One Road Win in D1A Western Bracket
One Road Win in D1A Western Bracket
Higher seeded teams won through in the Western Bracket of the D1A playoffs, with one exception.
Cal vs Colorado State
A heavy underdog, CSU traveled to Berkeley and the Rams were "buzzing" to play, said Head Coach Joe Rusert-Cuddy before the game. "We had a really good lead-up and I know they are going to give Cal their all."
This they did, but it was a tough ask, for sure, and Cal scored relatively early, punishing a couple of penalties by CSU and then Talan Jones getting a nice tips pass to go over. But CSU was up for it and knew they had to be physical and quick on defense. Quick they were as wing Eli Eagle raced in to pick off a pass just inside the Cal 22 and go in under the posts. Seven minutes in and it was 7-7.
That would be Colorado State's only score of the game, but it was a big moment for the Rams as they look to move their way up the ladder.
A bit of a wonky exit from CSU allowed Cal to take a quick lineout and pressure the Rams. Cal opted for a scrum on a penalty close to the line and No. 8 Oliver Teague scored on an eightman pick.
A big run from lock Byron Finley got Cal back on the front foot and a powerful run from Kealan O'Connell on the edge put the fullback over. He converted, too, to make it 19-7 with about 14 minutes gone.
Colorado State did have some good opportunities with the ball, but any slowness to the breakdown, or, on defense, any slightly missed assignment was punished. Cal prop Charlie Walsh charged on and he then offloaded to flyhalf Chris Biller.
The young Cal side was fairly clinical and it all took a physical toll on CSU. However, the Rams didn't capitulate. The final score was 76-7 but this was one of those games where a less committed team might leak four or five tries in the final quarter. It was 69-7 with 17 minutes to go, and CSU allowed just the one try, and none in the last eight minutes.
Arizona vs Cal Poly
This matchup, if you looked at the mutual results, was going to be close. Arizona ran out to a 30-point lead and held on well from there.
The Arizona Wildcats were the only team to win on the road in this playoff weekend.
"We’ve been preaching starting well for a long time, and starting well on the road, and then you factor in starting well, on the road, in a playoff game, and it was gratifying to see," said Arizona DOR Sean Duffy. "Cal Poly is really good but you can throw that figurative opening punch and that can change things."
Arizona was strong in the set piece, something that has been a challenge during the season, and they mauled well. But it was a pretty solid 23-man performance on the day. Cal Poly came back and scored three good tries in the second half, but they had too much of a mountain to climb.
""Playing fall and spring gives us the continuity to play a lot of matches, and as a result we've been seeing guys step up," said Duffy.
Wing Nick Morgan has been a find as a freshman. Captain Cameron Blair at hooker was an excellent example of how to channel emotions on a team and keep them focused. Add to that a bench that made an impact, and you've got an excellent road playoff performance. Lucas Smith came on at scrumhalf and scored a try. Antonio Gonzalez came on in the second half and his first touch was a long-range run for a try.
"Everyone is a part of this," said Duffy.
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.
