Although senior defensive lineman Jose Rosado’s road to glory didn’t end with a score, it was the highlight of the game and energized the Grizzly possibly for weeks to come.
Cal’s 43-20 win over Washington was a solid way to open the season, and Jose’s strip of the ball from the Husky quarterback at the Grizzly goal line midway through the fourth quarter put the nail in the coffin.
The play halted a Husky red-zone scoring opportunity in the fourth quarter with the score 36-13, essentially sealing Cal’s first win of the season.
Senior quarterback Kevin Farley went 8-10 for 101 yards and three touchdown passes to highlight the offensive attack, and senior running back Armani Washington had two rushing scores and a receiving touchdown.
The Grizzlies scored two quick touchdowns in the first quarter. A missed extra point and a 2-point conversion made the score 14-0.
Washington struck in the second quarter, but missed the extra point. Kevin answered with a touchdown pass to junior Blake Guardino. Senior fullback Brian Krause was able to pick up big yardage during the quarter, and senior Cooper Jensen made a rare sack to stop a Husky drive in its tracks.
The Huskies drew first blood in the second half, but Armani responded with a tough run for a touchdown. A fumbled snap led to the second 2-point conversion of the game for Cal.
In the fourth quarter, Kevin added another touchdown pass, this time to junior tight end Shane Haley, while junior running back Karris Johnson had a 22 yard TD run. With 17 seconds left, the Huskies scored one more time, but at that point it didn’t matter.
In the last three years, Cal is 3-1 versus Washington. The only loss came in the first round of the 2010 NCS playoffs. Last year, the Grizzlies defeated the Huskies in both the regular season and the playoffs. One can expect a rematch in this year’s playoffs, and the Grizzlies will be waiting.
After a 45-3 slaughtering of College Park last year, the Falcons (1-0) will be looking for redemption Saturday night at DVC. The game kicks off at 7 p.m.
But it will be difficult to beat the high-powered Grizzlies if the Falcons fumble like they did against Alhambra last week. Even though College Park prevailed 28-20, the Falcons fumbled six times, losing three of them.
The undisciplined Falcons also committed 10 penalties for 77 yards. It was like they tried to keep Alhambra in the game.
College Park does have a good running game going for them. Running back Daivon Ballard carried the rock 24 times for 102 yards and a touchdown. The Falcons also racked up another 100 yards between backup running backs Rhyan Hughes and Johnny Croft. The team ran for 220 yards total.
The Grizzlies’ explosive offense will look to put up 40+ points again on this Falcons’ defense. Last week in Cal’s 43-20 win over Washington, senior quarterback Kevin Farley completed 8 of 10 passes for 101 yards and connected for three touchdowns to senior Armani Washington, junior receiver Blake Guardino, and junior tight end Shane Haley.
Cal was also proficient on the ground, racking up 261 yards between the three-headed running attack Armani, junior Karris Johnson, and senior Jarrell Dunn.
The Grizzlies should win this game with ease, especially if they score any less than 40 points. I will be surprised if the game is close, especially if the Falcons keep turning the ball over like they did last game.
I see the Grizzlies at 2-0 after tomorrow’s game. I predict Kevin will throw for more than 200 yards, and our running game pile up well over 200 yards. Final score: Cal 52, College Park 7.
-Luke Finkel, asst. sports editor
