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I was expecting a shoot-out on Saturday, December 12, 2009 in San Mateo. These two teams, Mt. SAC and San Mateo, have explosive offenses who can strike in a heart-beat. During the regular season, Mt. SAC averaged 41.5 points and 445.2 yards of offense per game. They converted 39 percent of their third down attempts and 42 percent of the fourth down attempts. They scored 83 percent of the time they entered the red zone; 74 percent of that 83 percent resulted in a touchdown. Individually, Matt Faulkner had 2559 yards and 25 touchdowns. Jesse Canada has 807 yards receiving with 11 touchdowns. Ahmere Owens and Thomas Lester each gained over 400 yards receiving. Mt. SAC has three players, Burton Iosefa, Bryce McBride and Lance Iosefa, with over 400 yards rushing. San Mateo also put up equally impressive numbers during their season.. They averaged 479.2 offensive yards and 44.1 points per game. They converted 41 percent of their third down attempts and 47 percent of the fourth down attempts. They scored 83 percent of the time they entered the red zone; 73 percent of that 83 percent resulted in a touchdowns. San Mateo's quarterback, Matt Pelesasa, had 21 touchdowns and gained 1621 yards in the air. Their best receiver, John Webster, netted 539 yards resulting in six touchdowns. Their best rusher was David Aknin who netted 885 yards with 12 touchdowns. Ironically, their number two man rushing was Pelesasa with 515 net yards and five touchdowns. Will Frazier and Seta Pohahau have over 350 yards rushing, each with five touchdowns. Can you see why I expected this game to be a shoot-out? Instead, both defenses dominated the game. Mt. SAC gained 78 yards on the ground; San Mateo 162. Mt. SAC gained 162 yards in the air; San Mateo 21. Mt. SAC converted two of 18 third downs; San Mateo five of 18. Mt. SAC scored seven points; San Mateo scored six. San Mateo drew first blood. The drive started at their 20 yard line and almost ended on the first play from scrimmage. Pelesasa fumbled the hike. In the ensuing mêlée, Will Frazier recovered the ball - for a five yard loss. After a few short gains by John Webster and Frazier, David Aknin rips a 30 run to their 33 yard line. Then, on second and five from their 38, Aknin rips another 30 yard run to the Mt. SAC 32. The Mt. SAC defense would not relent, although. San Mateo had to chip away for three to seven yards gains. Finally, on third and goal from the one, Pelesasa kept the ball and stepped into the end zone for the first score of the game. San Mateo was unable to score the point after and took a 6-0 lead early in the game. Mt. SAC was unable to do anything offensively for the rest of the first quarter. In the second quarter, San Mateo had a chance to score with 4:45 left on the clock, but Juan Garcia’s kick hit the right upright. Mt. SAC also had a chance to put points on the board with a Jeremy Brown field goal, but this kick was blocked by Eddie Elder. The half ended with a score of 6-0 in favor of San Mateo. Mt. SAC got another scoring opportunity on the first drive of the third quarter. They started the drive at the San Mateo 31 because of a turnover. San Mateo stopped the Mt. SAC offense cold and they had to settle for a field goal from 43 yards out. The kick fell short and the score remained 6-0. Mt. SAC's next scoring opportunity came as the third quarter was winding down. With 17 seconds left on the clock, from their 36 yard line, Faulkner hooked up with Michael Harrell for a 64 yard touchdown. Brown’s extra point was good, and as it turned out, made the difference in the game. The third quarter ended with a Mt. SAC 7 - 6 lead over San Mateo. The fourth quarter was almost identical to the second quarter - neither team could score. Both teams had opportunities and both teams' attempts to put points on the board were thwarted. This game simply belonged to the defenses. This is Mt. SAC’s second state title and the first for Head Coach Bob Jastrab. Both JCGridwire and JCGridiron have named Mt. SAC the National Champions with this victory. | |||||||||||||
