One Road Win in D1A Western Bracket

Central Washington vs BYU

The CWU Wildcats had been burned by BYU before in the playoffs, and were ready this time around. 

For BYU, injuries had not been their friend this season, but with a couple of players back they felt they could make a splash.

"We just need to be more consistent in our focus and not let mental lapses during periods of the game get us in big holes like we have done too many times this year," said BYU Head Coach Steve St. Pierre.

The Benji Ward-Oscar Treacy connection worked nicely again for CWU as those two finished off an early period of pressure to put Treacy over. A break down the sideline got BYU into scoring position and the forwards, in a rather haphazard but hard-hitting way, got it over the line. Conversion good and it was 7-5 Cougars. 

Once again CWU got into BYU territory, worked a couple of phases, and sent it wide. This time it was Treacy-to-Ward-to-Treacy and in at the corner. The Wildcats built on that 12-7 lead from a scrum in the middle of the field. They ran an 8-9-14 play, except that No. 8 Arona Tauiliili didn't need the other numbers. He sold a dummy, broke through a tackle, and galloped 50 meters to score. BYU answered with a big break on the left, but penalties quickly put them on the back foot and a CWU maul made it 24-12, a score that held up until halftime.

Either team was in a position to win this game. CWU scored quickly after halftime on a break through in the backline, and then a penalty inside CWU's half was quickly turned into a lineout inside the BYU 22. The Wildcats ran a nifty play off the back of a maul and then the forwards backed that up for another score. The players celebrated and well they should. With the conversion it was now 38-12 and CWU had a niw cushion. Penalty trouble once again hurt BYU. Another lineout produced another maul, and this time CWU spun it wide and scored in the opposite corner.

The Wildcats' variety of attack ensured they finished chances. It was 43-12 with 18 minutes to go. BYU would score two tries late and CWU answered to win it 53-26.

Saint Mary's vs UCLA

In what was expected to be the closest Western Bracket game of the day, the Bruins and the Gaels produced ... the closest game of the day. Saint Mary's scored early on a kick counter, when they wisely shipped the ball wide to Sia Ofa, who beat three to race in on the right side. that 5-0 lead held up until midway through the first half when Saint Mary's earned a penalty with a good push in the scrum. The forwards worked it closer, with King Matu and John Wilson working well to set up Brian McKeon for a burst through.

With 10 minutes left in the first half, Saint Mary's took a scrum under the UCLA posts. They worked it close and then sent it wide to Ofa, who scampered over for his second. That made for a 17-0 halftime lead for the Gaels.

Early in the second half it certainly looked like a Saint Mary's runaway. Off a scrum they sent it to Dom Besag, who took an angle, faked a switch move, and cut right through the UCLA backline. Ollie Cline converted to make it 24-0.

And, amazingly, that was it for scoring for Saint Mary's. The Gaels have been like this during the season, when in other years they would keep the scoreboard ticking over, here they were not so precise.

UCLA had shown flashes of scoring potential late in the first half and now they started to do something about it. After the forward pods ran it up the gut, and with a penalty advantage, scrumhalf Andrew McCarthy popped a kick ahead. Fullback Josh Cox chased down the bouncing ball and tapped it back to the onrushing McCarthy, who finished off a brilliant try. But time was not UCLA's friend. The Gaels spent time in the UCLA half and even though they didn't find points from it, they took up time.

Finally Bruin flanker Freddie Jobber broke through a few tackles and turned around to find wing Daniel Odejinmi, who took the ball surrounded by five players, and accelerated through all of them to go 50 meters. It was another brilliant try from UCLA; Vicent Allue converted and it was now a two-score game at 24-12 with nine minutes to go.

The Bruins spent the next five minutes threatening the Saint Mary's line once more, and Jobber was the scorer as they created an open-field maul to drive over. If the Saint Mary's players were comfortable being ahead 24-0, they weren't too comfortable now. It was 24-17 now with time enough for UCLA to score again, and when Saint Mary's took a yellow card for a no-wrap tackle the chance was well and truly there.

Another Gaels penalty and UCLA worked a maul about 10 meters down the field and were now at the Saint Mary's 22. But the Gaels were able to hold up UCLA in the tackle, and when the ball didn't come out, that was the end of the game. You could definitely say Saint Mary's survived this, and UCLA had to be thinking that had they converted one scoring chances in the first half, they might have won this.

So moving on to next week, Saint Mary's will host Central Washington in a rematch of a game from February that the Gaels won 33-13, and Cal takes on Arizona in a rematch of a February 1 meeting that Cal won 46-0. It is fair to say these are better Wildcat teams (both CWU and Arizona) this time around.