March 19, 2006

BERKELEY - With four tries from outside center Chase Brogan and eight lineup changes from the previous day, several dedicated to containing New Mexico's penchant for power up the middle, the Golden Bears rolled to a 55-7 victory over the Lobos in the final of the 10th Annual Cal Invitational on Sunday.

Cal carried a shutout into the 63rd minute until New Mexico drove into the try zone for its only score following a flubbed kickoff reception deep in Cal territory. The Lobos were simply unable to put together two stellar performances back-to-back on the road.

Cal's and New Mexico's hard-fought reunion after a four-year hiatus was preceded by a 37-14 consolation victory by Cal Poly over Colorado on a sunny afternoon at Witter Rugby Field.

New Mexico had raised some eyebrows -- and questions -- with its win on Saturday over then-No. 8 Cal Poly. Entering today's final, many wondered if the Bears could limit the charge from Lobos #8 Fraser Leavasa, who seemingly could not be brought down by the Mustangs. In addition, if Cal committed penalties in its own half, would New Mexico flyhalf Phillip Bolton carry his accuracy into Sunday to make an impact with three-point boots from around the pitch?

The answer to both questions was no, both to Cal's credit. The Bears' defense dedicated itself to preventing the escape of Leavasa, and discipline in its own end saved Cal from dealing with a single penalty kick by Bolton.

"We had a couple of victory conditions that we wanted to follow," said flanker Ross Biestman. "First, to scrum well, and the guys up front did a good job of that today. In the back row -- Eric Fry, Andrew Lindsey and myself -- we were just spying on their #8, making sure we knew exactly which way he went, and for the most part I think we did a pretty good job of stopping him."

Mounting frustration may have had a hand in Leavasa's early exit when he received a red card for stomping in the 54th minute, disallowing a try New Mexico believed it had scored at the end of the sequence.

Two minutes later, after Jason Lee scored his second try of the day, New Mexico's outside center received a yellow card for continuing to argue, then was sent packing with a red card when his grousing persisted too loudly for the referee's liking.

Lobos head coach Ian Jones gave "plaudits to Cal. They're a great side and they thoroughly deserved to win. We made three errors in the first half which led to three tries, and the second half was a good contest. As for the referees, I honestly don't think they refereed the tackle area very well."

The home crowd has begun to fall in love with Lee on the wing, as the 150-pounder has found success finishing tries over the last several weeks. The sophomore from Vancouver will have many supporters on the sidelines again next weekend when the Bears travel there for the annual rematch against University of British Columbia.

"It's been a thrill," said Lee, who started the year as a scrumhalf. "I played wing and fullback in high school, and I love running and beating the guy outside."

With Joe Welch resting after an early exit on Saturday, Cal's front row on Sunday defaulted back to the threesome of Kevin Kroll, Chris Biller and Cyrus Dorosti -- not the worst thing in the world since that trio has the most experience of any unit on the 2006 team.

First-up tackles were a problem for the Bears on Saturday, but on Sunday, quick shutdowns of New Mexico's probes around the fringes and sure-fire tackles by the back line were welcome improvements for the Cal faithful. The 48-point victory was a positive sign as the Bears prepare to enter the home stretch of their regular season.

Though they achieved their goal of winning their 10th Cal Invitational in 10 years, the Bears are not fooling themselves into believing they are playing to their potential. "We have moments of skilled, high-velocity rugby and then patches of very ordinary play," said Cal head coach Jack Clark. "I sense we are all a bit frustrated at present. The boys are good about ignoring the score line and focusing on our performance, so I guess we will need to work our way through this."

Cal's depth has been a welcome asset as the Bears continue to fine-tune their play. Thirty different students saw playing time this weekend to bring Cal the Invitational title. Of note on Sunday was the return of All-America flanker Rikus Pretorius, who stepped back into play for the match's last five minutes.

Looking ahead to the deciding match of the World Cup next weekend followed by a Monday match at University of Washington, coach Clark and the Cal coaching staff will be looking to send their very best lineup out to face the Thunderbirds while aiming to offer more experience to reserves against the Huskies.

In Sunday's consolation match, Cal Poly handed Colorado a 23-point loss to put some distance between the Mustangs and their defeat the previous day. Poly has already clinched the first of two seeds going to the Southern California Region and will play the Midwest's second seed, either Purdue of Indiana, in Pool B of the National Championship Regional at Cal on April 22.

"We had to show up today with our whole heart and soul," Cal Poly head coach Nick Massman said of Poly's improved performance. "Typically we like to get the tempo way up and move the ball wide, and usually our hands are pretty solid. I'm hoping they stay that way over the next month."

After their trip up north to play the T-Birds and Huskies, the Golden Bears wind up their regular season with a final home game vs. Chico State on April 1, then host Pools A and B of the National Championship Regional on April 21-23.

The Scoring Timeline vs. New Mexico:

08:00 Jason Lee 5

20:00 Chase Brogan 5, Zak Triplett 2

30:00 Julian Snellgrove 5

40:00 Zak Triplett 5

Half Time: California 22, New Mexico 0

44:00 Andrew Lindsey 5

56:00 Jason Lee 5, Zak Triplett 2

60:00 Chase Brogan 5, Zak Triplett 2

63:00 New Mexico 5, 2

71:00 Chase Brogan 5, Zak Triplett 2

79:00 Chase Brogan 5, Zak Triplett 2

Final Score: California 55, New Mexico 7

The Team vs. New Mexico:

15. Gurecki (O'Brien @ 64:00), 14. Lee, 13. Brogan (Gurecki @ 64:00), 12. Donnelly (Brogan @ 64:00), 11. Kidd, 10. Weedon ©, 9. Triplett, 1. Dorosti, 2. Biller, 3. Kroll (Barrett @ 66:00), 4. Snellgrove, 5. L Stanfill (Jesseman @ 19:00, L Stanfill @ 30:00, LaBounty @ 64:00), 6. Fry, 7. Biestman (Pretorius @ 75:00), 8. Lindsey (Biestman @ 75:00)