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

ARC quarterback Tanner Trosin gained 244 all-purpose yards to hand CSM its first loss. Photo by Patrick Nguyen

American River College had plenty of tricks up its sleeve. In the end though, it was a good, old-fashioned prolific quarterback which did in College of San Mateo’s undefeated record.

The No. 1 ranked Bulldogs (4-1) fell 24-14 Saturday evening at Sacramento’s Beaver Stadium, suffering their first loss in five games. No. 3 American River (5-0) got big-game performance from sophomore quarterback Tanner Trosin, who flashed some Division I proficiency by gaining 244 all-purpose yards.

Trosin — a sophomore transfer from Cal Poly — completed 15-of-25 passes for 154 yards and ran for 90 more. The dynamic double-threat did so in less than three quarters of playing time. He split time with freshman quarterback Peyton Wilfley in the first half. Then Trosin left the game at the start of the fourth quarter after sustaining a bruised thigh at the tail end of a quarterback keeper.

“He won the game for the offensively,” CSM head coach Bret Pollack said. “He did well. Hats off to them. They played well.”

The Beavers threw the proverbial kitchen sink at CSM, executing a fake punt, a recovered squib kick and a fourth-down reverse play all in critical situations. Above all though, American River came out with a palpable intensity from the outset of a convincing win.

“They’re an all-around great team,” CSM slot receiver D.J. Peluso said. “I think, the word is, they exposed us. They fought well. They came out with a little bit more fire than we did.”

CSM was met with intensity from the opening kickoff. The Bulldogs, with the game’s first possession, went backwards in a hurry. On the game’s second play from scrimmage, CSM was hit with a five-yard false start penalty. It would be the first of many, as the Bulldogs incurred 104 yards worth of yellow flags.

On the ensuing play, Bulldogs quarterback Justin Burgess was sacked by Antonio Perez for a 7-yard loss. CSM ultimately went three-and-out, and once possession changed hands following a punt, the Beavers kept momentum moving in their direction.

Trosin took the spotlight in leading American River on a six-play, 52-yard scoring drive. The 6-1 quarterback completed 2-of-3 passes and ran the ball the other three plays, tabbing ground gains of 13, 6 and 14 yards. The 14-yard run punctuated the drive, as Trosin took advantage of a scattered Bulldogs’ defense by producing a fleet-footed gallop around right tackle to find the end zone untouched.

“They were going to test our rush lanes,” CSM linebacker Randy Allen said. “As the game went on, the rushing lanes got better. But those big plays in the first half are what killed us.”

The one blemish on Trosin’s night was his throwing two interceptions. American River turned over the ball four times in the game, but CSM committed even more with five turnovers.

Burgess tried to rally CSM back from the 7-0 deficit. The effort was there but the execution was not. The freshman is CSM’s only viable option at quarterback with first-string helmsman Jeremy Cannon out of action for the third straight week with a knee injury. Burgess completed just 6-of-18 passes for 129 yards, a majority came in the second half with American River leading by at least two scores.

CSM produced a golden opportunity to turn the tide with five minutes remaining in the first quarter when Anthony Hines picked off an ill-fated Trusin pass. Two plays prior, American River nearly found the end zone when Trusin threw to Wadus Parker into 1-on-1 traffic. Parker looked to be on the verge of a juggling catch as he neared the goal line, but CSM freshman safety Elijah Jones sprinted over to swat the ball away.

Two plays later, Trusin fired the red-zone interception. CSM moved the ball with two consecutive big runs. Peluso took a play-action pitch for 15 yards. Burgess followed with a 10-yard- keeper. But with CSM center Benji Palu leaving temporarily due to injury, Burgess fumbled the ball away two plays later at the CSM 43-yard line. American River responded by throwing a barrage of slant routes at the Bulldogs, culminating in a 12-yard touchdown strike from Trusin to sophomore Tyler Young in the back of the end zone, giving the Beavers a 14-0 lead.

CSM answered back by grinding out a 14-play, 62-yard touchdown drive, which included three third-down gains and one fourth-down gain for first downs. CSM sophomore running back Sammy Fanua ultimately dove in for the Bulldogs’ only score of the half, a 3-yard run around the left tackle that just nicked the goal line to close the Beavers’ lead to 14-7.

Then American River unleashed the trick plays.

With five minutes remaining in the half, American River faced a fourth-and-1 from the CSM 41-yard line. Choosing to play, the Beavers ran a successful 34-yard reverse to Young. Four plays later, Ben Trumm booted a 29-yard field goal to put American River up 17-7 going into the half.

With the score remaining as such late into the third quarter, American River faced fourth down from deep in its own territory, but executed a fake punt to perfection with a 22-yard pass from Trumm to Parker. American River took advantage, producing a 13-play, 76-yard scoring drive with Wilfley throwing to Jjuan Meldrow for a 19-yard touchdown pass to give American River a 24-7 lead.

CSM added the game’s last score on a 19-yard strike from Burgess to Kevin Kutchera for a 19-yard touchdown with less than four minutes remaining in the game. The Bulldogs used three timeouts on the Beavers’ ensuing drive to regain possession with just over three minutes left. But Durrell Crooks — who paced CSM with 68 yards on 15 carries — fumbled on the drive’s first play to essentially end it.

“Until we fumbled it was good,” Pollack said. “We scored with five (minutes left). Then we got the ball back with [three minutes left]. If we go down in two-minute mode, we should get it with [about one minute left] — onside kick it again and try it. That was the scenario we were in. And we turned it over unfortunately.”

CSM has a bye week to rebound before opening Big 6 Conference play Oct. 19 against Santa Rosa Junior College.

“(We) just go back to work. That’s all we can do,” Pollack said. “It’s like I told the guys, after a win we flush it on Monday, after a loss you flush it on Monday. We’ll move on and get ready for Santa Rosa.”