Feb. 14, 2007

SACRAMENTO - California raised its record to 14-0 on Wednesday with a 45-point victory over Sacramento State. Nine Golden Bears scored a total of 11 tries on the day, setting up a battle of unbeaten teams when Army visits Witter Rugby Field at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Head coach Jack Clark tapped five freshmen for the First XV against Sacramento State, utilizing a split squad to allow Cal's projected lineup for the Army match to remain in Berkeley for a training session. The Bears yielded 22 points to the Hornets, the most scored against Cal so far in 2007, but despite bursts of determined play that made the Hornets most effective at the end of the first and beginning of the second half, Cal managed to build phase upon phase to pile on points and ensure the outcome tipped in its favor.

Among the first-year players to get the nod against the Hornets was the halfback pairing of Andrew Mase, who captained the Bears from scrumhalf, and Nathaniel Floyd, a Jesuit High School graduate who delivered a solid performance at flyhalf. Mase anchored the flow between forwards and backs, and Floyd distributed the ball well, starting with a nifty switch pass to Dustin Watson to open the scoring in the sixth minute. Floyd was also 6-for-11 on conversion kicks, banging through a couple of difficult attempts from either corner.

"As a team, it seemed hard to get into the flow of the game," Floyd said. "But even when things didn't go our way we made a few good defensive stands. I'm glad we got the result."

Other freshmen to get a run on Wednesday were Dustin Muhn at wing, who scored two tries; James Besser at prop and Tom Rooke at flanker. Rooke found the try zone as well, but didn't find too much to applaud in the underclassmen's performance. "Credit to Sacramento State, but we didn't really stick to our plan. We have to improve. Still, I thought it was good leadership from the upperclassmen," Rooke said. Rooke's fellow back rower Kyle Balough, a junior, was one of those who led by example, containing Sacramento State and making his mark all over the pitch.

Regardless of class year, the general consensus among Cal's players was that they did not make the most of their opportunities to impress on Wednesday. "We all came out and had some good moments and some bad moments," said senior Dorian Pieracci, who scored in both corners late in the second half. "We got the job done, I suppose, but we're looking for performances here."

Sacramento State took some inspiration from today's contest as it looks ahead to a March 3 rematch at Cal. "We left the first half with some momentum and regained it in the second half," said Hornets head coach Chris Miller. "I thought we took some good cracks at them, but if we had been a little more organized, we could have come away with some more points."

This weekend's showdown with Army is followed on Wed. Feb. 21 by a visit from the University of British Columbia. The Bears then travel to UC Davis on Feb. 24 before returning home for the March 3 doubleheader against Sacramento State and Old Mission Beach Athletic Club, the 2006 Rugby Super League champion.

The Scoring Timeline vs. Sacramento State:

06:00 Dustin Watson 5, Nathaniel Floyd 2

15:00 Pat King 5, Nathaniel Floyd 2

19:00 Connor O'Brien 5

24:00 Kyle Balough 5, Nathaniel Floyd 2

36:00 Dustin Muhn 5, Nathaniel Floyd 2

40:00 Sacramento State 5

Half Time: California 33, Sacramento State 5

42:00 Sacramento State 5, 2

47:00 Lucas Watson 5

56:00 Sacramento State 5

60:00 Tom Rooke 5

64:00 Sacramento State 5

65:00 Andrew Mase 5, Nathaniel Floyd 2

71:00 Dorian Pieracci 5

76:00 Dorian Pieracci 5

80:00 Dustin Muhn 5 , Nathaniel Floyd 2

Final Score: California 67, Sacramento State 22

The Team vs. Sacramento State:

15. O'Brien, 14. Muhn, 13. D. Watson, 12. Pugh (L. Watson @ 45:00), 11. Pieracci, 10. Floyd, 9. Mase ©, 1. Besser (Estrella @ 45:00), 2. King, 3. Kilroy, 4. LaBounty (Vaught @ 13:00), 5. Jesseman (Strong @ 68:00), 6. Rooke (Law @ 60:00), 7. Keady (Reed @ 27:00, Keady @ 33:00, Reed @ 60:00), 8. Balough (Keady @ 27:00, Balough @ 33:00)