’Dog dynasty: CSM back-to-back state champs

The Bulldogs (12-1) have now taken home three state championships all-time, previously in 2022 and ’24, and Saturday earned the first back-to-back state crowns in school history. The last 3C2A team to go back-to-back was as Mt. San Antonio College in 2009 and ’10. The last from Northern California was City College of San Francisco in 2000 and ’01.

“I hope these guys get to enjoy it,” CSM head coach Tim Tulloch said. “Two-time state champs. This team is going to be etched in the history of the school.”

The date with destiny nearly got away from the Bulldogs, however. CSM seemed to have the game in hand after taking a 28-7 lead with 4:23 remaining in the third quarter, but Golden West (121-1) scored the game’s final three touchdowns, including a 44-yard scoring strike from quarterback Kauna’oa Kamakawiwo’ole to receiver JD Alicea with 33 seconds to play.

Then senior cornerback R.J. Whitten came to the rescue. The Rustlers, trailing by 1, lined up for a two-point conversion, and looked to cap the improbable comeback as Kamakawiwo’ole was chased out of the pocket by CSM sophomore Nate Abbott. But Kamakawiwo’ole’s pass into the end zone for freshman Ayden Goodwin was denied by Whitten, as the Bulldogs went into unbridled celebration mode.

“I’m a leader on the team, so I knew they were going to come at me,” Whitten said. “And when the ball is in the air, I’ve got to make the play every time.”

Tulloch said he wasn’t surprised Golden West tried to win it with the two-point conversion, as opposed to playing for overtime by kicking an extra-point.

“They had momentum,” Tulloch said. “They should have gone for it. I knew they were going to go, and we had our defense ready. ... Our guys were prepared and ready for it.”

The Bulldogs weren’t out of the woods, yet, though. And the excessive celebration following the two-point conversion defense nearly proved costly, as CSM was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, with the 15-yard penalty assessed on the ensuing kickoff.

“They were excited and thought the game was over and it wasn’t,” Tulloch said. “So, as coaches, we were just trying to get them back. They were just excited and emotion took over, and we had to play another down.”

Golden West tried an onside kick, and initially came up with the recovery in prime field position as sophomore Drew Faulkner dove on it at the Bulldogs’ 32-yard line. The Rustlers, however, were flagged for contacting the ball before it traveled 10 yards, and possession went to CSM to all but end it.

The two teams combined for 245 yards in penalties on the day. Golden West totaled 12 penalties for 120 yards, including three personal fouls and one unsportsmanlike conduct, while Kamakawiwo’ole misfired for four interceptions, two trends Rustlers head coach Nick Mitchell called unbelievably frustrating.

“Emotions were high, and we try to be about enthusiasm and not emotion,” Mitchell said. “But we were far too many penalties, and obviously far too many turnovers today.”

The Rustlers outgained CSM 445-239 in total yards, with Kamakawiwo’ole completing 24 of 41 passes for a season-high 320 yards. CSM’s outstanding secondary still put its stamp on the game, though, with Whitten totaling two interceptions.

“They just made play after play after play the entire year,” Tulloch said.

Freshman linebacker Jeramiah Lewis also produced one interception, and freshman defensive tackle Marshawn Dunning came up with the other.

Bulldogs strike first

The Bulldogs opened the day using short fields to ride a modest amount of offense to a three-score lead.

CSM started each of its first two possessions in Golden West territory, but an interception by Golden West sophomore linebacker Brandon Soleau in the red zone killed the first drive, and CSM went three-and-out on the second.

Then, taking over on a punt at the Rustlers’ 46 with just under five minutes to go in the opening quarter, CSM freshman running back Dominick Gonzalez went to work. Gonzalez totaled 11 carries for 74 yards and a touchdown, getting the Bulldogs on the board by time hurdling over the right side of the line before cutting left to storm 20 yards for the score, putting the Bulldogs up 7-0 with 3:07 to go in the first quarter.

“He’s a stud,” CSM quarterback Luke Alexander said. “He’s always been a stud. We talked about this on the bus ride up here; he’s kind of been the underrated guy, and the kind of guy that has a chip on his shoulder. And he balled out today. I think he took all that anger, and all that fueled energy, and put it to the game and he balled out.”

