Nor Cal title on the line

Now, the road to the 3C2A Football State Championship game sees Modesto, the No. 2 seed in Northern California, at No. 1-seed CSM, this Saturday, with the Nor Cal championship on the line. Kickoff at College Heights Stadium is scheduled for noon.

When the two teams met in the regular season, it took the Bulldogs one half of football to find their footing on defense. CSM owns the No. 1 defense in the state, yielding a mere 11.5 points per game. Prior to shutting out Modesto in the second half, however, the Pirates jumped out to a 23-9 first-half lead against the Bulldogs.

The most productive half any opposing offense has had against CSM was enough to hold up for a 23-20 Modesto win.

In the two weeks to follow, however, CSM caught a break. Modesto dropped its next two non-conference games — 34-14 to Butte, and 31-20 to American River. The two losses proved damaging for the Pirates, giving CSM the advantage as the No. 1 playoff seed and the home-field advantage in Saturday’s rematch.

That’s quite an advantage, indeed, for a CSM team that has won 22 straight at home dating back to 2021.

The Bulldogs are a different team since their Sept. 21 loss. In that Week 3 matchup, quarterback Dominic Ingrassia was still on the grayshirt list. But the freshman out of San Marin High School-Novato was activated the following week. He has started every game since, and has carved out quite a nice season for himself.

Through eight games, Ingrassia has completed 60.1% of his passes with 1,346 yards and 13 touchdowns, against just three interceptions. Sophomore receiver KB Boone-Nelson has emerged as his most prolific target, totaling 724 yards, ranking 27th in the state, on 35 receptions with six touchdowns on the year.

Sophomore running back Lolo Mataele has been the Bulldogs’ best weapon, though. In last week’s playoff opener, a 41-7 win at home over American River, Mataele went surging past the 1,000-yard rushing mark on the season. He rushed for 95 yards on 13 carries against ARC, giving him 1,038 yards on the season, ranking No. 8 in the state. His 17 touchdowns currently leads all CCCAA running backs.

Valley Conference champion Modesto counters with quarterback Luke Weaver, who has logged 2,638 passing yards with 23 touchdowns against just three interceptions. Two of those interceptions, however, came against the Bulldogs when the sophomore completed 13 of 24 passes for 213 and two touchdowns. CSM’s RJ Whitten and Trevon Watson each picked off passes against the otherwise surefire Weaver.

CSM’s best weapon against the air game has been the pass rush. Sophomore defensive end John Gayer leads the way with 10 1/2 sacks on the year, tied for third in the state.