The article below originally appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal and is being reprinted with permission.

Overcoming injuries and getting back to basics — pounding the ball on offense and opponents on defense — allowed College of San Mateo football to remain undefeated in the Bulldog Bowl with a 27-20 victory Saturday over visiting College of the Sequoias.

Seta Pohahau showed what the Bulldogs’ ground game has been missing by setting a new bowl rushing record on a soggy afternoon in San Mateo.

Pohahau finished with 21 carries for 178 yards.

Whether it was moving the pile, breaking tackles or even taking defenders for a ride, Pohahau was a force in his final game for CSM, which closed out the season 8-3.

“I tore some ligaments in my Achilles and I was out, like, four weeks, and I’m still a little injured right now, but I just had to suck it up and this was the best,” Pohahau said. “It’s my last game as a Bulldog, so I might as well go out with a bang.”

The Bulldogs’ defense was just as dominant as its running game, recording three interceptions, sacking COS quarterback Philip Brandt four times and recovering a key fumble on their own 1-yard line to keep the Giants from mounting a complete comeback.

“Defense is why this team made it to where we are right now,” said CSM quarterback Julian Bernard, who was dealing with his own injuries but still threw for 112 yards and a touchdown and also scored on a 1-yard sneak. “It’s how we won most of our games. It’s a saying but it’s true — defense wins championships — and our defense proved it again. Even if our offense isn’t moving, we know our defense will always be there.”

Pressure was applied by the Giants’ offense, though. Ahead 27-13 following an eight-play drive that ended with a 2-yard burst by Bulldogs back Vai Liu and a PAT by Kenny Anderson, it seemed CSM would be able to relax with 3:13 remaining. Anderson had a chance to make it a three-possession game with 1:34 left, but he missed a 33-yard field goal, giving life to the Giants’ sideline. COS took possession at its own 20-yard line, and five plays later, Brandt scrambled 20 yards to the Bulldog’s 3, where he jumped into the air and fumbled while being flipped by several defenders. Luckily for COS, receiver Jeremy Butler was Johnny-on-the-spot, picking up the ball and walking in for the final few yards with 1:26 to play.

An Earvin Gonzalez extra point made it 27-20, but the Giants couldn’t get possession back on the ensuing onside kick, allowing CSM to kneel on the ball twice to kill the clock.

For a team that hit a rough patch mid-season, losing three straight NorCal Conference games to fall out of contention, coming into Saturday’s game focused was all that mattered to the Bulldogs, Pohahau said.

“Basically, our losses, we dropped them off, and all we worried about was the bowl game,” he said.

The Bulldogs turned defense into offense to get on the scoreboard early in the second quarter. A sack by defensive lineman Langi Haupeakui was followed by cornerback Nick Palomino stepping in front of the Titans’ Jeremy Butler for an interception, giving CSM passion of the ball just 36 yards away from the COS end zone.

Seven plays later, Bernard found Nik France, normally a linebacker, on a play-action fake for a 15-yard catch-and-run for the score. Anderson’s extra point put the Bulldogs ahead 7-0 with 13:35 left in the half.

The Titans answered less than a minute later, when Brandt found Wali Shadeed over the middle for a 52-yard touchdown. Shadeed made a reat fingertip snatch in traffic before racing up the left sideline.

Following an Earvin Gonzalez PAT, the game was tied 7-all.

The Bulldogs tacked on 10 more points before the half through Bernard’s sneak play, which capped a six-play drive with 11:07 left, and a 26-yard Anderson field goal. Bernard benefited from a 46-yard Pohahau run to help set up the touchdown.

When Pohahau wasn’t getting the ball, the Bulldogs were making a noticeable effort to find receiver Rahsaan Vaughn, who finished the game with 10 catches for 79 yards.

Gonzalez and Anderson traded field goals to start the second half, setting up a tense fourth quarter. Part of that tension could be attributed to Giants running back Eric Johnson, who fumbled a 20-yard run late in the third period while stretching for the end zone. The Bulldogs recovered a yard form their own end zone.

The Giants did have 340 yards of total offense, which came alive in the fourth quarter, especially. But while they outscored CSM 10-7 in the final period, the deficit was too much for the Giants (6-5) to overcome, giving the Bulldogs a perfect record in the five Bulldog Bowl games it has played.

For a team as banged up as CSM was this season, the ending couldn’t be any better, players said.

“It feels great,” Bernard said. “I don’t feel anything right now.

Tomorrow morning I’ll be hurting, but I don’t feel anything right now.

Ending the season with a win is all that matters.”