SAN MATEO — Outgained by more than 200 yards at halftime, College of San Mateo somehow managed to find itself ahead as it trotted into the locker room during Saturday’s home opener.
It was that kind of afternoon for the third-ranked Bulldogs, who found other ways to keep pace in a 51-41 victory over Modesto College.
“I don’t know how we won with these stats,” CSM coach Bret Pollack said in his office after the game.
It helped that field position often shifted as CSM broke off three kickoff returns of at least 40 yards, including an 85-yard burst by defensive back Keith Marcus that set up a three-play, 12-yard touchdown drive.
Plus, Modesto didn’t do itself any favors by committing 20 penalties for 187 yards, including four of the pass interference variety.
“So those P.I.’s aren’t showing up on passing yards, but they’re 15 yards a chunk,” Pollack said. “So you can look at that as penalties, or you can look at that as offense.”
The defense also played its part, with safety Nick Maka (Serra-San Mateo) snagging a lofted pass over the middle before turning the interception into a 51-yard touchdown late in the first half.
“Our No. 1 goal is to win state,” Maka said. “We’ve been close so many times, but I think this is our year to break through and to make it there. We’ve still got a lot of work to do, so just take it day-by-day, game-by-game.”
Freshman quarterback Dru Brown appeared to have a quiet day on the stat sheet, going 6 of 8 for 105 yards. He was sacked three times and finished with 26 rushing yards on 15 carries.
But the Los Gatos product also accounted for five touchdowns, three through the air and two on the ground. That included an 11-yard touchdown run with 8.2 seconds left in the first half.
“They came off the edge with blitz and the middle looked like it parted a little bit,” Pollack said. “And he snuck right in.”
“It’s a lot of fun running this offense,” Brown said. “I feel like it gives us a lot of different things that we can do using all the athletes we’ve got.”
Even though it led 28-26 at halftime, CSM was held to 106 yards of total offense. Modesto had compiled 309 yards behind dual-threat quarterback Trey Cooper, who had 114 yards rushing and 143 passing. He rushed for four touchdowns, one in each quarter.
But the Bulldogs were more effective in the second half, dominating time of possession by gaining 122 yards on 33 carries.
“We all knew what we had to do, it was just we weren’t physically making the plays,” Brown said. “So the message was to come out and be physical, and that’s what we did.”
The opening drive of the third quarter, which took five plays and went for 75 yards, was finished off with an acrobatic 18-yard left-handed catch from outstretched running back Ramiah Marshall, which made it 35-26.
“That one shocked me,” Pollack said. “He’s 5-foot-6 and he went up and then he snagged it.”
CSM found the end zone three times in the third quarter to build a 49-33 lead, but Modesto managed to cut the deficit in half after a 1-yard keeper by Keeper on fourth down and the ensuing two-point conversion.
The Bulldogs sputtered on offense during the final 15 minutes, but once again special teams came through when a 41-yard punt by Wes Nail was downed at the 1-yard line. Two plays later, a holding penalty in the end zone resulted in a safety and CSM regained its two-score advantage.
“I give it to the guys up front, too — in the box,” Maka said. “They do their job and it helps me do mine.”
In the home opener, CSM needed contributions from everyone to walk away victorious.
Email Vytas Mazeika at vmazeika@dailynewsgroup.com; follow him at Twitter.com/dailynewsvytas.
Modesto College 9 17 7 8 — 41
College of San Mateo 7 21 21 2 — 51
First quarter
MC — FG Langley 37, 11:31
CSM — Miles 17 pass from Brown (Cantabrana kick), 9:04
MC — Cooper 11 run (kick failed), 1:07
Second quarter
MC — FG Langley 24, 12:21
CSM — Marshall 5 run (Cantabrana kick), 10:49
MC — Ruiz 2 run (Langley kick), 9:25
CSM — Maka 51 interception return (Cantabrana kick), 3:51
MC — Cooper 2 run (Langley kick), 0:33
CSM — Brown 11 run (Cantabrana kick), 0:08
Third quarter
CSM — Marshall 18 pass from Brown (Cantabrana kick), 12:46
MC — Cooper 3 run (Langley kick), 11:00
CSM — Brown 12 run (Cantabrana kick), 7:38
CSM — Nzerem 15 pass from Brown (Cantabrana kick), 3:39
Fourth quarter
MC — Cooper 1 run (Jordan pass from Cooper), 14:26
CSM — Safety, 8:36
RUSHING–Modesto College, Cooper 21-110, Ruiz 17-97, Edwards 8-22, Alexander 4-2, Team 1-(-5). College of San Mateo, Marshall 11-73, Williams 12-46, Wood 12-31, Brown 15-26, Team 3-(-5).
PASSING–Modesto College, Cooper 17-30-1 220. College of San Mateo, Brown 6-8-0 105.
RECEIVING–Modesto College, Martinez 5-120, Edwards 4-21, Holley 3-17, Knuettel 2-11, Alexander 1-41, Jordan 1-14, Ruiz 1-(-4). College of San Mateo, Nzerem 3-63, Miles 2-24, Marshall 1-18.
Records: Modest College 1-1; College of San Mateo 2-0.
