Stories From McKale

California cornerback Darius Allensworth has a concern for when fellow defensive backGriffin Piatt returns to action.

“I told him I need to get my picks [interceptions] before you return because you’re going to take all of them,” Allensworth said with a smile.

Despite Allensworth’s humorous fear, if the rest of the season continues to go as is, he’ll have plenty of opportunities for interceptions as the Golden Bears currently lead the nation in turnovers gained.

“Darius saying that shows we’re hungrier as a defense than before,” linebacker Hardy Nickerson said. “It’s great having a competitive defense like that because everyone out there wants to make the play. That’s when you know you have a good defense.”

Just a third of the way through the season and Cal not only is well on its way to passing its 2014 season total of 17 turnovers gained, but it currently leads the nation with 14.

Combined with their already relentless seasoned offense, the Bears boast a +6 turnover margin, tied for second in the Pac-12, tied for eighth nationally, and a critical element to the team’s undefeated start. All that being said, the Cal coaches still see untapped potential in this defense and are just as eager as the players to try and further the defensive unit’s success.

“We still have work to do,” defensive coordinator Art Kaufman said. “We’re happy to see where we are but our main focus is to continue to do our job, pay attention to detail and get better.”

Although the wins and losses are more important than the stats, it’s hard not to be aware of the improvement on defense. Leading the way is the number of interceptions the Bears have compiled through the first four games of the season.

Cal’s nine interceptions this year are just three less than they had all of last season and already four more than they had two years ago, but even more impressive is where they stack up on the national stage. Cal leads the nation in interceptions, and it hasn’t just been one defender picking off all the passes. Eight different Cal defenders have recorded an interception this year, that’s more than any other FBS school in the country.

The Bears have more interceptions than Louisville, TCU and Louisiana Tech – 2014’s interception leaders– had at this point last year. At their current pace, the Bears are on track to finish the regular season with 27 interceptions, which would be three shy of the school-record 30 registered by the 1948 team.

“We’re hungry,” Cal’s interception and turnover leader Darius White said. “We all want to go out there and make the play that gives our offense the ball.”

White leads the team with two interceptions, and combined with his fumble recovery, his three turnovers are also a team best.

The Bears’ aren’t just playing good defense in the air; they’re also stripping footballs and recovering fumbles at a rate among the best in the country.

Cal has recovered five fumbles, tied for second most in the nation. Furthermore, they’re causing opposing ball carriers to fumble at a notable rate. Opponents have fumbled an average of 2.5 times per game (half recovered by opponents). That’s tied for the most per game in the country. It’s the extra attention to causing fumbles the players believe is a key to helping an already fine-tuned offense continue to cook.

“We have the best offense in the country and, as a defense, we have to make sure we keep giving the ball back to them so we can score more points,” Nickerson said. “Every day in practice, every tackle, we’re practicing stripping the ball. Even if it’s on the sidelines.”

At their current rate, the team is on track to force 30 fumbles and recovery 15 this season, a number that would have ranked in the top 10 in the country last year.

While the coaches and players don’t want to get ahead of themselves, it’s hard not to take notice of a team leading the nation in turnovers. Cal is on pace to force 42 turnovers, which would be the most by a Bears’ team since 1948.

“The games are only going to get harder as the season goes, but if we continue to work on executing our technique and our assignments on every play like the coaches ask us, we will all get our chances to make plays,” Nickerson said.

So Allensworth really has nothing to worry about.

Before California and Utah kick off Saturday in Salt Lake City, the Golden Bears’ centerDominic Granado might do something no other player on field will do with referee Michael Batlan.

“I’ll probably give him a hug,” Dominic said.

At first glance it’s a bizarre scene for most to comprehend. However, the redshirt junior from Huntington Beach, Calif. is the son of Pac-12 official Al Granado who introduced and taught his son the game. Furthermore, he has left a career path for Dominic to follow.

“I pretty much know at least one official at every game,” Dominic said. “They’re like family to me. I’ve had Thanksgiving dinners at their house. I’ve known [Batlan] since I was little.”

Al, who is currently taking a leave of absence from Pac-12 officiating while Dominic is in college, has been in the football officiating business for 30 years now. He’s nearing his 20th with the Pac-12 Conference.

