Cal survives a rash of first-half injuries.

Jan. 31, 1998

BERKELEY, Calif. - Cal survived a rash of first-half injuries to beat arch-rival UC Davis, 48-5, Saturday.

Five Golden Bears were down in the opening 20 minutes; prop Peter Su, flyhalf Dave Stroble, flanker John Taylor and center Deron McElroy. Nursing a narrow 12 point lead, the team even played a man short for several minutes while Stroble, the team's captain, recovered from a blow to the head. He returned unaffected, kicking four difficult conversions and a drop goal in the match. Cal carried a 17-5 lead into half-time when the most serious injury of the day was revealed. Former Cal football fullback Marc Vera was sidelined with a shoulder injury and the winger may be out several weeks. The Bears were undaunted by the substitutions, gradually pulling away from the Aggies in the second half.

"It was a very competitive game," said Cal head coach Jack Clark. "The score flattered us. They are a tough team and they exposed several aspects of our game that we need to work on." Davis, in fact, made several forays deep into Cal territory, but only managed one try despite periods of sustained pressure in both halves. The Bears' injuries meant debuts by two freshman, prop Chris Miller and flanker Paul Virk, both of whom played well in the crucial league game. Virk shuttled between flanker and center tackling hard and slicing through the Davis defense when the ball was in hand.

Cal's next home games are against two of Canada's best varsity sides, the University of British Columbia and the University of Victoria.

           
            1st Half        2nd Half         Final
Cal            17              31             48
Davis           5               0              5
Scoring First Half:   Deron McElroy try (5) 6th min.; 
                      Charlie Masters try (5) 18th min., Dave Stroble conv. (2); 
                      Nic Sliffe try (5) 27th min.; 
                      Davis try (5) injury time.  
        Second Half:  Shaun Paga try (5) 5th min., Stroble conv. (2); 
                      Kirk Khasigian try (5) 14th min., Stroble conv. (2); 
                      Stroble drop goal (3) 31st min.; 
                      Ryan Friend try (5) 35th min. Stroble conv. (2); 
                      Sam Enochian try (5) 38th min, Sliffe conv. (2).
Cal Record: 2-0