‘D’ remains dominant as CSM football downs Reedley

“We don’t like giving up touchdowns,” CSM head coach Tim Tulloch said. “We had a defensive shutout, I thought the defense played extremely hard and flew around the field, and played fast.”

It was something of a torturous first road trip for the Bulldogs, many of whom are playing their first year of collegiate football. The bus ride to Reedley took four hours one way, only to arrive in 95-degree weather.

“It was close to a hundred on the field and on the turf it was hotter than that,” Tulloch said, “and I thought our guys — we’re learning how to travel and how to prepare for different conditions and long travel. ... We better learn how to play on the road if we want to be a good team.”

CSM (2-0) didn’t waste time cooling off. The Bulldogs took their opening possession 64 yards on 13 plays to get on the board on a 1-yard score by quarterback Johnny Koett (Vista del Lago). The Bulldogs led the rest of the way, adding scores in each quarter while outgaining the Tigers 418-138 in total offense.

In his second collegiate start, Koett went 14-of-25 passing for 177 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He gave the Bulldogs a 14-0 lead in the second quarter with two big throws. On third-and-13 from CSM’s 25-yard line, the freshman delivered a 22-yard completion to move the chains. On the next play, he connected with Jaelin Green (Raineer Beach) for a 53-yard scoring strike with 5:50 to play in the half.

“We had been running the ball well and went play-action pass, explosive post shot to Jaelin, and it was a beautiful throw and catch,” Tulloch said, “and it was good to see those guys connect.”

The ensuing drive stalled for Reedley, but a punt deep into CSM territory ultimately paid off. The Bulldogs moved the ball from their own 16 and Koett, on third-and-5, ran for a 6-yards to sustain the rally CSM was soon forced to punt from their own 29, however, and Reedley’s Kannon Campbell broke through to block the punt and score on the recovery to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 14-7.

But CSM’s defense opened the second half on point. After a Reedley three-and-out to start the half, the Tigers and Bulldogs traded punts. But two plays into Reedley’s second drive, CSM recovered a fumble at the Tigers’ 33. Three minutes later, sophomore kicker Dieter Kelly (Orange Lutheran) booted a 32-yard field goal to put CSM up 17-7.

CSM scored once more in the fourth quarter, taking the ball 79 yards on 10 plays, capped by a 20-yard scoring run by Jamaal Wiley (Stafford).

Reedley (0-2) would get into CSM territory just once more, advancing to the Bulldogs’ 32, but the drive was stifled when a Ty Chambers pass was intercepted by freshman defensive back Ri’yon Cooper (Wilcox) at CSM’s 20 with 4:24 to play. The Bulldogs ran two minutes off the clock marching into field goal range, but Kelly’s attempt from 27 yards out missed wide right.

Four plays later, the game ended with an emphatic punctuation by the Bulldogs’ defense when sophomore linebacker Bruce Uperesa (Sacred Heart Cathedral) broke through to sack Chambers on the final play of the day.

“Bruce had his best game of his college career [Saturday],” Tulloch said. “He was around the ball, he played fast, he had a big hit on a receiver on an earlier play. So, he took a step forward this week, as did our defense. We’ve just got to continue to move forward.”

CSM rushed for 221 yards as a team, paced by sophomore Ali Collier (Monterey Trail) with 10 carries for 65 yards. Wiley added seven carries for 60 yards and a score.

Next up, CSM returns home Saturday to host Diablo Valley College in non-league actioin. Kickoff at College Heights Stadium is schedule for 1 p.m.