Jan. 31, 2009
BERKELEY -
Eleven Golden Bears scored a total of 17 tries as California defeated Chico State, 105-3, Saturday on Witter Rugby Field.
Wildcats lock Ted Watje connected on a penalty kick in the 60th minute from inside the Cal 22 to avert a shutout.
"They were pretty good tacklers; they met us up front," said matchday captain Keegan Engelbrecht, who distributed the ball from flyhalf and made 10-of-17 conversion kicks, of Chico State. "But we adjusted pretty well."
Starting inside center Cody Stevens was one of many Bears to keep the pressure on Chico State, scoring a try in the 12th minute, and when he was came off at halftime, replacement Blaine Scully ended the day a multi-try scorer along with outside center Colin Hawley, lock Paul Jesseman, wing Ryan Taylor and fullback James Bailes.
Winger Ryan Harris made his return to the field after almost two seasons on the shelf recovering from injury and also scored a try. "Six-hundred and twenty-three days since I last played," said Harris. "It's good to just get back out there with the team, continue to work on getting better and play in Strawberry Canyon."
On hand for today's match was former Cal All-American, current U.S. National Team player and Leeds Carnegie (U.K.) captain Mike MacDonald '04, back to catch the action at Witter Rugby Field on a sparkling afternoon. "It looks as good as it always did," said MacDonald of being back on his former home pitch. "Five great years of my life here and a day like this brings those memories back."
The Bears now improve to 11-0, but with another match Sunday followed by six contests on the road, flanker Tom Rooke pointed out, "There's still a lot more to do."
Cal hosts Santa Clara tomorrow at 11 a.m. to wind up a three-match homestand. The Bears must then endure a six-match road trip starting on Thurs., Feb. 5, at Cal Maritime. The Keelhaulers took Stanford to the wire in a December preseason match, dropping a 10-8 decision, and have played well so far in 2009, including a lopsided win over UC Santa Cruz on Jan. 17.
The Bears then travel to Sacramento on Fri., Feb. 6, for a 6:30 p.m. kickoff against Calgary University as the featured match at the Kickoff Tournament at Granite Park, a major assem¬bly including many of the best high-school teams in the nation.
Following a Sun., Feb. 8, noon match at Stanford for the Scrum Axe, the Bears travel to the San Diego Invitational to face Virginia Military Institute, Wyoming and Navy on Friday, Feb. 13, at the Del Mar Polo Grounds, giving the Cal roster a stout test in a triple-header. VMI offers an opportunity for the youngest members of the team, with the latter two matches coming against frequent national postsea¬son participants.
The Bears return home for a midweek tilt against Sacramento State on Wed., Feb. 18, before they welcome the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds on Sat., Feb. 21, to mark the opening round of the 2009 "World Cup" as their Homecoming celebration.
Following the First XV today, a Cal reserve side defeated Chico State's reserves.
The Scoring Timeline vs. Chico State:
03:00 Colin Hawley 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2
05:00 Colin Hawley 5
10:00 Paul Jesseman 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2
12:00 Cody Stevens 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2
16:00 Paul Jesseman 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2
20:00 James Besser 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2
24:00 Ryan Taylor 5
32:00 Chris Biller 5
40:00 Ryan Harris 5
Halftime: California 55, Chico State 0
43:00 Blaine Scully 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2
47:00 Neill Barrett 5
55:00 Blaine Scully 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2
60:00 Chico State (Ted Watje) 3
62:00 James Bailes 5
65:00 Ryan Taylor 5
70:00 Blaine Scully 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2
72:00 James Bailes 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2
80:00 Tom Rooke 5, Keegan Engelbrecht 2
Final Score: California 105, Chico State 3
The Starting Lineup vs. Chico State:
15. Bailes, 14. R. Taylor, 13. Hawley (Gallinger @ 40:00, Howard @ 58:00), 12. Stevens (Scully @ 40:00), 11. Harris (Leach @ 40:00), 10. Engelbrecht ©, 9. Mase, 1. Wilhelmy, 2. Biller (N. Barrett @ 40:00), 3. Besser, 4. Jesseman, 5. Fry, 6. Law, 7. Rooke, 8. Asbun