“I go to most [of Dominic’s games],” Al said. “I usually sit up in the press box with the officials and watch the game from there. I can see everything better than in the stands and I can closely watch on the televisions.”

Al played college football as a center at Humboldt State. After graduating, a friend got him started on officiating. Highly recruited as a referee, Al quickly made his way through the ranks to become a staple in Pac-12 officiating.

Al has refereed some of Cal’s biggest conference games in recent memory, most notably in 2003 when the Bears’ defeated then No. 3 USC in triple overtime in Berkeley. He also was a referee the following year in Los Angeles when No. 1 USC and No. 7 Cal faced off in one of the biggest games in Bears’ history.

“During that game I saw Lee Corso on the field and he told me there was more NFL talent on that field that day than in any other game he’d ever seen,” Al recalled.

While Al traveled the country refereeing games, right by his side for most of it was young Dominic who grew to love football more and more with every trip.

“My best memories as a kid growing up were going to college practices and games with my dad while he worked,” Dominic said. “It was fun because it was sort of a family thing and I got to go to a lot of cool places and big games like the Sugar Bowl.”

As Dominic got older his dad became more involved in his football career as a coach. After spending a couple of years at Golden West College, the budding offensive lineman started to gain attention from Pac-12 coaches.

“He’s real athletic,” said Cal run game coordinator and offensive line coach Brandon Jones. “He’s done an absolutely remarkable job moving from tackle to center and taking on the responsibilities.”

In 2015, Dominic joined an experienced and veteran starting offensive line unit that currently is one of the least penalized in the FBS. Through five games the Bears’ offensive line has only been called for four penalties. Jones said prior to the season the offensive line agreed to have a goal of finishing the regular season with 10 or fewer penalties, which they’re on track to accomplish. Dominic has yet to draw a whistle from a referee.

Dominic described his dad as a strict parent with regards to studies, football and how he carries himself. Jones said he’s never before coached a player whose parent was an official but definitely believes Dominic has learned a great deal of discipline and knowledge from his dad.

“He’s taught me technique, the rules and definitely how to respect the officials,” Dominic said of his dad. “We talk after every game and go over everything. He’s always been there for advice.”

When Cal decided to move Dominic from tackle to center to fill a need both he and his father were ecstatic. Though Dominic said he’d happily play at whatever position the coaches asked him, they both believe his best opportunity to play at the next level will be at center because of his athleticism. As a 6-foot-4 nearly 300-pound lineman Granado can quickly get down the field at a sub five-second 40-yard dash rate.

But once he is no longer snapping the ball and his football career comes to an end that athleticism will come in handy at his next job, which he says will absolutely be a referee.

“He’d make a great official,” Al said. “He understands the game, knows the rules and he’s pretty level headed.”

Al, who has been officiating in the Arena Football League during the summer, plans to return to Pac-12 refereeing in some capacity after Dominic graduates next year. As for Dominic, he knows no one will hand him a job as a Pac-12 referee and is fine with making his way up the ladder like his father before him.

“There’s no doubt I want to be an official,” Dominic said. “For now, though, my focus is this team, graduating and enjoying my time wearing the pads.”

Wednesday, March 14, 2012 was a day that had been circled on Giorgio Tavecchio’s calendar months in advance.

It was the date of Cal’s pro day where professional scouts come watch the Golden Bears perform quintessential drills prior to the NFL Draft. When the date came, however, the late blooming kicker was left in the rain.

“Everyone had gone inside to do their drills,” Tavecchio recalled. “When I saw scouts were leaving, I decided to go out on the field and go through my routine. Maybe a couple would catch me kick as they left, but by the time I was five or six kicks in, all of them had left.”

As he trudged through his precise routine on the water-soaked Witter Rugby Field, the only people who watched were three teammates and their team chaplain.

“I made it a point to do it and finish what I had set out to do regardless if anyone was watching,” Tavecchio added.

As a walk-on and four-year starter at Cal, Tavecchio finished his collegiate career making 75 percent of his field goal attempts, despite making just 68 percent through his first three years. If he ever makes an NFL roster, he would become the third Italian-born NFL player since 1966 and the first since 1987.

But what drives Tavecchio to keep trying is deeper than the notoriety or the game.

