The American River College Football program came just inches away from defeating #1 College of San Mateo on the road.

A game that will instantly go down as one of the best football game in 2023, saw two of the top football programs in California battle to literally the last play of the game.  College of San Mateo struck first on their first possession after a 1 yard run to take a 7-0 lead.  Both defenses proved why their two of the top in Califorina, with both teams preventing any additional points from being scored in the first half until a 39 yard field by College of San Mateo in the closing seconds of the second quarter to extend their lead to 10-0 going into halftime.

The third quarter would see American River College cut into San Mateo's lead after Logan McCreery capped of a 6 play 44 yard drive with a 25 yard field goal.  San Mateo would respond with a 4 play 75 yard touchdown drive to extend their lead to 17-3 at the end of the third quarter.

However, the Beavers would respond back with an impressive fourth quarter sparked by Joshua Moore's 1 yard touchdown run that capped off a 10 play 70 yard drive.  The touchdown cut College of San Mateo's lead to 17-10.  San Mateo would extend their lead back to fourteen by adding a touchdown, but the Beavers would not go away.

The Beavers would rally by scoring on a 3 play 58 yard drive that saw Kenneth Lueth connect with Robert Freeman on a 23 yard touchdown pass that cut San Mateo's lead to 24-17.  After a failed onside kick attempt, the Beavers defense stepped up with a crucial three-and-out to get the ball back one last time for the Beaver offense.

With less thank two minutes left, the Beavers would drive the ball down 84 yards in 7 plays and see Robert Freeman make an amazing 4 yard touchdown grab in the endzone from Kenneth Lueth. With San Mateo clinging to a 24-23 lead, head coach Jon Osterhout made the call to go for the two-point conversion and the win.  After a pass interference by San Mateo on the first two-point conversion attempt, the Beavers lined up and handed the ball off to Joshua Moore who was stop just inches away from the endzone.

With the loss the Beavers fall to 3-1 on the season and will be back in action on Saturday, September 30th, as they close out non-conference play against top 25 opponent Modesto Junior College on the road.