Late touchdown, interception help lift Cal in road win over Boston College
Sometimes all that matters is how you finish.
Cal looked closer to the team that lost to San Diego State than the one that won its first three games much of Saturday. Still, Justin Wilcox‘s group battled against Boston College and earned a key road victory to open ACC play.
The Bears (4-1, 1-0 ACC) trailed 17-14 entering the fourth quarter with just 237 yards to show for their efforts. That was ahead of a frantic final period that featured three lead changes. The two teams traded leads early in the fourth before quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele led an impressive drive down the stretch.
The capper was a 51-yard connection with tight end Mason Mini that put the Bears up 28-24 with 1:30 left to play. The Bears would not be able to rest easy, however. The Eagles (1-3, 0-2) mounted an impressive final drive of their own and threatened to score.
But linebacker Luke Ferrelli came up with a game-sealing interception of BC quarterback Dylan Lonergan in the end zone with 19 seconds left.
“Sometimes you gotta win ugly and find a way,” Wilcox said. “And, we did that. So, I really appreciate the fight that the guys showed.”
Sagapolutele helps Cal get back on track
The win helps rid the Bears of some of the sting following their 34-0 loss to San Diego State in Week 4. That loss halted a three-game winning streak to open the season and brought Cal back down to earth. Sagapolutele didn’t reach the end zone for the first time in last week’s loss.
His game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter certainly allowed him to close out a game feeling confident about his abilities again.
“They kind of played cloud coverage to the boundary,” Sagapolutele said of Cal’s final touchdown play. “I had my eyes there, I stepped up and had a little crease. Was thinking about running it. I pump faked it to Jacob. The safety bit, and I put my eyes to Mason. Mason was over the top. Just gave him a chance, and Mason did the rest. That was something that we really needed.”
The freshman quarterback threw an interception early in Saturday’s game. However, he closed out the game with 254 yards passing and a pair of touchdowns. Sagapolutele completed 22 of his 34 attempts in the road win.
Ferrelli’s interceptions closes out up-and-down performance for the defense
Cal’s defense had plenty of issues slowing down the Boston College rushing attack on Saturday. The Eagles ended the day with 178 yards on the ground with 171 of those coming on 15 carries from running back Turbo Richard. He scored two touchdowns as the BC ground attack controlled most of the game.
Lonergan attempted 37 passes in the contest but was picked off twice by the Bears. Hezekiah Masses intercepted a pass early in the fourth quarter leading to Cal’s first lead of the game, 21-17, with 13:47 to play.
Ferrelli’s interception came with the Eagles on the 5-yard line and in position to retake the lead late. The redshirt freshman who made just his fifth start Saturday was in the right spot and made the right decision on the play.
“I was really just melting off the quarterback, playing off the quarterback,” he said. “Just playing with my vision, and just came right to me.”
The Bears had some issues tackling once again Saturday. However, Wilcox appreciated the resiliency of his group and its ability persevere when it mattered most.
“In the moment, the guys made the plays that we needed to make to win,” he said. “It’s great to learn all those lessons when you find a victory.”
Kendrick spearheads Cal rushing attack
Offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin has been adamant that Cal will be a run-heavy team since he arrived. It has not fully materialized as of yet. The Bears did take a more measured approach toward kickstarting the running game Saturday.
Cal ran the ball 36 times in the victory over Boston College with running back Kendrick Raphael being responsible for 24 of those carries. He ended up with 113 yards rushing and a touchdown that put the Bears ahead early in the fourth quarter. Much of his production was a slow grind of two and three yards at a time.
However, the NC State transfer continues to look like the bell cow at the position.
“Emphasis was the run game,” Sagapolutele said of Cal’s approach Saturday. “That’s what we did tonight. Every running back that got their hand on the ball, got yards. I think we had a positive run almost every time we rushed the ball. … Our emphasis was to run that ball, and that’s what we did.”
Fellow running back LJ Johnson scored a touchdown late in the first quarter on a 1-yard run to break what had been a 14-0 lead for the Eagles.
The Bears return to Berkeley for next week’s homecoming matchup against Duke.