As he went through his routine in the rain, one of the three teammates that stuck around to watch was roommate and fellow Italian-born kicker Vincenzo D’Amato.

It was by complete coincidence the two Italians ended up playing on the same college team, and the two have become the best of friends.

“We’re two very different people, but our time together where we would just sit at Grizzly Peak overlooking the Bay and talk about our dreams I think brought us together,” D’Amato said.

Tavecchio is a fashion forward epicurean. He was voted best dressed at Campolindo High School in nearby Moraga and is a regular at some of Berkeley’s Mediterranean restaurants. When he’s not kicking at California Memorial Stadium, he’s usually at Café Strada in the heart of the Cal campus drinking a cappuccino.

“Don’t give Giorgio a cappuccino in a paper cup,” said former San Francisco 49ers’ kicker David Akers, a teammate of Tavecchio’s during the 49ers’ training camp in 2012. “It’s that fine passion for even a cappuccino that you see translate onto the field and really anything he wants to pursue.”

During a majority of his time in college, Tavecchio lived with his family at their home roughly 12 miles northeast of campus. So instead of constantly commuting home, Café Strada, with a cappuccino in a glass, of course, became his second home.

Tavecchio often sits at Café Strada with his laptop, in which he has designed a spreadsheet with the name of every kicker that graduated with him in 2012. The spreadsheet tracks each kicker’s football career.

Of all the kickers from the 2012 class only five were active in 2015 NFL training camps. Tavecchio is the only one of the five yet to make a regular-season roster.

“I saw him day in and day out work his tail off and get better every day he came,” said Akers. “I’d like to see him get a chance, but kicking is hard. Sometimes you just have to wait for the wind to blow in the right direction and for the right door to open.”

For Tavecchio, riding the wind’s breeze has opened doors to many opportunities on the football field.

A standout high school soccer player committed to play at UC Davis; Tavecchio didn’t take football placekicking seriously until his senior year of high school. When UC Davis wouldn’t offer Tavecchio an opportunity on the football team he reached out to Cal.

“I was fresh,” Tavecchio said about his workout with the Bears the summer before his freshman year. “The other kickers were extremely talented but my leg was a little fresher.”

Offered a spot on the team, Tavecchio was named the starting kicker for the 2008 season opener against Michigan State, just a couple months after his workout.

Shortly following his Pro Day disappointment in 2012, another chance came knocking. Looking for a way to get in front of scouts, he managed to find his way into the San Francisco 49ers local tryout where he was the only kicker.

“I don’t think I even signed up,” Tavecchio said. “I think I just showed up.”

Luckily for Tavecchio, the kicker for the 49ers at the time, Akers, was also left footed. Not wanting to have to use two different place holders, then-San Francisco special team’s coach Brad Seely opened another door for Tavecchio by offering a spot in training camp following the 2012 NFL Draft.

“I began to see a lot of myself in Giorgio,” Akers said. “He showed a real passion for the game, for the process and for life. I think his passion helped him get better each time he went out there.”

Both Akers and Tavecchio said there’s an unsung rule in the NFL that ‘one good day earns you two more days and two good days earns you three more.’

For Tavecchio, the opportunity and success he had with the 49ers opened doors for him to join the preseason rosters for the other teams and, most recently, the Oakland Raiders.

“He’s had so much preseason experience he’s earned a full regular season as a kicker,” Akers said. “Once he gets that chance I know he’ll take it far. I’m rooting for him.”

Since being cut from the Raiders in August, Tavecchio has had two workouts during the season with NFL teams, most recently with the Houston Texans. A tryout can be a hectic experience that involves a last-second phone call and sometimes an immediate round trip across the country that in total takes less than 24 hours.

But it’s what keeps Tavecchio going.

“That craziness, that’s the uncertainty of this business that’s part of the challenge, but that’s part of the journey,” Tavecchio said. “So if you have the right perspective, it’s beautiful. It’s such a blessing to just be called in the first place. I’ve found a lot of richness in these experiences.”

Back in Berkeley, in a completely empty California Memorial Stadium, is Tavecchio. He’s going through his kicking routine as he does three days a week preparing for the next opportunity. This time, though, he’s wearing full pads, including a mouthpiece and even a girdle.

“It’s not what you do when everyone is watching but what you do when no one is watching,” D’Amato said. “Giorgio, like kicking, exemplifies that.”