Golden West fired back, using nine plays to truck 70 yards for a score — with 30 yards worth of help from CSM, first on a personal foul penalty, then on a pass interference. The Rustlers extended the drive on third-and-7 from the Bulldogs’ 17 with a 15-yard hookup from Kamakawiwo’ole to freshman tight end Will McKissick to pick up the first down. On the next play, sophomore running back Aaron Mitchell dove into the end zone to tie it 7-all at the start of the second quarter.

Then the Bulldogs offense went to work on a 12-play, 67-yard drive scoring drive, but caught a break after Golden West forced fourth down at its 39. CSM punted, and exacted a pearl by pinning Ethan Ling’s line drive kick at the 2. But a yellow flag kept the CSM offense on the field when Golden West ran into the punter. After a later Golden West personal foul moved the sticks again, the Bulldogs hit pay dirt when Alexander found freshman receiver Kavon Collins underneath for an 18-yard scoring pass, staking CSM to a 14-7 lead midway through the second quarter.

The Bulldogs were breathing down Kamakawiwo’ole’s neck as the first half wore on, and with 1:40 to go before the break, the pass rush finally cashed in. Sophomore edge rusher Nate Abbott got to the quarterback to deflect a pass into the air, and Whitten hawked the dying quail in the middle of the field, then bolted 30 yards to the end zone to score the pick-6, upping the lead to 21-7.

“When I looked at the quarterback, the ball was just randomly in the air,” Whitten said. “I was like: ‘I’ve got to go up there and get it and then stay on my feet and score.’”

At the start of the second half, Golden West was knocking on the door when CSM’s defense stepped up for another interception. An 18-yard pass from Kamakawiwo’ole to Joe Hagel, followed by a 37-yard run from Kendric Thomas flipped the field. The Rustlers then advanced to the 10, but a short run and two incompletions brought up fourth down, for Kamakawiwo’ole to force a pass to the back of the end zone for freshman Phoenix Rose to tip into the air, and Lewis to intercept.

CSM needed just seven plays to march 80 yards, aided by 15 yards from a Golden West personal foul, for sophomore Malakhi DeMoss (24 carries for a game-high 92 yards) to break off tackle for a 22-yard touchdown carry, to put the Bulldogs up 28-7 with just under 20 minutes to play.

Rustlers know comebacks

Golden West has written some comeback stories this season. Most recently, in the Southern California regional semifinals against Ventura, the Rustlers trailed by 10 early in the fourth quarter only to score 35 points over the final 13 minutes to advance with a 56-38 win.

“So, we felt good,” Nick Mitchell said of trailing Saturday. “We felt like this was still a comfort zone. We didn’t feel out of it. Obviously, we were a little down by being down, but we felt like we were going to have a chance to make a run at it in the fourth quarter.”

CSM used its three-score lead to relax into a zone defense, and Golden West quickly seized on the opportunity, with Kamakawiwo’ole finding the seams underneath time and again for cutting and effective pass completions.

It took the Rustlers 4 minutes, 54 seconds to drive 80 yards, capped by a 17-yard scoring sweep from Aaron Mitchell in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. After a CSM three-and-out, Ling’s punt to the Rustlers’ 7-yard line made no difference, as Kamakawiwo’ole hit sophomore Don Thompson (10 catches for 132 yards) for passes of 25 and 51 yards, the latter on a flea flicker for a wide-open scoring strike to make it 28-21 with 9:23 to play.

“You could see the fight in those guys,” Tulloch said. “They weren’t going to quit. They weren’t going to lay down for anybody. Especially not on this stage. This is a big game. So, we knew it was going to be a fourth-quarter game. And that’s why we train for the fourth quarter.”

CSM’s defense came up with two stops before Golden West rallied for the game’s final score in the closing minute. Whitten intercepted a pass over the middle and returned it to the Rustlers’ 31 with 5:13 to play. CSM advanced into field goal range, but a booming 49-yard attempt by sophomore Dieter Kelly sailed wide right.

Golden West took over, but Whitten stepped up to break up two passes. The first, on second down, denied a first down over the middle. The second, on fourth down, denied the Rustlers a touchdown up the sideline.

“He had a couple plays in the fourth quarter that basically sealed the win for us,” Tulloch said.