Football: Cal Gets Revenge With 35-20 Win Against Washington

Drew Reil was sharp in his debut as Cal's starting quarterback.

Kyle Bonagura, Patch Staff

Posted Sun, Sep 5, 2010 at 4:35 am PT|Updated Mon, Sep 6, 2010 at 4:11 pm PT

California 35, Washington 20

The Star: Cal receiver John Sarmenta caught four passes for 88 yards and a pair of scores, teaming up with quarterback Drew Reil, who connected on 10-of-15 passes for 174 yards.

The Turning Point: After Washington scored with 39.3 seconds left in the first half to cut the lead to 14-13, the Grizzlies answered with a four-play, 65-yard drive which was capped by a 23-yard touchdown from Reil to Sarmenta with 4.1 seconds left in the half. Cal didn't look back.

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The Quote: "After starting 0-2 last year, this feels a whole lot better." — Cal coach Eric Billeci

What's Next? Cal will play College Park in its home opener on Friday at 7 p.m.

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Bottom Line: The Grizzlies' balanced offensive attack had little trouble moving the ball against a Washington team which ended Cal's season a year ago.

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After getting eliminated at home in the North Coast Section playoffs by Washington last year, the California High football didn't have to look hard for offseason motivation.

The Grizzlies knew they'd be opening the 2010 season on the road at Washington and used revenge as a rallying cry.

"We brought up this game all summer and then again all week in practice," second-year head coach Eric Billeci said. "It was a big deal."

After getting off to a slow start, the Grizzlies — and starting quarterback Drew Reil — used a balanced offensive attack to claim the revenge they sought with a 35-20 win.

"After starting 0-2 last year, this feels a whole lot better" Billeci said.

Reil, who was making his first high school start at any level, connected on his first five attempts and finished the game 10-for-15 for 174 yards with a pair of touchdown passes.

"I've got a ton of confidence in (Reil)," Billeci said. "He finds a way to make plays and there was no reason for him to go in with a lack of confidence."

Washington used a 17-play, 70-yard scoring drive to take a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter, but Cal quickly responded.

Reil found John Sarmenta from 15 yards out to cap a 73-yard drive and tie the game at 7-7. After the Cal defense forced a punt, Reil was picked off — one of few mistakes he made — but Trevor Taft made sure it didn't matter.

The senior safety picked off an Anmol Singh pass and returned it 67 yard for a score to put Cal up 14-7 with 3 minutes, 45 seconds left in the first half.

Washington briefly took back the momentum with a 40-yard touchdown pass from Singh to DeAndre Carter on fourth-and-six from the Cal 40 with 39.3 seconds left in the half. Carter appeared to be stopped short of the first down, but broke several tackles before breaking free and sprinting to the endzone.

Cal blocked the point-after and Reil and the Cal offense went back to work.

A 16-yard screen to Taft, followed by a 26-yard draw by running back Kyle Alvarez set the Grizzlies up with a first down at the Washington 23. After an incompletion, Reil hit Sarmenta streaking down the left sideline for another score to put Cal in full control.

"It helps (Reil) to have Sarmenta out there," Billeci said. "He's so crafy and sets his routes up so well. If they weren't going to play a safety over the top of him, we were going to take shots and that's what we did."

Sarmenta, who finished with four catches for 88 yards and the two scores, had nothing but praise for his new quarterback.

"(Reil) threw the ball great," Sarmenta said. "He's really composed in the pocket and I give him all the props. He's really grown."

Washington went three-and-out on its first drive of the second half, but a Cal fumble ended what was a promising drive for the Grizzlies and gave the Huskies the ball at their own 10.

A Singh incompletion on fourth-and-seven from the Cal 44 returned possession to the Grizzles – this time they'd take advantage.

Alvarez took a handoff and went 11 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to cap a 56-yard drive and put the Grizzlies up 27-13. He finished the game with 91 yards on 10 carries.

After the teams took turns turning the ball over on downs, Taft grabbed his second interception of the game to setup Cal's final scoring drive of the game. Reil, Alvarez, Jerrell Dunn and Kevin Ezaburio all carried the ball on the drive before Armani Washington went 34 yards to the house to put the game out of reach.

Washington added a 49-yard strike from Singh to Giles Chapman, but the outcome was well in hand.

The Grizzlies will attempt to move to 2-0 on Friday with their home-opener against College Park.

"It's going to be a test to see what we're made of," Billeci said. "You have to have a complete team effort to stop a veer (offense) team, so we'll find out."

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California 35, Washington 20

California 0 20 0 15 — 35
Washington 7 6 0 7 — 20

Scoring summary
1:41, 1st: W — Csech 1 run (Laidlaw kick)
10:48, 2nd: C — Sarmenta 15 pass from Reil (Rivas kick)
3:45, 2nd: C — Taft 67 interception return (Rivas kick)
39.3, 2nd: W — Carter 40 pass from Singh (kick blocked)
4.1, 2nd: C — Sarmenta 23 pass from Reil (run failed)
11:53, 4th: C — Alvarez 11 run (Dunn from Sarmenta)
3:33, 4th: C — Washington 34 run (Rivas kick)
4th: W — Chapman 49 pass from Singh (Laidlaw kick)

Individual Statistics
Rushing (car-yards): C — Alvarez 10-91, Washington 4-47, Krause 4-27, Dunn 2-16, Ezaburio 7-11, Ceccarelli 4-3, Reil 3-3, Farley 1-(-5). W — Carter 14-53, Cesch 13-42, Chapman 2-9, Singh 3-7.
Passing (comp-att-yards-int): C — Reil 10-15-174-1; Farley 0-1-0-0. W — 12-27-210-3.
Receiving (rec-yards): C — Sarmenta 4-88, Taft 3-38, Deans 2-32, Alvarez 1-16. W — Carter 4-83, Jennings 6-63, Chapman 2-57, Shrisharsha 1-7.

Team offense (rush-pass-total)
California 193-174-367
Washington 105-210-315
Fumbles/lost: C — 2/1; W — 1/0.
Records: Cal 1-0; Washington 0-1.