Tavecchio’s outfit on this day is anything but Milan trendy. He is wearing his Cal football helmet and shoulder pads, high school football practice jersey, football pants from the Lions’ training camp, an undershirt from the Raiders’ camp, one sock from the Packers, the other from the Lions and his mouthpiece he never actually wore in a game because it once made him gag.

“This is what living the dream looks like,” Tavecchio said with smile. “I’m a smorgasbord of this journey.”

From standing in the rain kicking on his pro day in front of no scouts to flying around the country trying out in front of many, the journey has made the supposed “struggle” all worth it.

“I don’t know if I’ll make it,” he said. “But I definitely see this journey for me to be something more than just kicking footballs. It’s a purpose to be the right kind of person that gives himself and inspires other people to be the best they can be.”

With less than two minutes on the clock and the 113th Big Game on the line in a battle of two top-25 teams, California linebacker Mike Mohamed etched his name in Big Game immortality.

Backed against the end zone and Heisman Trophy runner-up and future NFL quarterback, Andrew Luck, marching the Stanford offense down the field for a potential game-winning touchdown, Mohamed reached to the sky to intercept any thought of a Stanford victory.

“I just remember we had fought so hard,” Mohamed recalled. “Just one of those great feelings, and afterwards, our fans rushed their field. That was definitely one of the most memorable things.”

As the Cal fans flowed onto the field at Stanford Stadium to celebrate the Golden Bears’ 34-28 win, in the middle of it with his eye black smeared from sweat and tears was Cal running back Shane Vereen.

Just a sophomore that night, Vereen carried the load of the offense with 42 rushing attempts. Vereen, who had only been inserted as the starter the week prior, ran for 193 yards and scored three touchdowns.

His efforts significantly helped keep the coveted Axe trophy with the Bears in Berkeley for a second straight year.

Vereen has gone to have a successful NFL career that included a breakout 2012 playoff performance and a 2014 Super Bowl victory with the New England Patriots. In the Super Bowl he caught 11 passes for 64 yards. However, despite all the NFL success, Vereen still says the 2009 Big Game reigns as one of his favorite games he’s ever played in.

“It’s still up there,” Vereen said. “Definitely the best in my college career. A real emotional win.”

Similar to Mohamed, Vereen says one of the most memorable parts of that game was how the Cal fans rushed the field to celebrate the win with the team.

“We won at their place and rushed their field,” Vereen emphasized. “And got the Axe back,”

Since Vereen’s Giants have a bye this week, he and some former teammates are planning on attending this year’s edition of the Big Game, which falls exactly five years to the day after his heroic game. Both Vereen and Mohamed say they stay in touch with friends, teammates and are closely watching every Cal game.

“We try and stay in touch as much as possible,” Mohammed, who has played in the NFL since 2011, said. “It’s tough but I try to stay in touch after games. After every game you’ll run into Cal guys and say hi and catch up.”

After Vereen and Mohamed shook the hands of the defeated Cardinal following that epic victory, they ran to the Axe and carried it to their locker room. There, surrounded by teammates, Mohamed once again reached high, this time with the Axe in hand.

“It was definitely the cherry on top,” Mohammed said.

Tomorrow night, the current Bears look to bring the Axe home to Berkeley, but for that 2009 Cal team, the Axe was there’s that night.

“We weren’t intimidated,” Vereen said. “The Axe belongs in Berkeley.”

It’s Tuesday morning, four days before the 2013 Big Game and California defensive end Kyle Kragen is having his daily in-season breakfast routine.

Six eggs scrambled. Sometimes seven when he feels like living on the edge.

“I hate eggs,” Kragen says. “I just throw them down.”

During the following offseason, the nutrition buff increased it to 12 eggs a day with half being just egg whites. Despite the hatred of it, Kragen says eggs are the best source of protein in the morning and estimates he’s averaged at least 50 eggs a week for the past five years.

That’s 13,036 eggs.

But Kragen has overcome a lot more to be one of the Pac-12 leaders in sacks and tackles. The 6-foot-2, 245-pounder was stricken with mononucleosis during the summer prior to the 2014 season. In less than two months, the Danville, Calif. native had lost 30 pounds and was sidelined for the entire season.

