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Cal 3-0 at Storer Classic

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Cal 3-0 at Storer Classic

David Barpal photo.

The University of California won all three of their Dennis Storer Classic games Saturday at UCLA, defeating UC Davis 22-3, UC Santa Barbara 57-0, and UC Santa Cruz 62-0.

The Bears will face off with UCLA Sunday in the title match.

Against UC Davis, Cal dominated field position, but the Aggies held together for a scoreless first 15 minutes before fullback Anthony Salaber notched the Bears’ first try of the season off a nice offload from scrumhalf Eakalafi Okusi. Sophomore Jamie Howells made the conversion but missed the next three, and a penalty kick by UC Davis scrumhalf Josh Campos trimmed the score to 22-3 at the final whistle of the 40-minute match.

Next up against the Gauchos, the Cal forwards established themselves immediately and provided solid platforms for phase play, which the backs were able to carry across nine times for tries in a 57-0 win. Harry Adolphus had a hat trick at halftime from his position of outside center, while Billy Maggs scored one and set up a couple more with his efforts on the wing. Freshman prop Brian Joyce and winger Harry Adolphus found the try zone as replacements.

Sophomore prop Kevin Sullivan said that, despite some imperfections, “We showed a couple of moments where we really clicked and had some good rugby moments. It was a good start the 2015 season and we will continue to work to improve.”

Against UC Santa Cruz, Cal ended its day with several moments from first-year players that had the Bears bench buzzing during a 10-try shutout.

Freshman flyhalf Matthew Coyle was 4-for-5 in the first half and cooled off to end 6-for-10 trying to convert Cal tries from an array or angles, sophomore No. 8 Drew Gaffney had two tries and Maggs, playing outside center, scored a hat trick of his own.

“I really enjoyed getting back on the field and playing with my teammates,” said Maggs, a sophomore. “I look forward to the season as we have a capable team.”

A large Cal contingent was in Westwood supporting the Blue and Gold, a notable absence among the former players, parents and alumni being Tom Wenrich, an alumnus whose customary presence at Southern California fixtures was diverted by the funeral services for his father, David, who was the last surviving founder of the Cal Alumni Band.

On Sunday, the Bruins take on the Bears at 2 p.m. to finish the Storer Classic with a battle between top-10 teams, Cal having taken a No. 2 ranking into the weekend and UCLA entering at No. 7 nationally.

The Scoring Timeline vs. UC Davis
15:00 Anthony Salaber 5
20:00 Patrick Barrientes 5, Jamie Howells 2
Halftime Score: California 12, UC Davis 0
24:00 John Spradling 5
33:00 Christian Hess 5
36:00 UC Davis (Josh Campos)

Final Score: California 22, UC Davis 3
The Starting XV vs. UC Davis
15. A. Salaber, 14. Hess, 13. Todd, 12. Barrientes, 11. Honens, 10. Howells, 9. Okusi, 1. de Gentile-Williams, 2. Haynes, 3. Vrame, 4. Hendrickson, 5. Zerbino, 6. N. Salaber, 7. Spradling, 8. Gaffney

The Scoring Timeline vs. UC Santa Barbara
05:00 Billy Maggs 5
07:00 Harry Adolphus 5, Jake Anderson 2
12:00 Jake Anderson 5
15:00 Harry Adolphus 5, Jake Anderson 2
18:00 Alec Gletzer 5, Harry Adolphus 2
20:00 Harry Adolphus 5
Halftime Score: California 36, UC Santa Barbara 0
22:00 Connor Sweet, Jamie Howells 2
28:00 Brian Joyce 5, Jamie Howells 2
33:00 Harry Libarle 5, Jamie Howells 2
Final Score: California 57, UC Santa Barbara 0

The Starting XV vs. UC Santa Barbara
15. Anderson, 14. Milne 13. Adolphus, 12. Welch, 11. Maggs, 10. Bosco, 9. Boyer, 1. Walsh, 2. Bush, 3. Sullivan, 4. Kondrat, 5. Sina, 6. Sweet, 7. Gletzer, 8. Tandy

The Scoring Timeline vs. UC Santa Cruz
02:00 Billy Maggs 5, Matthew Coyle 2
06:00 Travis Moscone 3, Matthew Coyle 2
10:00 John Goena 5, Matthew Coyle 2
12:00 Drew Gaffney 5
18:00 Henry Baylor 5, Matthew Coyle 2
20:00 Billy Maggs 5, Matthew Coyle 2
Halftime Score: California 40, UC Santa Cruz 0
30:00 Matthew Ternan 5, Matthew Coyle 2
32:00 Billy Maggs 5
35:00 Drew Gaffney 5
40:00 Beau Hershberger 5
Final Score: California 62, UC Santa Cruz 0

The Starting XV vs. UC Santa Cruz
15. d’Auriol, 14. Tavenner, 13. Maggs, 12. Ternan, 11. Goena, 10. Coyle, 9. Goodwin, 1. Harmon, 2. Moscone, 3. Baylor, 4. Kosinski, 5. Zerbino, 6. Hershberger, 7. Spradling, 8. Gaffney