CSM football claims fourth straight win

“When you graduate over 90% of your production and you have a rally young roster, a really young team, you get an opportunity to see different guys,” CSM head coach Tim Tulloch said, “and we’ve had so many guys contribute in the first four weeks.”

CSM (4-0) jumped out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead, with running backs Dominick Gonzalez and Riley Long, and cornerback Trevon Watson each recording their first collegiate touchdowns. Later in the day, running back John Stowers capped the Bulldogs’ scoring with his first TD of the year.

“That makes it a little tougher for opposing teams to clue in on one or two guys because we have so many guys who are capable,” Tulloch said.

Freshman quarterback Johnny Koett remains the steady Eddie of the CSM offense. Koett put up the most modest numbers of his four starts Saturday, going 9-of-13 passing for 91 yards, while misfiring for two interceptions.

The dual threat Koett did get to the end zone on a 5-yard run to cap CSM’s first-half scoring, and push the lead to 28-0. But what was most impressive is he remained locked as the Bulldogs’ starting QB after last week’s 41-21 victory over Modesto College at College Heights Stadium, after sustaining a massive hit when a blitzer smashed into his exposed right arm just as he was starting his throwing motion.

“You kind of find out who your quarterback is after a big hit,” Tulloch said. “I want to see the makeup of who they are and how they’re built and how they’re wired. I want to find that out.”

Koett returned to the field against Modesto on the next drive, and went on to post the best numbers of his young collegiate career with 286 passing yards.

“We had a heated competition in training camp and he earned the job,” Tulloch said. “And once he earned it, he’s continued to grow”

Saturday, Koett led a Bulldogs offense that outgained ARC 309-149 in total yards.

The Bulldogs went on the attack early thanks to freshman cornerback Phoenix Rose intercepting a long Whitaker Kruse pass on the game’s first play from scrimmage. Sophomore running back Ali Collier quickly put the CSM offense in motion with consecutive carries of 7, 19 and 8 yards, before Gonzalez broke a 31-yard scoring run just two minutes into the game.

“We just hit it off the left side,” Tulloch said. “The offensive line did a great job opening up a crease, Dom saw it ... stuck his foot in the ground and exploded, and he ended up in the end zone untouched.”

Koett was intercepted by Cade Dutton on CSM’s next possession, but the Beavers gave it right back on a second-down fumble with freshman linebacker Jojo Latu recovering at ARC’s 25-yard line. A 12-yard run by Collier set up another score, as Long scored it from 5 yards to make it 14-0 Bulldogs not even midway through the opening quarter.

Watson made it 21-0 with 5:05 to play in the first when the sophomore corner turned in his fourth career interception, but his first of the year, and his first-ever pick-6 on a 67-yard return.

“He read the route really well and he undercut it, and he took it untouched in the end zone,” Tulloch said.

ARC (0-4) got on the board with a minute to go in the half on an 83-yard pass from Jett Harris to Joshua Feuerbach. After a scoreless third quarter, sophomore kicker Dieter Kelly capped the first drive of the fourth qith a 34-yard field goal to make it 31-7. CSM’s next drive was prolonged by a roughing the kicker penalty on a punt, and Stowers ultimately scored his first TD of the season on a 10-yard run with just over five minutes to play.

The Beavers turned their final interception of the day — when Isaac Estacio stepped in front of a pass by freshman Luke Alexander — into a short field and the game’s final score. Frank Arcuri punched it in from 1 yard out with under a minute to go.

CSM is now 2-0 on the road after two long road trips to Reedley and Sacramento. This coming Saturday, the “Road Dawgs” have another long journey to play at Fresno City College at 5 p.m.

“We are logging many miles,” Tulloch said. “We are learning how to be what we call ‘Road Dawgs.’ We have to learn how to play well on the road.”