Not one to boast or ask for sympathy, Kragen quietly took the challenge head on and powered through his recovery to where he is now as a force on Cal’s defensive line.

“I’ve been here two years and I think he has said two words to me,” the Bears’ defensive line coach Fred Tate said jokingly. “Kyle is a guy who shows up to work with his lunch pail and gets the job done.”

Kragen wasn’t highly recruited out of San Ramon Valley High School in 2011 and spent his first two years in college at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill. There he broke the school record for sacks.

As he began to be garnished with attention, coaches were drawn to his relentless motor on the field and in the weight room.

For Kragen, the opportunity alone to play at Kabam Field at California Memorial Stadium was too surreal to pass. He and his grandfather, Pete, had been coming to every game since Kragen was in the fifth grade. Some of his earlier football memories are of him and his grandfather, a long time season ticket holder, going to see former Bears like Aaron Rodgers and Marshawn Lynch.

“When I took my visit it was kind of weird that I was actually here,” Kragen said. “Never thought I could actually play at Cal.”

In his first season as a Bear in 2013, Kragen continued his unyielding style. Soon enough, he was making waves as an undersized defensive end. Then a junior, he started five games and led the team in sacks and was one of its leaders in tackles for loss.

Following the season in the spring of 2014, Kragen’s skills began to grow leaps and bounds ahead of what his smaller stature would expect.

“Kyle and I lift at the same time and he just blows me away,” said the 6-foot-5, 300-pound offensive lineman Jordan Rigsbee. “He’s definitely a guy who lets his hard work speak more than his mouth.”

Along with getting bigger, that spring Kragen improved on his technique and became a more advanced defensive lineman. By adding moves to his repertoire and learning how to use them more effectively, coaches as well as teammates saw a lot of potential in the upcoming senior.

“He can do so many different technical moves all on one play,” Rigsbee explained. “If he tries a swim move and it doesn’t work, he’s skilled enough to where he can then rip through the block before the quarterback has thrown it.”

However, just as Kragen was ascending into a breakout senior season in 2014, he was struck with mononucleosis that summer while living at his grandparents’ house in Danville. Once he was finally over the sickness, his weight had dropped to 217 pounds, which was around his weight when he graduated from high school.

“Sometimes it’s hard to read him,” said Kragen’s dad, Greg. “But I know it was a stressful time for him. I’m sure there was some thought if he should even try to play again.”

Kragen surprisingly didn’t lean heavily on his dad, a 13-year NFL veteran, for motivation during the rehabilitation.

“You don’t need to push him,” Greg said. “He does whatever it takes. Even though it’s hard to read him, there have been times where I’ve noticed him get mad and pick up his play. Although this wasn’t on the field, I’m sure this was another example.”

Kragen’s father recalled times when his son played high school basketball and he’d see him get frustrated and then start playing in a higher gear.

As for his rehab, Kragen says quitting never crossed his mind and that he’d take his rehab one day at a time as it was the challenge ahead. Concerned about quickly getting the weight back and maintaining it, Kragen began reading more on nutrition and increased the number of eggs in his diet.

In the weight room, he and the Bears’ strength and conditioning staff gradually worked him back.

“We had to slow cook him,” said head football strength and conditioning coach Damon Harrington. “During the offseason he was in what we call ‘developmental lifting’, which basically means he was a freshman again.”

The once weight room monster was now humbling himself with the new comers.

“It was definitely a weird feeling having the weights feel that heavy,” Kragen said. “I hadn’t felt that since high school,but I was never worried. I knew I could get the weight back. I got there once before. I just knew it was going to be a long a process.”

After redshirting in 2014, Kragen has worked his way back to what coaches have said is well farther than he was before he got sick. Harrington claims he’s better in the weight room and Tate can count on Kragen to always do what is asked of him.

Following a victory over Washington earlier this season, Kragen was honored for his performance by being named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week. In that game he recorded six tackles, 1.5 of which were for a loss, 1.5 sacks, a pass breakup and a key forced fumble. Two weeks later, he set a career high with 14 tackles at Utah followed up a few weeks later with a 10-tackle performance against USC.

Proud of his son, Greg decided to give him a call a couple days after the game against the Trojans.

