big play, but the Bulldogs had a hard time stopping San Francisco drives.

“They’ve been explosive, but they controlled the ball on us a little bit,” Tulloch said.

CSM responded to the Rams score with a touchdown of its own, this time making the first big play of the game. Bottari found Lampley on an out route; Lampley made the catch, got a block to spring free, weaving his way back across the field for a 61-yard score and a 10-7 CSM lead.
The turning point in the game, however, came early in the second quarter as CSM, pinned deep at its own end, was forced to punt from the goal line. San Francisco’s Jaleal Williams-Evans came off the right edge and blocked the punt, with Zack Charlton recovering it in the end zone to give San Francisco the touchdown and a 14-10 lead.

“A blocked punt for a touchdown is a big swing,” Tulloch said.

The Rams would add a 28-yard field midway through the second quarter to take a 17-10 lead at halftime.

The two teams then traded scores to open the third quarter. CSM took the second-half kickoff and marched 58 yards on eight plays, with Bottari finding Hines for a 14-yard touchdown to tie the score at 17-all. San Francisco answered with a 13-play, 75-yard drive, ending with a Newman to Allen 2-yard shovel pass for a 24-17 lead.

Newman had similar numbers to Bottari as the San Francisco signal caller was 18-for-28 for 247 yards as well. All told, San Francisco outgained CSM 360-283.

Despite falling short of the Bay 6 Conference title, there is still plenty left for the Bulldogs to play for. They are still in the Northern California playoffs and their quest for a state title remains.

“Everything that this team has, in terms of end-of-season goals, are right in front of them,” Tulloch said of his team. “We’ll see [San Francisco] again.”