October 18, 2009

Chris Nguon
BearTerritory.net Senior Writer

The Cal football team returned to Memorial Stadium Sunday evening for a brisk workout under the cloudy, cool East Bay weather. It was certainly a big contrast to Saturday, where the Bears fought their way through 100-degree weather to earn a much-needed victory that broke a two-game losing streak. The 45-26 win over the Bruins was both important and symbolic for the program, especially for head coach Jeff Tedford, who was doused with Gatorade as the game ended.

As written about from many sources leading up to the contest against UCLA, Cal as a program had struggled to earn a "W" in Los Angeles against the Bruins and the cross-town Trojans since Tedford has been in Berkeley.

While past events don't necessarily dictate what goes on in the present, there's no doubt the victory Saturday afternoon gave the Bears something to smile about.

"It's nice for the program and it's nice for this team," Tedford said when asked again on Sunday. "It's a question we have to answer every year. It's not something I think about but it's nice that it is behind us."

Tedford even received a Gatorade shower as the game ended, as wide receiver Nyan Boateng and nose tackle Derrick Hill dumped the cooler right over the head coach.

"Me and (recruiting coordinator) Kevin Parker was talking about it earlier in the week," said Boateng. "He told me that Coach had never won in L.A. before and I didn't know that. We thought that if we won big we could hit him after the game with a Gatorade shower."

Usually, Gatorade showers are reserved for conference clinching or a bowl game victory. While Saturday's contest obviously didn't fall under neither of those categories, breaking the 0-7 streak in Los Angeles was a hurdle that Cal needed to get over.

"There's been a lot of milestones through the years with places where we haven't won and all that kind of thing so I'm glad that one is behind us," Tedford said.

Boateng, who returned to the field for the first time after sitting out the last two games due to a broken foot, admitted there was some hesitation going into the decision.

"I didn't know if it was a good idea because of what has happened the last two games," Boateng said. "But we just felt like coach deserved it because he's worked hard."

Added Tedford right after the win Saturday: "It felt great for a lot of reasons."

BOATENG BACK

Speaking of Boateng, the wide receiver came back to the lineup at just the right time.

The physical 6-foot-2, 211 pound athlete worked hard during his time off to get back on the field and that motivation paid off as Boateng added another weapon for quarterback Kevin Riley.

Boateng caught just two passes against the Bruins, but his presence in the lineup this season has all led to solid outings by Riley. Saturday's contest gave more evidence that his presence is a bigger help for the Cal offense than many folks might've originally believed.

"It felt good man because it was a blessing to be able to be out there running," Boateng said. "The most important thing was that we got a win."

Boateng, who was a true freshman at Florida when the Gators won their first of two BCS National Championships under head coach Urban Meyer, has experienced a lot of ups and downs during his collegiate career.

Now in his last season, Boateng admitted he was happy to see his team bounce back from two dreadful outings.

"That win told everybody that we are a good team," he said. "UCLA had a good defense so that showed that we are tough and that we can win on the road."

"That BYE week was key for us," Boateng added. "We were able to take a step back and figured out what was wrong. Saturday showed a lot of character."

BIT ABOUT BEAU

The last three games, redshirt freshman Beau Sweeney has been the number two quarterback behind Kevin Riley.

While the Bears hope Riley doesn't go down with a injury anytime soon, players do feel that Sweeney and redshirt sophomore Brock Mansion gives Cal a solid option if that were to happen.

Over the last two years, fans have been able to watch Mansion in action a bit, both in practice and briefly in games. But, not as much info is known about Sweeney and what he brings to the table.

Boateng briefly touched on that Sunday evening.

"First of all, Beau is a great kid," Boateng said. "He's a fun dude to be around. We have a close relationship because we joke around a lot."

Sweeney played through all of Spring Ball and Fall Camp as the number three quarterback behind Riley and Mansion but in practice the last month has outplayed Mansion according to Tedford and the coaching staff to earn the backup role.

"As far as Beau as a player, I can say that he's a dedicated and hard worker," Boateng described. "He comes to work everyday. He throws a nice ball, has a pretty strong arm. He can run as well. If something were to happen to Kevin, I think he'll go in and do a pretty good job."

Boateng also made it a point to add however that Riley is clearly the offense's leader.

"Ideally, we feel like Kevin is the best option for us," Boateng added. "Kevin is our guy."

YANKEE DOODLE

Finally, a bit about baseball.

Boateng, who hails from Brooklyn, said he's keeping a close eye on the hometown team and the quest towards yet another title.

"Alex Rodriguez is surprising everybody out there man," Boateng explained. "I'm looking forward to the Yankees going to the World Series.

"That'll be fun," he concluded. "We haven't been in awhile."

FROSH CB MAKING STRIDES

It's not easy for a freshman corner to be thrown right in the mix, but Houston native Josh Hill is starting to get the hang of things.

Hill, who stepped in the starting lineup for the previously ineffective Darian Hagan three weeks ago against Oregon, has now made three consecutive starts for the Bears.

And while the 5-foot-11, 194 pound cornerback has certainly recorded his fair share of young mistakes out there on the field, it's also clear that he's getting better each game."

"I've progressed pretty well I feel," Hill said on Sunday. "As with every player though, there's still a lot to improve on. I've done some good things and some bad things."

In Cal's victory over UCLA, Hill notched a career-high eight tackles, which made him the second leading Cal tackler on the day behind linebacker Mike Mohamed.

For the season, Hill has tallied 20 tackles, three pass breakups and an interception.

Hill has had a quick ascension to the top of the depth chart. Coming into the season, it was believed that Hill would be a big special teams contributor but was probably a year or two away from starting.

In front of Hill were several more experienced players, including Chris Conte, Charles Amadi, Bryant Nnabuife and the aforementioned Hagan. Not to mention fellow freshman Marc Anthony as well.

However, with Conte now at safety and Hagan struggling to get going, Hill's play in practice showed enough to for the coaching staff to stick him in the starting lineup.

Of course, the staff is not afraid to do that by any means. Conte and Syd'Quan Thompson also started as freshmen.

"I just had it in my mind that my goal was (to start)," Hill said. "I believed that the hard work was going to pay off."

EXTRA POINTS