“He told me once he’s done with football he never wants to eat eggs ever again,” Greg said with a laugh. “But I know he absolutely appreciates where he’s at and even all the eggs he’s had to eat because he knows where he’s been.”

Story can also be found at Calbears.com

In February of 1977, just days before his death from melanoma, the extremely ill California senior quarterback, Joe Roth, walked from his apartment in Berkeley to a classroom on campus. Roth made the trip from his destined deathbed to turn in an assignment.

Along the way, Roth never stopped in search for pity or recognition of his valor. Instead, on his way back, he said hello to his teammates and asked how they were doing.

“It was unbelievably courageous,” said former Golden Bears’ head coach Mike White looking back on that moment. “That kind of courage and the way he carried himself and led the team made 1975 special.”

“It helped re-energize a football program,” White added.

Forty years later, the 1975 Cal football team still reigns as one of the greatest Bear teams of all time. A year that was manned by four eventual offensive All-Americans and a future NFL All-Pro included exceptional victories over then-No. 4 USC and rival Stanford. Cal finished 1975 as co-Pac 8 Champions.

“Joe Roth was the man,” said Burl Toler, a linebacker on that ’75 squad. “He was a natural. He played the game and conducted himself with grace.”

However, the junior college transfer quarterback wasn’t White or his assistants’ initial choice to start the 1975 season. With former quarterback Steve Bartkowski off to the NFL, White gave experienced upperclassman Fred Besana the opportunity to replace the 1974 first-overall pick in the NFL Draft.

But after losing its opening two games to Colorado and West Virginia, White turned to Roth, who never looked back.

“We knew while recruiting him and from tape that we had something special in Joe, but we had loyalty to Fred and had to give him the chance,” White said. “There was still a maturating process for Roth to learn the system, but he was spectacular.”

Cal won its first four games with Roth under center, finished the season on an 8-1 run and ranked No. 14 in AP ranking. The Bears averaged 32.5 points per game in the nine games Roth started in 1975.

It wasn’t just Roth who carried the offense. Cal running back Chuck Muncie finished the season as a consensus All-American and second in Heisman voting behind Ohio State’s Archie Griffin. Muncie rushed for 1,460 yards, caught 392 yards and scored 15 total touchdowns that year, which were all more than Griffin. Additionally, the 1975 Pac-8 Player of the Year threw the ball three times and completed all three for a total of 143 yards and two touchdowns.

There to haul in a majority of Roth or Muncie’s passes was junior receiver Steve Rivera. The 1975 consensus All-American caught 57 passes for 790 yards.

With every win that season more local and national attention began to shine on the Bears’ program.

“It was a culmination of what we had been building for the past couple of years,” White said. “As the season unfolded Joe showed his skill, and excitement around the community grew.”

Undeterred by a narrow loss at then-No. 19 UCLA in late October, the following week Cal rebounded with a 28-14 win at home on national television over the highly-ranked Trojans. The Bears’ offense put up 477 yards that day, which included future NFL Pro Bowl defensive players Clay Mathews and Gary Jeter. The win was the program’s second ever victory over a top-5 team.

“I’ll never forget how loose and ready that team was for USC,” said long time Cal operations assistant Dog Turner. “At one point during the game I ran over to Chuck Muncie and told him he was supposed to be in. He kicked his helmet in the air and it nearly landed correctly on his head. He went out on the field and tore up the Trojan defense.”

Following the win over USC, the Bears entered the national polls at No. 18 and the team had Berkeley rallying behind them. The support was no more evident than when Cal fans packed Stanford Stadium to watch Cal roll past Stanford 48-15 in a must-win game. UCLA sat tied with the Bears atop the Pac-8 Conference and had defeated Oregon State earlier that day.

Unfortunately, after the Stanford victory the season was out of Cal and Roth’s hands. With no more games left on their schedule the Bears had to hope for a USC upset over the No. 14 Bruins. A win or even a tie by the Trojans would have sent Cal to the Rose Bowl.

Watching the game in Lake Tahoe, White recalled the game with a chuckle.

“Considering how it played out and knowing you could do nothing made it a brutal game to watch,” White said. “Eight turnovers by UCLA and they still managed to win. I’m sure every Cal fan wanted to pull their hair out. I sure did.”

