The career trajectory of College of San Mateo sophomore Jalen Lampley is the epitome of the COVID-era college football player.
Lampley played his freshman season in 2018, took a redshirt in 2019 and had to sit out with the rest of the California Community College Athletic Association football world due to the cancelation of the 2020 season. But getting back up to speed for the 2018 All-CCCAA kick returner came full circle Saturday in Fresno.
The Bulldogs opened with a bang in their 38-27 victory at Fresno City College when broke loose on the game’s opening kickoff, bolting 98 yards for a touchdown to stake CSM to an early lead. It was Lampley’s first TD of the season, and his first kickoff return for a score since his freshman year of 2018.
“I think there’s a different kind of patience and a different type of resilience to just keep working,” CSM head coach Tim Tulloch said of Lampley. “It’s hard. … There were a lot of things out of his control that didn’t allow him to get onto the field in ‘20. And now he’s making the most of it.”
The early score set the stage for an evening of explosive plays by a couple of explosive playmakers.
The CSM passing game has played somewhat modestly this season. But when the undefeated Bulldogs (4-0 overall) had their backs against the wall, sophomores Luke Bottari and Mason Starling emerged for their sharpest 15 minutes of the season to date.
The Rams (3-1), also entering the day unbeaten, jumped out to a 20-17 lead with five minutes to play in the third quarter when quarterback Justin Holaday connected with Tabari Rollins for a 23-yard TD pass. At the start of the fourth quarter, though, CSM wasted no time taking back the lead — and more.
Taking possession at their own 34 with under a minute to play in the third quarter, the Bulldogs chunked away with Bottari airing it out to Starling on three consecutive plays. After an 8-yard pass ended the third quarter, Bottari opened the fourth by finding Starling for passes of 38 and 22 yards, the latter being Starling’s first touchdown reception of the evening — a crisp timing leap at the back of the end zone — to give CSM a 24-20 lead.
“That just comes from countless reps in the offseason, timing and chemistry, knowing I can put it in the right spot and Mason can get it,” Tulloch said.
CSM’s defense delivered a swift three-and-out — capped by a tackle for a loss on third down by sophomore linebacker Demarii Blanks — to earn its offense good field position at the CSM 40-yard line. After running back J’Wan Evans dashed for pick-ups of 30, 11 and 3 yards, the Bulldogs went back to the air with Bottari hitting Starling for a 16-yard scoring strike to up the lead to 31-20.
Fresno City has been one of the stingiest run defenses in the state. The Rams rank ninth among CCCAA teams in allowing a mere 64.5 rushing yards per game this season and had allowed just 104 cumulative ground yards in their three previous games against Chabot, Santa Rosa and American River. The Bulldogs bettered that total by their lonesome, rushing for 154 yards as a team, fronted by Evans’s 13 carries for 77 yards.
“They’re extremely stout in the run,” Tulloch said. “[Offensive coordinator Mike Dovenberg and assistant head coach Bret Pollack] did a really good job insofar as finding way to attack their front. … We got the looks that we wanted, and we were able to do it.”
Bottari and Starling each enjoyed their best showings of the season. Bottari was 16-of-27 passing for a season-high 227 yards and three touchdowns. Starling nabbed five catches for a season-best 90 yards and two TDs.
The CSM defense put the game on ice when sophomore linebacker Brent Marin returned an interception 35 yards to the end zone for a pick-6 to make it 38-20 with 10:02 to play.
Following Lampley’s game-opening touchdown return, it didn’t take CSM’s offense to get on the field. The Bulldogs defense opened its day by forcing a three-and-out and CSM regained possession less than two-and-a-half minutes into the game. Bottari quickly went airborne, hitting Tre Hines for a 27-yard pass before the Bulldogs scored on a 19-yard pass from Bottari to Anthony Landphere to double the lead 14-0.
“One thing for us, it was really important to start fast,” Tulloch said. “We’ve started slow the last couple games. That was an emphasis all week. Right off the bat we went for a touchdown … and then the defense came out and was great and went three-and-out. … That to me — it was a great way to start. Now we have to be able to sustain the intensity over four quarters.”
But Fresno City responded with a commanding second-quarter showing. The Rams scored twice before halftime, both on short quarterback keepers by Holaday. But CSM managed to sandwich 3 points between them when kicker Gabe Plascencia hit a 37-yard field goal and the Bulldogs took a 17-14 lead into the half.
Amid a back-and-forth third quarter, CSM seemed to be gaining a tempo when it drove to the Fresno City 21. But on third-and-3, sophomore running back Darrell Page fumbled. And the Rams capitalized, turning it around for a sudden seven-play, 76-yard scoring drive to take their first lead of the day.
It was a lead, however, that would not hold up.
“It just shows me a lot about the character of this team,” Tulloch said. “When things get tough, we’ve been able to respond.”
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