SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — San Diego (1-2, 0-0 PFL) absorbed everything Cal Poly (2-2, 1-0 Big Sky) threw at it on the Mustangs' homecoming night and landed the last punch, as Emiliano Salazar drilled a 38-yard field goal with 2 seconds left to give the non-scholarship Toreros a 38-35 win over their scholarship hosts Saturday in front of 10,259 at Spanos Stadium.
The winning kick capped an eight-play, 57-yard drive that began at the USD 22 with 1:06 remaining and the score tied at 35. After a 2-yard completion to Adam Criter, Dom Nankil hit Cole Monach for 13 yards, and Criter followed with runs of 9 and 7 to push the Toreros across midfield. A false start backed them up to second-and-15 at their own 48, but Nankil fired a 28-yard strike over the middle to junior Christopher Hall at the Cal Poly 24 with 11 seconds to go. Criter picked up 3 more yards, and Salazar, also a junior, sent the kick through before Thomas Nunes sealed it by recovering a fumble on the ensuing kickoff.
That final march was the exclamation point on a night when the San Diego offense moved the ball at will for long stretches, beginning with a 16-play, 88-yard opening drive that chewed up 8:07 and ended on Nankil's 7-yard touchdown pass to Monach. The Toreros scored touchdowns on five of their first six possessions, with Criter breaking a 55-yard run to the end zone late in the first quarter and Monach hauling in a 22-yarder over the middle in the second. Cal Poly matched them score for score, drawing even at seven, 14 and 21 on an 8-yard run, a 26-yard scamper and a 12-yard strike to the end zone. Nankil answered the last of those with a 10-play, 79-yard drive that he finished himself on a 1-yard keeper with 6 seconds left in the half, sending USD into the break up 28-21.
Omar Mbakwe pushed the lead to 35-21 on the first possession of the second half. He converted a fourth-and-1 with a 5-yard run, ripped off an 18-yarder to the Cal Poly 9 and punched it in from the 1 to finish an 11-play, 75-yard drive. The Mustangs answered with a 28-yard touchdown pass, then marched 74 yards on 14 plays to the USD 1 early in the fourth quarter. There the Torero defense slammed the door: Jae'Von Reels stopped the Mustangs for no gain on third down, and Ruben Lopez stonewalled Cal Poly on fourth down to keep San Diego in front, 35-28.
Pinned at its own 1 after the stand, San Diego went three-and-out, and Cal Poly made the short field count, tying the game five plays later on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 8:23 left. The Toreros' ensuing drive burned 5:09 before Mbakwe was ruled short on fourth-and-1 at the USD 47, a ruling upheld on review. The defense answered again, pushing Cal Poly back 13 yards in three plays. Cal Poly then lost 10 on a fumbled run the Mustangs recovered, and junior Shaun Aletor sacked him on third-and-18 to force the punt that gave Nankil one more chance.
Criter finished with 179 rushing yards on 28 carries and 188 all-purpose yards. Nankil completed 25 of 30 passes for 236 yards and two touchdowns without an interception and added 39 yards and a score on the ground. Monach caught eight passes for 87 yards and both touchdown throws, and Elijah Taylor added six receptions for 47 yards. As a team, the Toreros rolled up 499 total yards and 29 first downs, went 3-for-3 in the red zone and didn't turn the ball over. They also held possession for 35:49, topping 35 minutes for the second straight week.
Junior linebacker Jack Munro led the defense with eight tackles, including one for loss. Josiah Estes added six stops and a pass breakup, and Lopez finished with five tackles and a breakup of his own.Â
The victory was the first of the season for San Diego, which opened against ranked scholarship programs UC Davis and Idaho State before making the trip up the coast. Its 38 points more than doubled the Toreros' output from either of those games.
UP NEXT
San Diego opens Pioneer Football League play Saturday, Sept. 26, at St. Thomas' O'Shaughnessy Stadium in St. Paul, Minnesota.