As UCLA escaped with a 25-22 win over USC and a birth to the Rose Bowl for a date with Ohio State, White, all be it discouraged for his team, felt there was a great deal to build from and ride on.

Though they weren’t selected for a bowl game, the Bears had won eight games, the most at that time under White and the most since legendary Cal coach Pappy Waldorf adorned the Bears’ sidelines in 1951. Furthermore, they had built one of the nation’s best offenses. It was an offense that could do anything and amazingly finished with 2,522 rushing and 2,522 passing yards.

“We had so many guys performing at such a high level,” said the late Chuck Muncie in a 2000 interview about the 1975 team. “Nobody was concerned about their individual statistics. That was a special football team.”

As Roth checked in with his teammates days before he died, coaches and teammates all noticed and remarked how upbeat the terminally ill quarterback was. Never wanting anyone to feel sorry for him, Roth walked around the football facilities that day as he had done in 1975 against USC and Stanford.

Story Can Be Also Be Found At Calbears.com

As the 1978 California Golden Bears football team ran off the field through the north tunnel for halftime of their home opener, first-year head football coach Roger Theder looked up in the stands.

What he saw was a familiar face in an unfamiliar setting.

“He saw me sitting there in the stands and yelled at me, ‘what are you doing in the stands, Dog? Get down here,” recalled Bud “Dog” Turner.

More than 30 years later, “Dog” as he’s affectionately known throughout the Cal football program, is still right where Theder told him to be. Now serving in his 46th year as a part-time Cal football operations assistant, Turner, who turns 80 years old today, has become a familiar face around California Memorial Stadium.

“Ever since that game I’ve just been coming back until someone tells me not to,” Turner said with a laugh. “I keep coming because Cal is who I am.”

Born in Albany, Calif., and raised in nearby Lafayette, Turner grew up childhood friends with 1958 Cal football alum and eventual former Cal and NFL head coach Mike White (1972-78). As young boys White and Dog matured into avid sports fans. Nicknamed by White after former Chicago Bear and NFL Hall of Famer Clyde “Bulldog” Turner, Dog gravitated to a different Bears team.

Turner first saw the Cal Bears in action on Sept. 27, 1947. A game that still stands as the largest paid attendance in Memorial Stadium history, Cal upset Navy, 14-7.

“The stadium was packed from the first row up and even onto the hill,” Turner said. “You could say that was the day I became a Bear.”

Turner’s road back to Memorial Stadium included two stints in the U.S. Army with deployments to Germany and Japan and 103 military jumps. Soon after returning home, Turner found a career as a full-time soil engineer located in the Bay Area.

Starting in 1970, Turner was back in Strawberry Canyon as a part-time field phone operator for the public address announcer. When White was hired in 1972 as the head coach, Turner’s role in the program grew.

“First and foremost, Dog is as committed and a hard-working individual as there is,” White said. “There’s a reason we gave him the name ‘Dog.”

From that day forward, Turner has only missed one game.

He’s manned the sidelines of conference championship teams, traveled with a team that was exiled out of Dallas and outlasted the nine head coaching changes that have come during his 46-year tenure.

“Usually when new coaches come in they like to clear house. It’s just the way it is,” White said. “I know when I left and my assistant­, Rodger Theder, took over he knew Turner’s loyalty to the program. Turner’s become a fixture because that dedication is something a coach looks for in a program, and it’s a loveable character for anyone.”

Today, Turner is still counted on during practice and gamedays. Albeit, not exactly the same job he held 30 years ago, players, coaches and everyone involved still expect him to be a component of the program’s success.

A couple days prior to Cal’s October 31st game against USC, White asked Turner if he could give a tour of Memorial Stadium to the relatives of the 1975-76 Bears’ legendary quarterback Joe Roth. Turner agreed with one condition.

“He told me he’d love to, but they’d have to do it before practice because he has to be there to greet the players,” White said.

A more recent tradition of Turner’s, every day before practice he stands by Memorial Stadium’s north tunnel entrance. There he greets each player and coach as they trickle out onto the field for practice with the same message.

“Great day to be a Bear.”

A short but meaningful phrase that the players have become accustomed to as they prepare for practice.

“Having him there is just as important as anything anyone else does,” said current Bears’ senior wide receiver Bryce Treggs. “Seeing him devote everything to this program lights a fire in you and gives us pride to be a Bear. I can’t imagine a practice or game without Dog.”

