LIVERMORE, CA - California displayed versatility and toughness in its East Bay Athletic League opener on Friday night, pulling away in the second half to defeat Livermore 24-7.
California senior fullback Jacob Levers opened up the game with a 44-yard touchdown for the Grizzlies (2-0) in the first quarter, and Max Mendence's extra-point propelled the Grizzlies off to an early 7-0 lead, just over three minutes into the game. Towards the end of the quarter, Mendence drilled a 35-yard field goal, staking Cal to an early 10-point lead.
Senior running back Mekhi McElroy scored the Cowboys’ only touchdown of the game, less than one minute into the second quarter, when he took it in from five yards out.
“The mistakes that we made, those need to be fixed," McElroy said. "Now we just need to come back and get ready for Monte Vista.”
The California defense came out strong after halftime, led by junior middle linebacker Julian Iribarren, who was seemingly there for every big play and tackle against the Livermore offense.
“We just had to come together and play strong defense and not let dumb mistakes happen,” said Iribarren.
California's offense also provided a lights out performance in the third quarter. Senior quarterback Ryan Wright hit senior tight end Chris Henry for a 42-yard gain, resulting in a one-yard pass completed for a touchdown to junior running back Caden Jarvis. Junior defensive back Danny Wszolek then got the ball back for the Grizzlies with an interception. At the end of the third, Cal held a 17-7 lead.
Another Jarvis touchdown put things away in the fourth, allowing the Grizzlies to wrap up the 17-point victory over Livermore (2-1).
“Tonight, Cal High came out, and we expected them to run the ball. They bank on us and other teams not being disciplined, and they exploited that on 2 or 3 plays," said Livermore first-year head coach Terry Butler. "I felt that our boys played a good game up until then, and I think if we don’t fumble going into the end zone and we’re up 14-10, I think that’s a big swing in this game and they’re playing catch up, which I don’t believe they’re built to do. Getting ready for Monte Vista, they present issues as well as far as just their ability to run the ball and throw the ball. This week we have a bye going into it, so we will be working on both those things, runs and pass drops.”
The Cowboys are now in preparation to compete against Monte Vista (2-0), on September 22.
California head coach Eric Belleci had praise for their first league opponent of the season.
“Well, Livermore gave us all we could handle, they are a really good team, much improved from prior seasons, so I feel like we got a really good test tonight," Belleci said. "I’m glad we were able to pull it out in the second half.”
Looking ahead, the Grizzlies will take on Amador Valley (1-1) next week.
