There are a few chases on in the California D1A Conference, and this weekend pointed out some of them.
The first chase is for the conference title. There, Saint Mary's is comfortable ahead and really only has one team that could conceivably catch them. That is Cal Poly, which has started impressively (more on them in a minute). The second chase is for a D1A playoff position, and while we at GRR World Headquarters are pretty sure Saint Mary's has a spot wrapped up, Cal Poly certainly wants to get there. Others are pushing, as well.
And finally there's the Challenge Cup, which is D1A's new second-tier playoff, and teams are looking for a place there, also.
With Saint Mary's idle, Cal Poly was center stage, looking to remain undefeated in-conference against Santa Clara, they did just that, winning 112-10. In the process, center Coby Baker was a perfect—get this—16-for-16 on conversions. Even if every kick was in front of the sticks, and that was most assuredly not the case, that would have been a feat. With two tries, Baker ended up with 42 points on the day, just beating out Nicho Domine, who scored six tries for a paltry 30 points.
The win boosted Cal Poly to 4-0 but they have some tough opponents left, including UC Santa Cruz and Saint Mary's.
In fact, that UCSC game is next week.
Santa Cruz won the unofficial Invertebrate Cup on Saturday, as the Banana Slubs shut out the Hornets of Sacramento State 17-0. Sac State Head Coach Steve Seifer said he was pleased with a lot of things his team did, but they couldn't quite finish off the chances they had. Little mistakes crept in on what was a wet and muddy day. Coming off their first ever D1A win, Sac State did, in fact, build on that. They showed themselves they could get into scoring position, and could hold a team like UCSC to just 17 points. But they needed to finish. They also needed to stay on the field. Frustration led to a couple of cards that didn't help matters.
"The weather conditions were pretty tough," said UCSC Head Coach Jeremy Sanford. "Normally I’d say our pitch is one of the bet places to play on the West Coast, but today we had an atmospheric river blowing in—a lot of rain, some wind and even some fog. We’re pretty used to those conditions, but it can rattle a team that isn't ready for it. We played great defense throughout. It's not easy to keep California Conference teams off the board, but we are a gritty side that doesn't back down from a challenge."
