Cal Rugby continued its string of dominating victories with an 81-0 win over Sacramento St. For those of you keeping score, Cal has outscored its opponents 590-9 over the season. They should face a stiff challenge this weekend as they take on Stanford at Witter Field in the battle for the Scrum Axe. Coach Clark sees room for improvement between now and then.
"We've got talent in the backs," Clark said. "That was on display a few times, but there were some times when we tried to play too much rugby ... They didn't turn into tries against us but they damn well could have. I don't know that we know when to play field position."
Clark was not especially pleased with his team's performance, but senior Colin Hawley and sophomore Anthony Lombardo provided the crowd with reasons to cheer.
Hawley stiffed-arm a Hornets player to the ground en route to his first try that, after a Keegan Englebrecht conversion, made the game 26-0.
The game may have been far out of reach, but Lombardo offered one of, if not the most exciting play of the day late in the second half. The fullback caught a pooch kick by Sacramento State, tossed one defender to the ground and faked out another before running in to score his only try of the contest, making the game 69-0.
Typical of almost all Cal rugby contests this season, the Bears piled on points in the second half when Sacramento State was noticeably tired.
Cal was more physically fit, but often a little too physical with its play.
Clark emphasized staying on the good side of the referee as a key for his team's future matches.
"We have to have discipline to make the right adjustments," Clark said. "We said going into the game that we weren't going to struggle with the referee today and we weren't able to execute on that objective."
Drew Hyer and Zack Klaas drew yellow cards in the second half. Altogether, the Bears racked up 19 penalties on the afternoon.
Cal looks forward to a two-game stretch against Santa Clara and an athletic Stanford squad. Clark emphasized being better up front if they want to beat the Cardinal.
"We're going to have to be better in the tackle and in the scrums and lineouts." Clark said. "And we're going have to stay on the right side of the referee."
After the jump, football receives a commitment from a promising WR, Monty looks ahead to road games against the Arizonas and SoCals, and more spring sports open Pac-10 play.
Cal Football
- Facing stingy defenses from ASU and USC in the coming weeks, Monty says his team needs to be more versatile.
- During Cal's opener for indoor track and field, Kimyon Broom set a school record with a 8.3 time in the 60-meter hurdles event.
- No. 4 women's swimming and diving opened the Pac-10 season with a 157-135 win over ASU and followed it up with a 165-134 upset over no. 2 Arizona.
- No. 4 men's swimming and diving also opened against ASU, posting a 152-127 win. Despite strong performances by Nathan Adrian, Cal lost to no. 3 Arizona by a 157-141 margin.