April 19, 2009

BERKELEY - The Golden Bears punched their ticket to the national semifinals Sunday with their 76-10 victory over Cal Poly in the Round of 8 on Witter Rugby Field. California scored 11 tries for the second straight match, with James Bailes notching a hat trick from fullback and scrumhalf Dustin Muhn scoring a pair.

The Bears will face Army May 1 at Stanford, as the Black Knights came back to beat Penn State, 20-19, in the Pool D finale at Life University in Marietta, Ga.

Cal got off to a strong start against the Mustangs and was up two tries before Cal Poly fullback Martine Phelan kicked a penalty to make it 14-3 at minute 15. The Bears were whistled a couple of times for overzealous rucking before Muhn became the recipient of a yellow card at the 29th minute, sending the speedy junior off for 10 minutes and leaving the Bears a man down.

Winger Ryan Taylor switched over to scrumhalf for the first time in his career during Muhn's absence, and the Bears held Cal Poly at bay while scoring two tries for a +14 advantage while playing shorthanded en route to a 43-10 halftime lead.

"We started off strong; our forwards were doing a really good job," said Taylor, who started off the scoring for Cal with his 6th-minute try. Said the senior of his first stint at No. 9, "It was my first time ever and I was a little frantic. But I've been able to watch some pretty good scumhalves and I did the best I could."

Intensity remained high on a hot afternoon as many Bears delivered their final performances as seniors on their home pitch. "On the last day of the last year I'm going to play on Witter Rugby Field, it was a good day," said prop Jim Barrett. "It was a lot of hard work to get on the team and stay on the team, and it was all worth it in the end."

Other Rugby Bears got their first taste of postseason play today, leaving them hungry for more. "Everyone was so ready to play," said Blaine Scully, who featured at inside center and later wing. "Everyone was going on all cylinders today, running up on defense and playing hard."

With two weeks to prepare, Cal gets back to work this week fully understanding a service-academy side awaits the Bears in the semis. "Army beat good teams so they're going to be tough," said lock Eric Fry.

Cal Poly ended its season with heads held high, said head coach Nick Massman: "We're graduating a few kids but we've got some behind them that I wanted to get some experience. It's a bitter pill initially but I think it serves them better down the track. I'm proud the boys, they didn't quit, that's for sure."

In other playoff action, Air Force ended its season on a high note with its 29-12 Pool A consolation win over Minnesota, while Saint Mary's won its Pool D consolation contest over Tennessee, 20-15.

California vs. Cal Poly Scoring Timeline:

06:00 Cal (Ryan Taylor) 5, (Keegan Engelbrecht) 2

12:00 Cal (Blaine Scully) 5, (Keegan Engelbrecht) 2

15:00 Cal Poly (Martine Phelan) 3

17:00 Cal (Kyle Balough) 5

19:00 Cal (Dustin Muhn) 5, (Keegan Engelbrecht) 2

34:00 Cal (Colin Hawley) 5, (Keegan Engelbrecht) 2

37:00 Cal (James Bailes) 5, (Keegan Engelbrecht) 2

40:00 Cal Poly (Grant Dismuke) 5, (Martine Phelan) 2

42:00 Cal (Keegan Engelbrecht) 3

Halftime: California 43, Cal Poly 10

49:00 Cal (James Bailes) 5, (Keegan Engelbrecht) 2

56:00 Cal (Dustin Muhn) 5, (Keegan Engelbrecht) 2

63:00 Cal (Julian Snellgrove) 5, (Keegan Engelbrecht) 2

72:00 Cal (Steven Fujimoto) 5

80:00 Cal (James Bailes) 5, (Keegan Engelbrecht) 2

Final Score: California 76, Cal Poly 10

The California Lineup vs. Cal Poly

15. Bailes, 14. Harris, 13. Hawley, 12. Scully (Gallinger @ 46:00), 11.Taylor (Scully @ 46:00), 10. Engelbrecht ©, 9. Muhn (Ring @ 57:00), 1. J. Barrett, 2. N. Barrett, 3. Besser (Fujimoto @ 46:00), 4. Jesseman, 5. Fry (Snellgrove @ 46:00), 6. Kidd (Asbun @ 64:00), 7. Rooke (D. Barrett @ 53:00), 8. Balough

Air Force vs. Minnesota Scoring Timeline

13:00 Minnesota (Sam Augspurger) 5

23:00 Air Force (Richie Amisone) 5

Halftime: Air Force 5, Minnesota 5

43:00 Air Force (Jason Thomas) 5, (Kristopher Yarlett) 2

57:00 Air Force (Richie Amisone) 5, (Kristopher Yarlett) 2

62:00 Air Force (Anthony Ruezz) 5

75:00 Air Force (Benjamin Zumstein) 5

77:00 Minnesota (Dylan Byers) 5, (Ethan Berg) 2

Final Score: Air Force 29, Minnesota 12

Sunday Summary:

Berkeley, Calif.
Pool A:
California 76, Cal Poly 10 (semifinal qualifier)
Air Force 29, Minnesota 12 (consolation)

Marietta, Ga.
Pool D:
Army 20, Penn State 19 (semifinal qualifier)
Saint Mary's 20, Tennessee 15 (consolation)

May 1, Stanford
California vs. Army
BYU vs. San Diego State

May 2, National Championship, Stanford