Nathan Mollat / Daily Journal San Mateo’s Simon Kang, center, celebrates David Rango’s first touchdown of the game during the Bearcats’ 31-0 win over Hillsdale.

The Bearcats used big play after big play on offense and a stifling defense to bury visiting Hillsdale 31-0 under the portable lights Friday night.

San Mateo (1-0) had 10 plays of 15 yards or more — nine of which went for 25 yards or more. The Bearcats had three players — David Rango, George Naufahu and Lemoto Filikitonga — all rush for over 100 yards. All on a combined 15 carries. That works out to 22.6 yards per carry.

The only downside to the win, however, is the fact the Bearcats are already banged up. Quarterback Mitch Labbie was shaken up in the first half but stayed in the game.

The same could not be said of Rango, however. After taking a big shot on defense, he injured his shoulder late in the first half on a carry near the goal line and could possibly be lost for the season.

Any other time, Rango’s loss would be a devastating blow. And while it certainly doesn’t help San Mateo, the Bearcats should be just fine without him because Naufahu and Filikitonga — both sophomores — picked up the slack nicely. Both were on the sidelines in street clothes during the first half — serving a disciplinary suspension. At halftime, however, they transformed from Clark Kent to Superman. Naufahu rushed for 117 yards on five carries while Filikitonga did his teammate one better, rushing for 117 yards and a touchdown on just four carries.

“They did a good job. We knew what we had,” said San Mateo coach Jeff Scheller about Naufahu and Filikitonga. “[They] just sparked us. Unfortunately, we’re losing Rango. That hurts.”

Despite the final score, Hillsdale (0-1) was in the game until the fourth quarter. The Knights trailed 12-0 at halfime and had a chance to cut the lead in half on their first drive of the third quarter. Starting from their own 31, quarterback Alec Espin hit receiver Sean Tayara for a 44-yard gain to the San Mateo 25. The Knights drove down to the 1-yard line before Espin was stripped of the ball on a quarterback sneak that was recovered by the Bearcats.

It was Hillsdale’s best — and only real — chance to score.

The San Mateo defense made sure the Knights’ opportunities were few and far between. The Bearcats held Hillsdale to just 154 yards of total offense. They forced three Hillsdale turnovers and sacked Espin three times.

“Defense is the strongest part of our team,” Scheller said. “We expect them to fly around.

“Hillsdale has a good team. They have some athletes over there.”

With the defense holding things down on its end, it didn’t take the San Mateo offense long to find its groove. After the teams exchanged punts to start the game, San Mateo started its second drive on its own 38. Labbie ripped off a 27-yard run to the Knights’ 35 and Rango did the rest. Taking a handoff and going off left tackle, Rango burst into the open field and out-ran the Hillsdale defense for a 35-yard score and a 6-0 lead.

The next time the Bearcats touched the ball on offense, Rango needed one play to go 54 yards for a 12-0 lead with 5:43 left in the first quarter.

The rest of the first half was marred by first-game mistakes: Penalties, bad snaps and missed assignments.

San Mateo all but put the game away in the third quarter. On his first carry of his varsity career, Naufahu tore off a 19-yard run. Filikitonga capped a six-play, 72-yard drive with a 42-yard scoring jaunt.

In the fourth quarter, all that was left to do was marvel at the running of Naufahu and Filikitonga. Early in the fourth quarter, from his own 5, Naufahu had a 62-yard gain. That drive was capped by a Taukei Taimani 3-yard run. Later in the quarter, Filikitonga had a 45-yard scamper after it appeared he was stopped for a short gain. Patrick Latu — a star running back last season who moved to the offensive line this year — ended that drive with a 2-yard plunge.

“We had big plays but we need to sustain drives,” Scheller said.