SAN RAMON — There was a thought that California’s 4-0 start, while impressive, came against inferior competition and was not necessarily a true indication of the Grizzlies’ quality.
You can throw that theory right out the window after No. 8 California controlled its matchup with McClymonds in a 28-20 win on Friday night in San Ramon, holding the Warriors to only a late touchdown in a strong second-half defensive display.
All-purpose star Luke Taylor caught two passes for TDs, returned a kickoff 80 yards for another and sealed the victory with a key run around the right side.
Where the Grizzlies go from here isn’t certain. But one thing’s for sure.
Cal High football is not an afterthought this season.
“We knew this was our biggest test so far,” said quarterback Arjun Banerjee, who tossed both TD passes to Taylor and ran for another. “They’re a very physical team. We watched a lot of film, and we just got after it.”
The teams traded scores in the early going. California (5-0) took the ball and the lead to start the game, marching 75 yards in 11 plays as Taylor caught his first touchdown on an 18-yard slant from Banerjee.
McClymonds (2-2) responded with a quick 10-play drive of its own, as Dominic Davis ran up the middle for a 4-yard TD.
California put together another strong offensive series and went up 14-6 when Banerjee ran up the middle on a read-option keeper early in the second quarter. McClymonds once again had an answer, as Berell Staples ran his own keeper through the teeth of the Grizzlies’ defense for a 7-yard score.
“We’ll take a win,” California coach Dan Calcagno said. “That’s a good football team. They’re physical, athletic. Our guys battled, and we got one, so we’re happy.”
The Grizzlies began to take control of the game late in the second quarter. On the ensuing McClymonds kickoff, Taylor weaved his way through traffic and went 80 yards untouched to put Cal up 21-12.
Then with less than a minute to go in the half, California’s defense made the play of the game. On fourth-and-10 from the Cal 11-yard line, multiple Grizzlies stonewalled Staples at the 2, preventing Mack from cutting into the deficit right before the half and getting the ball with a chance to take the lead to start the third quarter.
“That was huge,” said McClymonds coach Michael Peters. “We score there, we get the ball back, and then it puts a little pressure on them there.”
Instead, California came out in the third quarter and stopped McClymonds again on fourth down when the Warriors drove into plus territory. The Grizzles then finished their first drive of the second half with a 30-yard seed up the seam from Banerjee to Taylor.
“We just wanted to prove that we can come out and beat a good team and execute like we wanted to,” Taylor said. “Because we’ve been struggling a little bit in previous games. But I think that we’ve improved a lot throughout the season, and you can see that from the start to the finish.”
Calcagno lamented that Cal, which had a second-and-goal from the 1 early in the fourth quarter, fumbled and set up McClymonds’ last gasp, a 4-yard rush TD by Keian Davis-Jimenez with about four minutes to play.
But Mack never got the ball back. After a kickoff out of bounds gave California great field position, Taylor sealed the win with a clock-expiring first-down run on third-and-10.
It was the perfect capper to the night. Taylor, and rest of the Grizzlies, had arrived in the conversation among the best teams in the Bay Area.
“We wanted to come out and play Grizzly football,” Taylor said. “We just wanted to play our style of offense and execute all-around, offense and defense and special teams. And I think we did that.”
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