Jan. 21, 2012
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SANTA CLARA, Calif. -
Scrumhalf Nicklas Boyer and wing Hunter Frisinger scored hat tricks, Eakalafi Okusi scored twice and five other Bears had tries as California beat Santa Clara University, 83-7, Saturday on Bellomy Field.
Boyer added 14 points on conversions (7-for-10) before Frisinger (0-for-1) and fullback Spencer Morris (2-for-2) finished those duties for the Golden Bears (5-0). Broncos inside center Nick Johnson scored a try in the 50th minute, converted by flyhalf Daniel Iritani to round out Santa Clara's scoring.
Eleven freshmen were among the all-underclassmen starting lineup in damp, gusty conditions, and the young Rugby Bears struggled at times to keep their shape. But while the weather may not have proven to be as adversarial as forecasted, Cal proved determined to overcome its own inconsistency and ended the day with a solid performance.
Okusi said the Broncos "really challenged us on defense and it took until the second half to really get going. We were finally able to change the tempo and then played better."
No. 8 Michael Bush added, "Despite the score we played out of our systems a little bit and had to get back to the fundamentals. Everyone's just got to be ready with their hands up, everyone's got to communicate better."
Bush and the forwards showed better speed and intensity in the second half, limiting Santa Clara's opportunities.
"We couldn't finish," said Santa Clara head coach Paul Keeler. "The support wasn't there when we had a break. But this is a new system for them and they're working hard to reestablish the right culture."
An intriguing Saturday, Jan. 28, is shaping up for next weekend, when the Bears visit Stanford to play for the Scrum Axe at 2 p.m. then head to Rancho Cordova to play Sacramento State at the Kickoff Tournament at 7:30 p.m.
The Scoring Timeline vs. Santa Clara:
02:00 Eakalafi Okusi 5, Nicklas Boyer 2
10:00 Eakalafi Okusi 5, Nicklas Boyer 2
20:00 Hunter Frisinger 5
36:00 Nicklas Boyer 5
Halftime: California 24, Santa Clara 0
42:00 Nicklas Boyer 5, 2
45:00 Nicklas Boyer 5, 2
50:00 Santa Clara (Nick Johnson) 5, (Daniel Iritani) 2
59:00 Hunter Frisinger 5, Nicklas Boyer 2
64:00 Nick Salaber 5,Nicklas Boyer 2
66:00 Andrew Battaglia 5
69:00 Hunter Frisinger 5, Nicklas Boyer 2
72:00 Travis Moscone 5
76:00 Daniel Beckerman 5, Spencer Morris 2
78:00 Matthew Chipman 5, Spencer Morris 2
Final Score: California 83, Santa Clara 7
The Team vs. Santa Clara:
15. Morris, 14. Chipman, 13. Poindexter (Welch @ 61:00), 12. Okusi (Libarle @ 70:00), 11. Frisinger (Melnick @ 75:00), 10. Battaglia, 9. Boyer (Pena @ 70:00), 1. Walsh, 2. Moscone, 3. C. Fry, 4. Grass (Hendrickson @ 61:00), 5. Coleman (c), 6. Simons (J. Fry @ 40:00), 7. Bruzzone (Salaber @ 61:00), 8. Bush (Beckerman @ 70:00)
