By Barbara Mason

Saturday afternoon the California Bears (1-1) traveled to JMA Wireless Dome in a week two matchup with the Syracuse Orange (1-1). The Cal Bears will be counting on running back Adam Mohammed to lead the ground game while the Orange will rely on the rushing game of freshman Shavane Anderson. In a scare in last week’s game, Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele will be ready to go after hurting his ankle in last week’s loss to UCLA. He was a bit off in that game after the injury but is ready for today’s game. Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli will return after a torn achilles ended last season’s campaign. He is back, healthy and ready to roll.

The Cal defense kept this game manageable keeping Syracuse out of the end zone in the opening quarter. The Orange were able to score a field goal with Tripp Woody kicking a 25 yarder taking a 3-0 lead onto the second quarter. The Orange would kick a second field goal in the second quarter taking a 6-0 lead. Syracuse scored the first touchdown of the game taking a 12-0 lead when the 2-point conversion failed.

Cal scored their first touchdown of the day in the second quarter driving downfield finishing with a 14 yard pass from Sagapolutele to Chase Hendricks at 7:15 followed by a successful extra point and the score was 12-7 in favor of the Orange going into halftime.

The Bears turned the ball over on downs at mid-field to start the third quarter. The ensueing Syracuse drive was stalled when Cal intercepted an Angeli pass and very nearly took it into the end zone. They started their drive deep in Orange territory finishing it off with a 2-yard touchdown taking their first lead of the game 14-12. The Orange took back the lead 18-14 with 1:38 left in the quarter.

Going into the fourth quarter it was a 4-point ball game. It was all Cal in the final quarter, the Orange unable to score. Kingston Lopia had his second interception of the game taking it into the end zone for a pick-six. The final score was 21-18 in favor of the California Bears.

GAME RECAP

The Syracuse Orange took an early 3-0 lead in the first quarter of the game. Tripp Woody kicked a 25 yard field goal but the remainder of the quarter was a quiet one for the Cal offense. Their defense was able to keep the Orange out of the end zone keeping this game extremely manageable but the offense was struggling both on the ground and in the air. Adam Mohammed had been unable to get going and quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was also struggling.

Syracuse’s offense turned the heat up in the second quarter. They again scored an early field goal in the quarter. At 14:44 Woody scored a 33-yard field goal and the Orange had a 6-0 lead. The first touchdown of the game was scored at 8:50 extending the Syracuse lead to 12-0. Steve Angeli threw a 23 yard pass to Daunte Bacheyie for the score but the 2-point attempt failed. Mid-way through the quarter the Bears answered back as quarterback Sagapolutele completed three passes in the drive. Sagapolutele completed a 45-yard pass to Ian Strong moving Cal to the Orange 33-yd line and the Bears were in business. He completed a 14 yard pass to Chase Hendricks for their first touchdown of the game and Cal was on the scoreboard.

With two minutes left in the first half, Cal drove from their own 27-yard line deep into Syracuse territory. With two minutes left in the quarter then Bears were operating from the Orange 37 yard-line. Cal could not advance the ball and the Orange took over with 1:41 left in half. Syracuse got hit with an unsportsmanlike penalty their second of the day pinning them on their own 9-yard line. With 1:22 left on the clock the Bears took over on their own 40 yard-line still with three time-outs. They would drive down to the Syracuse 37-yard line. They squandered two time outs and a first down was foiled by a penalty and that would close out the drive. The Orange would take the 12-7 lead into the third quarter.

California would keep this game a one-score game thanks to another Orange penalty that negated a 71-yard return in the closing minute of the second quarter. The Bears had avoided falling even further behind and penalties were hurting Syracuse. Cal had to get their playmakers going in the second half.

The Bears would start the third quarter on their 25-yard line. They turned the ball over on downs at midfield and Syracuse was back in business. Angeli would throw an interception and Cal very nearly took the ball the length of the field. A touchdown saving tackle set the Bears up deep in Syracuse territory. Cal was knocking on the door, threatening to take the lead, first and goal from the 1-yard. The interception had led to their first lead of the game 14-12 when Sagapolutele completed a 2-yard pass to Jordan King, and Cal had their second touchdown of the day. As the third quarter wound down the Orange’s Ju Juan Johnson rushed for two yards with a two-point conversion again failing giving Syracuse the lead back 18-14.

The Orange drove deep into Cal territory to start the fourth quarter. Syracuse went on fourth and 1 and it looked as if the Bears had recovered a fumble but was called for 12-men on the field and the Orange were looking for more points. The Bears not only kept them out of the end zone but also denied them a 31-yard field goal and the score remained 14-12 with a lot of time, 9:30, remaining in the game.

The Bears had a great drive going in the fourth quarter but stalled out when quarterback Sagapolutele was sacked for a 9-yard loss and they were forced to kick pinning Syracuse inside their 15. A Cal pick six on an Angeli pass gave the Bears a 21-18 lead with 4:51 left in the game. The interception did not deter Angeli who drove downfield completing 3 passes operating from the Cal 24-yard line with 2:00 left on the clock. Another missed field goal for the Orange and Cal had a very real chance to win this game. It was up to the defense to put this one away and that’s exactly what they did intercepting the ball for a third time shutting down Syracuse in a wild and wooly game 21-18. They were physical and tough defensively and despite some really down moments in the first half they persevered. Head Coach Tosh Lupoi had his first win.

GAME NOTES

Cal played a mixed but encouraging first half of football. While they did trail 12-7 at the half, this game was still very much within reach. They had started slowly but settled down and scored a touchdown in the second quarter keeping themselves in the game. They did miss scoring opportunities when they missed a 47-yard field goal in the first half as well as stalling out in Syracuse territory.

This was new Head Coach Tosh Lupoi’s first win at the helm. This was actually a bit of a slopping game for both teams. Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli threw three interceptions which paved the way for the Bears. The Orange finished the game with 15 penalties which hampered them the entire game.

Cal showed amazing resilience in this game and the defense came up huge forcing the three interceptions two of them by safety Kingston Lopa. Quarterback Jaron-Weawe Sagapolutele had a far improved game over last week throwing for 182 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Great decision-making on his part. Cal did get stronger as the game went on scoring in the second, third and fourth quarters. Syracuse was held scoreless in the final quarter. When you look at the stats, the Orange dominated the yardage with 436 yards to the Bears 247. The bottom line is that it was the defense that won this game for the Bears. The offense had some trouble sustaining drives failing to cash in on some scoring opportunities but when push came to shove they also showed resilience. Things are looking up for the California Bears.

Next Saturday the Bears will take on Wagner at California Memorial Stadium. This will be the team’s home opener. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:30 PM.