The University City Honey Badgers clinched 1st place in the Southern California Varsity White division's San Diego Conference, beating Rancho Bernardo 20-12 Friday night.

Rancho Bernardo came into the game 3-1 and had a shot to take 1st from 4-0 UC, and the game certainly lived up to its importance, as Rancho put UC under plenty of pressure.

However, thanks to the scoring touch of flyhalf Patrick Madden, the Honey Badgers prevailed. Madden opened the scoring with a try, which he converted, and then a penalty kick staked University City to a 10-0 halftime lead. As the game progressed each scoring opportunity became more important and raised the tension level. Madden kicked another penalty before Rancho Bernardo touched down to make it 13-5. Madden, though, wasn't done, and he scored his second try and converted to make it 20-5. The Broncos added one more try, but UC held on.

For Rancho Bernardo, it was a somewhat frustrating day as they were held up in-goal three times. Each time, the Honey Badgers were able to defend and clear away.

"I have to give it up to my forwards," said UC Coach Jason Lee. "Rancho Bernardo is a big, physical team. They get a lot of support from their football program and that's great. The game was back-and-forth, a real nailbiter, but our guys worked really hard and it was a proud moment for us."

University City was actually scheduled to play Rancho Bernardo earlier in the season, but that would have conflicted with Rancho Bernardo High School's football playoff run (they ultimately won the state title). Lee and the UC team opted to move the game to January 29 in order to make it a more competitive game.

"It was the sporting thing to do," said Lee. "We didn't know who would be strong, but we figured they would be better with all of their starters. We needed this game, where we're put under a lot of pressure. We're glad we played it."