April 8, 2006

TREASURE ISLAND, Calif. - A Golden Bears squad replete with underclassmen took the pitch on a welcome sunny day to dismantle the San Francisco Golden Gate Club's Under-23 side on Saturday. Freshman outside center Colin Hawley scored five tries and junior transfer Zak Triplett was perfect with his foot, going 6-for-6 on conversions and nailing his only penalty attempt.

SFGG U-23 earned a lead for 10 minutes during the first half, but better attention to detail at the breakdowns allowed Cal to buckle down and fully seize control for the remainder of the contest, scoring 35 unanswered points to wrap up the match.

Hawley, whose legendary father, Loren, was in attendance, joined six other freshmen, five sophomores and three juniors to start the match. Five more freshmen were inserted as substitutes during the contest and not a senior took the field until Luke Schuering got the call at fullback in the 72nd minute.

While the younger set got the Bears' share of playing time vs. SFGG U-23, none but Hawley had the pleasure -- or anxiety -- of playing not just before his father, but also his brother. Garrett Hawley entered the match for Golden Gate as a substitute and Colin's opposite number.

While Colin had already found the try zone and would do so again, he also got the chance to thwart his brother from scoring when Colin outraced Garrett to clear a loose ball that Garrett had eyes on scooping up for a run at the try zone. "I thought, No way he's going to score on me this time," said Colin.

One of Cal's all-time rugby greats, Loren Hawley called it "wonderful" to enjoy his sons' match from the sideline. "I've lived a blessed life," he said.

While five tries did the trick to put the spotlight on the young rugger, Colin Hawley was quick to shift credit to Cal's forwards. "Pat King did a really good job captaining the forwards, talking to everyone and getting us organized," said Hawley. "First half we were running sideways, but our second-half running lines got better and we finished the game."

Good service from scrumhalf Clive Burrows and flyhalf Zak Triplett also enabled Hawley and the Cal backs to operate smoothly despite muddy conditions.

"It was a forwards game, really," said Burrows. "Perhaps at the beginning we started spreading it out too wide, too quickly. But in the second half we realized that and put it straight up the middle, worked harder around the rucks and when we needed to, shipped it wide."

Cal emerged virtually unscathed from the match and now enters a two-week training period before the college playoffs begin with Pool A & B action at Berkeley from April 21-23. The Bears are the top seed in the postseason will match up against the 16th seed, either UC Santa Barbara or San Diego State, at 10 a.m. on April 22.

Pool A & B winners will combine with Pool C & D winners from the West Point, N.Y., bracket to compete for the national championship at Palo Alto on May 5-6.

The Scoring Timeline vs. SFGG U-23:

04:00 Colin Hawley 5, Zak Triplett 2

12:00 Zak Triplett 3

16:00 SFGG U-23 5

22:00 SFGG U-23 5, 2

37:00 Colin Hawley 5, Zak Triplett 2

Half Time: California 17, SFGG U-23 12

41:00 Colin Hawley 5, Zak Triplett 2

51:00 Sean Wilhelmy 5, Zak Triplett 2

56:00 Colin Hawley 5, Zak Triplett 2

60:00 Colin Hawley 5, Zak Triplett 2

Final Score: California 45, SFGG U-23 12

The Team vs. SFGG U-23:

15. Taylor (Schuering @ 72:00), 14. Watson (Lopez @ 60:00), 13. Hawley, 12. O'Brien (Busch @ 56:00), 11. Harris (N Yancey @ 60:00), 10. Triplett (Howard @ 69:00), 9. Burrows (L Yancey @ 60:00), 1. Wilhelmy, 2. King (c), 3. Barrett, 4. LaBounty, 5. Jesseman, 6. Strong, 7. Reed, 8. Balough