College of San Mateo football back in Nor Cal final

“Every day, he swipes on [that photo],” said CSM head football coach Tim Tulloch. “In the spring, he had multiple (four-year) offers he could have taken. He could have left early. But he pulled out his phone and showed me that picture. He said, ‘I don’t care if Alabama offers me, I’m coming back.’

“It was pretty neat to see the hunger like that.”

Baumgartner and the Bulldogs are, indeed, back in the Nor Cal championship game and they’ll host a familiar opponent at noon Saturday when third-seeded American River (8-3) comes calling.

The Beavers knocked off No. 2 Laney-Oakland, 43-21, in the other semifinal game last weekend.

CSM (10-1) doesn’t necessarily grade its season based on making the Northern California championship game. The fact the Bulldogs have been there three straight times doesn’t make the journey — or the reward — any less exciting.

But any kind of entitlement is muted, however. While the CSM coaching staff has been involved in three straight Nor Cal title games, the Bulldogs, as a team, have not.

Community college football teams turn over roughly half their roster every season, so while about half the Bulldogs will be playing in their second consecutive regional title game, half the roster hasn’t.

That makes the leadership of the sophomores so important in helping guide the team back to the final four of the state tournament.

“The thing that is so neat about this program is the culture,” Tulloch said. “The culture is kind of a generational thing. It’s passed from sophomores to freshmen every single year. This sophomore class has done a great job of sharing the Bulldog culture with the other guys.”

Part of that culture is treating each game as the most important one of the season. The fact CSM and ARC faced off in Week 4 this season — with the Bulldogs coming away with a 24-14 win — doesn’t make a whole lot of difference as the Bulldogs prepare for the Beavers in the Nor Cal final.

“The way we approach any opponent doesn’t change,” Tulloch said. “Every game has an impact on your opportunity to get into the playoffs. … The teams that go into the playoffs are elevating and playing their best football in December.”

The Bulldogs certainly match that description as they head into the first weekend of December riding a four-game winning streak. Since a 23-21 loss to Diablo Valley Oct. 21, the Bulldogs have been firing on all cylinders on both sides of the ball. The CSM offense — behind an all-sophomore offensive line of John Bolles, Matt Ames, Messiyah Moye, Netane Fehoko and Jake Hellmann — is averaging 42 points per game during that run.

“[The offensive line] was one of the best things about this year’s team,” said Tulloch, adding the Bulldogs go nine, 10 deep on the O-line.

“There have been multiple times this year when we’ve leaned on them.”

The argument can be made that the defense is even better. The Bulldogs have given up 20 points, combined, over the last four weeks. They’ve posted a pair of shutouts during that run, including a 30-0 win over fourth-seeded Modesto in last week’s semifinal.

But those numbers don’t mean much going into Saturday.

“You have to prove it each and every week,” Tulloch said. “Last week was over on Sunday and then we start oh-and-oh. When you’re in a playoff run and down to the last four teams in the state, the level of competition goes up each week.”

ARC is in the Nor Cal final by way of winning the NorCal Conference then going on the road as the No. 3 seed and beating Laney. ARC and CSM have a rivalry that goes back nearly a decade, so there will be no secrets when they face each other Saturday.

This will be the 10th meeting in the last 10 seasons between the teams, with CSM holding a 5-4 edge. After playing each other every year from 2013 to 2019, the two did not face off last season. They’re making up for it with two games this season, which matches the 2017 season that saw ARC beat CSM 21-20 during the regular season and the Bulldogs returning the favor, 24-21, in the Nor Cal championship game.

Adding to the rivalry is the fact that a pair of former CSM players, Eddie Elder and Ryan Battle, are assistant coaches on the Beavers’ staff.

ARC comes into the game riding a seven-game winning streak, which includes a regular-season ending forfeit from College of Siskiyous. The Beavers average 316 yards of offense per game, throwing for just under 180 per game and rushing for about 137.

Defensively, the Beavers allow 325, but have given up 30 points or more only once this season. In their last three games, they’ve given up an average of 15.3 points.

“Championships aren’t won. You win at bingo; you win at the lottery. [Football titles] are earned,” Tulloch said. “They’re earned through hard work. You can’t wish for a championship. You have to go earn it.”