May 5, 2007

STANFORD - In a rematch of last year's final, the University of California beat Brigham Young 37-7 Saturday to win the 23rd national collegiate championship in the school history. The Bears combined ruthless efficiency with their possessions and stingy defense when threatened at their goalline to come away with their second straight title victory over the Cougars.

The Golden Bears got onto the scoreboard two minutes into the match when freshman winger Dustin Muhn dove into the right corner to make it 5-0. BYU came right back and was knocking on the door to the try zone five minutes later, but the Cougars made contact with the sideline flag to go out of bounds as they dove for the line.

Muhn was a surprise starter as a freshman, and the speedy wing did not disappoint, book-ending the final try of the match to go with his opening score. "Credit to my teammates for moving the ball through the hands, and I was able to get around the corner," he said of his first score.

Senior captain Chase Brogan kept BYU honest with frequent clearance kicks and territorial boots, and in the 38th minute, the flyhalf recovered his own pop kick that he had launched from outside the 22-meter line to score a try, putting Cal's lead at 13-0 going into halftime.

"I got a lucky bounce," Brogan said. "Coach Clark always says that to the hustler will come the rewards. I was hustling and I got lucky." The captain was carried off the pitch by his teammates after the final whistle.

Sophomore outside center Colin Hawley scored his second try of the weekend in the 65th minute against the Cougars and was named Most Valuable Player of the championships. Hawley was quick to redirect praise for his award to the Cal forwards who put in the work to prevent BYU from establishing itself up front. "We pulled it off by gritting down, tackling and hitting," said Hawley. "The forwards were really getting after it. They played so well. It was awesome."

While the forwards refused to allow the Cougars to build much more than a phase of rugby at a time, Cal's backs were effective at sharing the ball and keeping it available for recycling when met by BYU tacklers. Senior Brendan Wright quarterbacked the Bears through some chippy play early on, and as BYU found itself increasingly frustrated, Cal remained focused. The scrumhalf scored a try in his farewell performance as a Bear after Muhn motored to the five-meter line, Eric Fry bulldozed it to the try line, and Wright dotted it down.

The Cougars mounted a determined effort to change their fortunes in the second half, but Cal would not relent until BYU outside center Taylor Kjar scored to avert a shutout with only a minute to play.

"I'm just so pleased that when they put their guts into it, it works out," said head coach Jack Clark, who has now coached 19 Cal teams to national titles.

"They're not going anywhere and I can tell you very sincerely that we're not going anywhere either," said BYU head coach David Smyth. "We plan on being back here for a few years. We realize how hard that's going to be, but we're prepared to do what we have to do."

The Bears finish their season 25-1, with their only loss coming at the hands of Old Mission Beach, the Rugby Super League Champions. The repeat victory over BYU sends the RugbyBears into their off-season with the bar set as high as ever for the next group of student-athletes to take the pitch on Witter Rugby Field.

"From our first strength-and-conditioning day in autumn to the final whistle today, the boys have met every challenge head on," said coach Tom Billups. "They have earned everything they have received."

The Scoring Timeline vs. Brigham Young:

02:00 Dustin Muhn 5

21:00 Chris Gurecki 3

38:00 Chase Brogan 5

Half Time: California 13, Brigham Young 0

54:00 Kevin Kroll 5

65:00 Colin Hawley 5, Chris Gurecki 2

75:00 Brendan Wright 5, Ryan Taylor 2

79:00 BYU 5, 2

80:00 Dustin Muhn 5

Final Score: California 37, Brigham Young 7

The Team vs. Brigham Young:

15. Gurecki (Taylor @ 70:00), 14. Muhn, 13. Hawley, 12. Golding, 11. Harris, 10. Brogan ©, 9. Wright, 1. Wilhelmy, 2. Biller, 3. Kroll, 4. Fry, 5. Cross, 6. Welch (Biestman @ 66:00), 7. Pretorius, 8. Stanfill