Jan. 16, 2007

BERKELEY - The Golden Bears took a winning, if shaky, first step in their 2007 campaign, scoring eight tries to Humboldt State's two to take the season opener on Witter Rugby Field by a 36-point margin. The Bears shared the ball enough to ensure that 10 different ruggers entered the scoring line, but fumble-prone hands and hesitant play are causes for concern as Cal prepares for St. Mary's on Saturday.

"There are a few clichés, the first game of the year and all that, but that wasn't very good," said match-day captain Chase Brogan. "We'll have to be quite a bit better this weekend."

An early Joe Welch try to open the scoring was answered by Humboldt State in the seventh minute when fullback Connor O'Brien's clearance kick was blocked, recovered and returned for a score by the Lumberjacks' outside center. The game stayed tied at 5-5 for 12 minutes as Cal tried to jell, but the Lumberjacks seemed able to handle the Bears' patterns, containing newly anointed No. 8 Louis Stanfill whenever he picked up to run. Slippery fingers, including a drop by Brogan that would have gone for a try, cost the Bears further opportunities even as they built a 24-point halftime lead.

In a possible preview of tempo-changing tactics Cal will bring to the pitch this season, scrumhalf Brendan Wright initiated several quick restarts following penalties, which allowed the Cal backs to keep pressing and kept the Lumberjacks off balance. "They took our backs out of our game plan," said Humboldt State head coach Renaldo Arroyo. "I was hoping we could adjust a bit quicker but it just didn't happen. We wanted to play aggressive and force turnovers, and I thought we did a good job of that on defense."

While Humboldt's defensive efforts forced Cal to score in the corner for the most part, a chilly wind made conversion kicks even more challenging. Flyhalf Pat Castles connected on 2-of-5 conversions, making his most difficult attempt from the left corner. Substitute scrumhalf Zak Triplett had a little better luck, making two of his three second-half attempts.

A performance like today's asks more questions than it answers about this year's Cal team. With only three days to prepare, the Bears need to identify and improve on their shortcomings in short order if they hope to be successful against the Gaels on Saturday.

The Scoring Timeline vs. Humboldt State:

03:00 Joe Welch 5

07:00 Humboldt State 5

19:00 Scott Kidd 5

29:00 Rikus Pretorius 5

34:00 Ryan Harris 5, Pat Castles 2

37:00 Connor O'Brien 5, Pat Castles 2

Half Time: California 29, Humboldt State 5

55:00 Humboldt State 5, 2

57:00 Ryan Miller 5, Zak Triplett 2

73:00 Paul Jesseman 5

75:00 Ross Biestman 5, Zak Triplett 2

Final Score: California 48, Humboldt State 12

The Team vs. Humboldt State:

15. O'Brien, 14. Harris (Miller @ 40:00), 13. Hawley, 12. Brogan (c), 11. Kidd, 10. Castles, 9. Wright (Triplett @ 40:00), 1. Wilhelmy, 2. Biller, 3. Kroll, 4. Fry (Jesseman @ 26:00), 5. Snellgrove, 6. Welch, 7. Pretorius, 8. Stanfill (Biestman @ 48:00)