By Ben Feder, Cal Athletic Communications
At the time, the two had no idea they would become best friends.
Seniors Bryce McGovern and John Sheperdson, both local guys from Danville Calif., squared off against one another multiple times in high school with McGovern at Monte Vista and Sheperdson at San Ramon Valley.
Sheperdson was an offensive and defensive lineman while McGovern was a wide receiver.
The two knew who each other was from their battles on the gridiron, but neither had any idea that they would become an inseparable duo once they stepped on campus in Berkeley.
“I always knew who he was, and he was always a guy we keyed on,” Sheperdson said.
Once rivals in high school, McGovern and Sheperdson both arrived at Cal in 2011 and became best friends. As former walk-ons, the two both earned full scholarships for their senior year.
After living in the Clark Kerr dorms during their freshman years, McGovern and Sheperdson decided to live together and have been roommates ever since.
Tomorrow, the two will run out of the north tunnel one last time at Kabam Field at California Memorial Stadium as McGovern and Sheperdson will be participants in the Senior Day ceremonies.
“Everybody tells you it goes by fast and you kind of just shrug it off,” McGovern said. “But now that the time is here, it’s pretty crazy.”
This season, the two have shared a unique bond as Sheperdson is the starting long snapper with McGovern the team's holder. Sheperdson has been Cal’s long snapper for every game since the 2011 Holiday Bowl, Cal’s most-recent bowl appearance.
“It’s just fun we can mess around with each other during practice,” McGovern said. “Just being on the field with him at the same time is cool.”
Earlier in the year against Colorado, McGovern and Sheperdson were on the field in one of the biggest special teams moments of the year. The game was in double overtime and the Bears needed just a field goal to seal the victory. With a perfect snap from Sheperdson and a good hold by McGovern, fellow senior kicker James Langford kicked the ball through the uprights to get the win.
“They’re lights out,” Langford said. “I couldn’t do anything without them.”
A win tomorrow would mean a lot more to McGovern and Sheperdson than just a chance to end their last game in Berkeley on a high note.
With a victory, the Bears would become bowl eligible for the first time since 2011.
“It would be amazing,” Sheperdson said. “I always think that my very first play in college football was in a bowl game. It would be awesome to start with a bowl game and finish with a bowl game.”
