The article below originally appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal and is being reprinted with permission.
American River quarterback Jacob Cruz, left, is pressured by CSM linebacker T.C. Lavulo Saturday in Sacramento. Photo by Patrick Nguyen.
The College of San Mateo defense almost pulled off the unthinkable.
Host American River College dominated time of possession, keeping the Bulldogs defense on the field for 41 minutes in Saturday’s matchup in Sacramento. And 40 minutes into that tally, CSM still held the slightest of leads.
“It was classic ARC-CSM game that came down to the fourth quarter,” CSM head coach Tim Tulloch said. “It was your typical heavyweight-type game.”
The 41st minute, however, proved the dagger.
American River (2-1 overall) overcame a 1-point deficit with 44 seconds remaining in regulation when quarterback Jacob Cruz hit Eric Davis Jr. for a 41-yard scoring pass to give the Beavers an 18-13 win. The close final score belied the dramatic disparity in time of possession, with American River logging 41:03 on offense to that of just 18:57 for CSM.
“Our defense did a good job,” Tulloch said. “We had a fair amount of three-and-outs. But it was just one of those games. They did a good job converting on third down, a lot better than we did. They were just able to keep the chains moving.”
With CSM quarterback Terrell Carter making his first career start, the Bulldogs (2-1) ran an abbreviated version of their offensive playbook. The redshirt freshman has loads of talent, arriving at CSM two weeks ago as a transfer from San Jose State. He has had just six practices to acclimate to the Bulldogs offense though.
“No (we’re not running our entire playbook),” Tulloch said. “He’s doing a great job picking it up. He’s working extremely hard and we know it’s going to take some time.”
With CSM totaling just 308 yards of offense, Carter accounted for a majority of them. The 6-2, 195-pound freshman out of Madison High School-San Diego was 7-of-19 passing for 167 yards and three interceptions, and also rushed for a team-high 66 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.
“He’s got a lot of talent,” Tulloch said. “He’s got arm talent. He’s got a live arm, he throws a really good ball and makes good decisions, especially on the run. He just needs to get caught up and get up to speed with what we’re doing. But we expect him to do a great job.”
All told, however, CSM managed just nine first downs in the game.
“[American River’s defense] did a good job,” Tulloch said. “They were stout up front. They do a good job. Knowing we had a new quarterback on deck, it was something we wanted to be able to do was take some pressure off him running the ball. So, they loaded up the box and did a good job.”
American River gained 414 total yards, including 22 first downs. Heading into the fourth quarter, however, the Bulldogs held a 7-6 lead. Then the fireworks started, with the two teams combining for three scores on three of the game’s final possessions, a flurry set off by Carter’s second interception of the day.
With the Bulldogs leading 7-6, the pick by Justin Houlihan gave American River the ball at the CSM 41-yard line with 9:47 to go.
Beavers running back Evyn Holtz — 29 carries for a game-high 155 yards — rattled off runs of 9 and 29 yards to advance to the Bulldogs’ 3 before CSM defensive tackle Longahulu Ahoia — a 6-1, 260-pound freshman out of St. Francis-Mountain View — pushed him backward on his next two carries.
“That kid he fought for four quarters,” Tulloch said of Ahoia’s performance. “He did a great job.”
A roughing the passer penalty on third down gave American River second life. Three plays later, Cruz scored on a 6-yard keeper to give the Beavers a 12-7 lead.
CSM answered right back, driving 58 yards on eight plays. Sophomore running back Cam Taylor opened with a 19-yard carry into Beavers’ territory. Carter’s legs ate up the bulk of yards from there, as the quarterback ran for gains of 17 and 10 yards before dancing in to the end zone on a 2-yard carry to give the Bulldogs a 13-12 lead with 2:05 to go.
The ensuing kickoff pinned American River at its own 8-yard line. But Cruz solved that problem with two big completions, starting with a 46-yarder to Donovan Hawkins to advance to the CSM 46. Then, facing third-and-5 with 51 seconds to go, Cruz aired it out to Davis for a 41-yard strike for the game-winner.
“I don’t think it was a fatigue thing,” Tulloch said of the defensive letdown. “It was one of those games that, at the end, could have gone either way.”
CSM has one more non-conference game to go, hosting Fresno City College this coming Saturday at Bulldog Stadium at 2 p.m.
Tulloch said his team is ready to hit the reset button after Saturday’s grueling loss.
“You could see it,” Tulloch said. “The look in their eye was one of resolve and they can’t wait to get back to work Monday. They know we’re improving … we’re heading in the right direction. We’re a young team growing every game and they can see the results on the field.”
