College of San Mateo has hosted track and field for generations, but it’s safe to say no single hurdling feat has electrified like that of football standout Lolo Mataele.

The sophomore running back produced the highlight of CSM’s season to date, turning a 69-yard touchdown run into a steeple chase in leading the Bulldogs (2-0 Bay 6, 6-1 overall) to a 49-14 win Saturday at College Heights Stadium over the Foothill Owls (1-1, 4-2).

With CSM leading 14-7, Mataele hurdled one defender near midfield — getting airborne without so much as a hand laid on him.

“It just seemed like he was on the air in a few seconds,” CSM head coach Tim Tulloch said of Mataele, who took 14 carries for a career-high 151 yards and two touchdowns “He was punishing defensive backs. And what’s the response of defensive backs? Is to go at your feet. And that’s why he hurdled him, and he was gone.”

Mataele cut up the sideline and outran two more defenders to glide into the end zone to give CSM a 21-7 lead with 5:54 to go in the first half. It was the pinnacle of a breakout performance for the Bulldogs, who dominated the Owls 483-137 in total yards.

“He ran so hard, and I think he set the tone and the tempo of the game,” Tulloch said.

CSM’s fourth straight victory was a well-balanced effort across the board. Freshman quarterback Dominic Ingrassia was 11-of-15 passing for a career-high 200 yards with three touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, the Bulldogs logged three interceptions, including two picks by freshman cornerback Sherrod Smith.

Ingrassia got the Bulldogs on the board quickly. CSM picked up five first downs within six plays — three of them on Mataele runs — to advance to Foothill’s 18. That set up an 18-yard scoring pass, as Ingrassia dialed up a spiral to hit wide out Hassan Mahasin in stride to beat a tight 1-on-1 defender in the corner of the end zone.

The freshman quarterback — making his fourth straight start after being activated from the grayshirt list Sept. 28 — tallied two more touchdown passes in the first half.

“We had it in the game plan,” Ingrassia said. “We had a great week of practice … with the receivers, quarterbacks. Wednesday’s practice we had like 10 straight completions. The whole day wee were on, and we knew. … The coach’s goal was for us to fire on all cylinders, offense, between throwing the ball and running the ball. And that’s what we did today.”

With the game tied 7-7, Ingrassia connected with KB Boone-Nelson (four catches, 102 yards, two TDs) on a slant route over the middle, hitting him in stride for the sophomore receiver to use his next step to cut across the field and race up the sideline for the touchdown midway through the second quarter.

After Mataele’s immortal hurdle upped the lead to 21-7, CSM forced a three-and-out to go back on the attack. Taking over at midfield, Ingrassia put the Bulldogs into the red zone with a 36-yard dime to Nico Caruso to the 16-yard line. Big halfback James Minot picked up a first down on third-and-2 from the 8 with a 4-yard ramble. Then Ingrassia hit Boone-Nelson on a short out route for a 4-yard scoring pass, sending the Bulldogs into the locker room leading 28-7 at the half.

In the second half, Conner Annicharico took over for Ingrassia. The freshman quarterback was 5-of-8 passing for 35 yards and two touchdowns.

“Both those guys are elite football players,” CSM offensive coordinator Mike Dovenberg said. “It really helps when you know people around up front like we did.”

Foothill quarterback Jayden Macedo was 9-of-18 passing for 104 yards with one touchdown, a 46-yard stop-and-go jump ball to Andre Jackson to tie the game 7-7 in the opening seconds of the second quarter. The freshman threw one interception. Sophomore quarterback Raymond Price took over in the second half and was intercepted twice more.

Smith’s first interception was a gem for CSM. With five minutes left in the first quarter, the freshman read a short hitch route, and the Foothill receiver didn’t. As the receiver opted for the fade route, Smith anticipated a cut by following the quarterback’s eyes to get all alone for the pick near the sideline.

The Menlo-Atherton graduate now has three interceptions on the year.

“He’s got such good instincts,” Tulloch said. “He had a great pick last week against DVC. … As a freshman, he’s got such good instincts for the game and, for some reason, people keep trying to test him.”

CSM sophomore Kalen Woods added an interception late in the third quarter.

Foothill got to Ingrassia for one sack, when sophomore linebacker Epoki Fakaosi blitzed through on the first play of the second half. But Ingrassia righted the ship with first-down passes of 9 yards to freshman Jaelin Green, 19 yards to Mataele, and 26 yards to Boone-Nelson. Mataele then shook and moved through the middle of the field for a 20-yard touchdown run.

It wasn’t long before tempers flared when two former Peninsula Athletic League high school rivals got into it. CSM lineman Spencer Unga (San Mateo) and Foothill lineman Douglas Adams (Menlo-Atherton) got into it, with Adams getting flagged for taunting after aggressively approaching the Bulldogs’ sideline.

“That team being such close proximity, there’s a lot of the guys, they know each other,” Tulloch said. “And with a conference game, there’s just a little bit more emotion. … That sometimes, that lends itself to a little bit more emotion than you’d like. You want passion but not emotion … and I think they did a good job of keeping their composure, and not being the guy that is assessed for the penalty.”

With the win, CSM got additional good news in terms of the California Community College Athletic Association big picture. In NorCal Division action, No. 12 American River defeated No. 2 Butte 31-30 in overtime. CSM entered the week tied for the No. 5 ranking in the state, No. 2 in Northern California. With CSM’s only loss of the year coming to Modesto — now with two losses on its record — the Bulldogs could be in position to earn the top seed in the postseason.

“For us, we’ve just got to focus on our own season,” Tulloch said. “It’s going to be on how we finish in conference, so we’ve got to take them one game at a time. … There’s still a lot of football left.”