Jan. 24, 2004

MORAGA, Calif. - In wet and muddy conditions the Cal Varsity XV opened its 2004 campaign with a 51-7 convincing win over local rival Saint Mary's. Andrew Blair scored 16 of Cal's 51 points with a try, four conversions and a penalty. However the match would mostly be remembered for the Herculean effort put forward by Cal's forwards, who were nothing short of dominant in placing the Gaels under constant pressure in the scrums and lineouts.

Anthony Vontz opened proceedings in the third minute, touching down after a lineout drive. Unfortunately, the conversion by Andrew Blair went wide. It was Blair who went over next for the Bears. After several phases of open play, Mike MacDonald emerged with only one player to beat, a well-timed pass sent Blair over. Blair made good on the next conversion attempt.

Cal's third try followed another powerful forward surge that sucked in all the Saint Mary's defenders, leaving some wide-open spaces for Kyle Khasigian to negotiate. The conversion by Blair was good.

Saint Mary's answered back when consecutive Cal infractions put the Gaels deep in the Bears' half. After several probes in the backs and the forwards, Saint Mary's captain Cody Heller dived over a ruck to score the Gaels' only try. The conversion was good, bringing the score to 19-7. But that would be the last time the Gaels threatened Cal's line.

Cal's last try of the first half came from open play. A stolen ball from Saint Mary's went from Vontz to Khasigian to Robert Weedon, who went over for the try in the corner. Blair missed the conversion, leaving the score at halftime 24-7.

The second half saw much of the same -- Cal's forwards muscling the Gaels' pack around the field, providing their backs with an abundance of quality possession. Just nine minutes gone saw MacDonald go over for his first of two trys off lineout drives close in.

Ten minutes later Cal was back on the attack deep in Saint Mary's half. Cal was reigning a flurry of phases when a Gael defender was off sides, resulting in a penalty try. The conversion by Blair good.

The forwards took matters in to their own hands entering the final quarter of play, when MacDonald went over for his second try followed close behind by Marc Tausend. Blair converted Tausend's try.

A late penalty in front of the posts saw MacDonald opt for the easy three points, to which Blair obliged, leaving the final score California 51, Saint Mary's 7.

"The soft field kind of blurs my read on our performance, ball handling was very difficult and our timing suffered," Cal coach Jack Clark said. "However it was at least a solid start, a start that we can build from."

The Bears hit the road for a double header weekend in the desert where the will play Arizona on Saturday and Arizona State on Sunday, returning to take on UC Davis February 7 at Witter Rugby Field.

The Scoring:

Trys: Vontz, MacDonald (2), Blair, Khasigian, Weedon, Tausend, (Penalty)

Cons: Blair (4)

Pens: Blair

The Team: 15. Blair, 14. Wislon, 13. Weedon, 12. Donnelly, 11. Hanks, 10. Khasigian, 9. Johnson, 8. Lindsey, 7. Wallace, (Welch, 49), 6. Stanfill, 5. Garamendi, 4. Tausend, (Boggs, 75-77), 3. MacDonald (Captain), 2. Vontz, 1. McClenahan

The Cal second XV defeated St. Mary's seconds 70-0.