The Bears were overpowered by the California Grizzlies 28-13 on Friday evening.
The Bears won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball, but on fourth down they fumbled, giving up their first turnover of the game. The Grizzlies capitalized on this with a 19-yard catch and run for a touchdown, putting them up 7-0, with 6:07 left in the quarter.
M-A couldn’t get the engine rolling on offense after having a quick three-and-out. The ball was back into the hands of the Grizzlies, and they quickly answered with an electric 60-yard passing touchdown, increasing their lead to 14-0 by the end of the first quarter.
Despite the rough start, the Bears refused to surrender. Thanks to help from multiple runs by senior running back Monty Turner and quick passes from senior quarterback Teddy Dacey, the Bears assembled a nine-minute drive that ended in Dacey scrambling to his right and slipping through the defense into the endzone to put their first points on the board. Unable to convert due to a mishandled snap, the score was settled with California up 14-6.
With a minute to go in the half, the Grizzlies were looking for a gut punch and launched a pass downfield. Freshman safety Spencer Ama leaped back and intercepted the pass, stopping the Grizzlies’ drive early. The score remained 14-6 heading into halftime.
The Grizzlies started with the ball in the second half and came in strong. They opened up multiple big runs with their offense at a distractingly fast pace. On third down, a blown coverage left a Grizzly wide open for a 16-yard touchdown, extending their lead to 21-6, with 9:47 remaining in the third quarter.
The Bears’ offense was finally starting to heat up again. A big gain on a screen pass to Turner set up a clutch third down conversion from Dacey to junior tight end Leif Weintz. On the very next play, Dacey rolled out of the pocket and hit sophomore wide receiver Kyle Gabriel for the touchdown, and with the successful extra point, the score was 21-13 Grizzlies, at the end of the third quarter.
M-A’s defense was in desperate need of a stop to make the comeback possible, and senior safety Matei Tau did just that—knocking the ball loose from the Grizzlies’ running back and into the arms of junior linebacker Kini Evaimalo.
However, the Bears’ offense wasn’t able to get anything going, with another three-and-out that gave the ball right back to California. Looking tired defensively, the Bears missed tackles and allowed lots of easy yardage. On first down, the Grizzlies’ running back shredded off multiple defenders and rushed into the endzone to close the door on M-A’s hopes of coming back. The Grizzlies increased their lead to 28-13 with 7:44 to go in the game.
The Bears’ offense ran out of juice, turning the ball over on downs, and the Grizzlies ran the clock out to win the game 28-13.
“These games don’t define who we are, and we have lots of room for improvement,” senior wide receiver Gio Torres said.
“Going into next week, we’re gonna brush these losses off and start fresh,” junior wide receiver Daniel Jackson said.
“These teams are talented, and it’s only going to make us better,” senior safety Joel Fifita said.
The Bears will face off against the San Mateo Bearcats away next Friday at 7 p.m.
