With time running out and something to prove, the College of San Mateo football team shone through the air in Saturday's second annual Bulldog Bowl, stunning College of the Sequoias in overtime 29-23.

"It was ridiculous," said CSM wide receiver Ed Berry Jr., who scored from 8 yards out with 41 seconds left to tie the game. "Honestly, I've never played in a game like this before. It was fun."

Known better for its option running game, CSM (7-4) turned to the air for the tying and winning scores at College Heights Stadium, as in overtime freshman quarterback David SingleBowlton hit sophomore wide receiver Shaman Thompson for a 25-yard touchdown after the defense held.

"In the huddle I told Shaman he was getting the ball, and he said, 'All right, throw it up,'" Singleton said. "And I threw it up."

"I'm still in shock," said Thompson, a Woodside High product who was isolated, jumped up for a perfectly underthrown ball and dragged the defender a couple of yards over the goal line. "I don't believe that happened. Once I crossed the end zone, I heard everyone scream, but it still took a little time to grasp that I just helped win the game."

COS (7-4) lost in last year's original Bulldog Bowl to a different Woodside product, place-kicker Gil Hernandez, who was ready to come off the sideline and kick another game-winning field goal if his former high school teammate hadn't won the game.

"I'm sure he would've made it, but I like it this way easier, so it's over and done with and I don't have to make that decision," CSM head coach Larry Owens said.

"Had to put Woodside on the map," Thompson said.

The first half was an unpredictable one, as CSM took the opening drive of the game 39 yards for a touchdown and a quick 7-0 lead. The Giants answered more than 10 minutes later when A.J. Jackson caught one his three first-half touchdowns, this one from 9 yards out. By halftime COS amassed 258 passing yards as wide receivers found plenty of open field in the secondary.

About the only thing that did not go right for the Giants was its kicking game - sort of. The first blocked kick was picked up by lineman Jason Wood and turned into a two-point conversion for an 8-7 lead. But the next blocked kick, a punt block by CSM's Spencer Garrison from - you guessed it - Woodside, was picked up at the 2-yard line by Bill Ring for a touchdown with 14:06 left in the first half.

The kicking woes turned contagious as a bad snap cost CSM the extra point and left the Bulldogs with a 13-8 lead. The rest of the half belonged to COS, as the Giants intercepted a ball in the end zone and Jackson caught two more TD passes from quarterback Andre Sloan El, the COS Bulldog Bowl MVP. But the Giants failed to convert on both extra point attempts and took a 20-13 lead into the half.

"I told them, 'You're not going to leave here with a bad taste in your mouths,' and they fought back," said Owens, who last played an overtime game about five years ago. "That shows the character of the team."

The comeback started by stifling the COS offense, allowing just 31 passing yards in the second half with the secondary staying with its responsibilities long enough to allow the front seven to contain Sloan El, a throwback from the University of Minnesota . CSM linebacker led the team with six solo tackles, including 2.5 sacks. Defensive lineman Bernard Wolfgramm (San Mateo High) added 1.5 sacks of his own.

"Basically it was all the same," Owens said of the defensive scheme. "It was just guys played better in the second half."

The teams exchanged field goals, as Hernandez connected from 26 yards out in the third quarter. But still down seven, CSM got the ball back with 2:32 left at its own 41-yard line. Backup quarterback Jose Avina ( San Mateo ) converted a fourth-and-one with a sneak and Singleton hit Berry for a 29-yard pass, as Berry caught the ball at around the 25-yard line, turned away from a cornerback but was caught by a linebacker at the 4-yard line.

"We were only down by 7 points, and in a college game that's not enough to win," Berry said. "And we knew that, so we just came out and knew we had to handle our business, stop making mistakes, stop killing ourselves."

A mistake, though, did push the ball back to the 8-yard line. But the illegal motion penalty only helped set up Berry (Serra), who finished with a game-high eight catches and a team-high 100 receiving yards - plus the touchdown to tie things up with 41 seconds left.

"I had to get Ed a touchdown because he deserved it," Singleton said.

CSM elected to defer in overtime and the defense, with the help of a Filler sack, held for a 41-yard field goal attempt that missed wide right. Then after a pair of runs netted no yards, Singleton threw it up to Thompson.

"They got called on to make plays, and that's what they're there for - to make plays," Owens said. "They did a great job."