Once practice begins, he sits in his name-labeled, designated and locked to the ground seat in the north tunnel. While he hangs out by the entrance, coaches, players, local police, grounds keepers and general Cal football personnel stop by to have a quick chat. Of course there’s also the occasional joke or jab, which Turner is quick to respond with his own witty crack.

During gamedays Turner still helps the equipment staff with pre and postgame duties.

Though his tasks usually force him to miss the end of the games, he’s never seen it as a burden but a commitment to the team.

“There’s nothing more Dog wants to do than be there on the sidelines with the guys during the end,” said former Cal football defensive back and current Director of Career DevelopmentRon Coccimiglio. “But he also just wants to serve, and even though sometimes he might do a job other people would complain about he does it because he cares about the team. You know it’s from his heart, and when you do that for as long as he has you become an endearing figure.”

In 2013 when the Bears traveled to Eugene, Ore., to play Oregon during a torrential rainstorm, Turner and a few helpers spent the entire game mopping the locker room and setting up sand bags by the door.

“He’s never once complained,” Coccimiglio said. “His heart just wants to help. It’s important to him that he’s involved in the program, and that means a lot to the guys.”

From Roth to Nnamdi Asomugha to Tony Gonzalez to Andre Carter, Turner has had a special relationship with all the current and former Bears. If you ask Turner about an individual player he’ll quickly respond with a personal anecdote.

Stories such as how Aaron Rodgers used to take a few minutes out of every day to visit with him, or how Marshawn Lynch will still surprise him from behind with a bear paw slap on the back and a smile.

“You know, it’s those small things that mean a lot,” Turner said.

But bring up the late Cal running back and 1975 Heisman Trophy runner-up Chuck Muncie and a different tone comes across Turner.

What makes Turner and Muncie’s relationship different is it didn’t end when Muncie exhausted his eligibility in 1976 and was selected third overall in the NFL Draft. Muncie and Turner continued their relationship through phone calls and letters. In 1985, when the NFL suspended Muncie indefinitely for failing repeated drug tests, it was Turner who Muncie reached out to for guidance. In 1989, when Muncie was found homeless outside of Memorial Stadium and later sent to prison, Turner helped him turn his life around after his release.

“Chuck had the biggest heart even when he was just a kid here,” Turner said. “Players like Chuck who are just genially nice make Cal great. He became a great friend.”

Turner retired from his full-time soil engineering job in 1998. He and his wife of 50 plus years, Joan, have three children and seven grandchildren. Surprisingly, Turner does have time for other hobbies outside of Cal football. He’s an avid train enthusiast who also has plenty of train adventures he enjoys telling.

It doesn’t take long, though, before he’s back in Berkeley, even when he isn’t needed at Memorial Stadium. He’s usually at Haas Pavilion assisting with other Cal sports teams. Just as dedicated as he was 37 years ago when Theder called a then 42-year-old Turner into action.

STORY CAN ALSO BE FOUND AT TUCSON.COM

(Photo by A.E. Araiza/ Arizona Daily Wildcat)

Zack Rosenblatt contributed to this article 

Saturday’s Special Olympics El Tour de Tucson presented by Casino Del Sol Resort hosted riders of all ages.

Take 91-year-old George Nicholls, for instance.

The Tucsonan rode in the 5-mile fun ride event on his three-wheeler. It was Nicholls’ first time riding in El Tour de Tucson and he said it was his first competition of any sort.

“I’ve been riding all my life,” Nicholls said. “The past 25 years I’ve been riding quite a bit.”

Nicholls rode Saturday accompanied by his son, Kent. The Nicholls men trained by riding around George Nicholls’ Civano neighborhood.

“I’ve watched the tour every year, and I read about the 5-mile, and I said, ‘I could do that,’ ” George said.

The younger Nicholls wanted his father to try the 11-mile fun ride course, but he never gave it much thought.

“I might think about it for next year,” George said. “Of course at my age you don’t buy green bananas.”

Dynamic duo

Paul Thomas and Noreen Cary have become something of a

dynasty at El Tour de Tucson

when it comes to the mixed-tandem race.

The good times kept rolling Saturday for the couple, married since 2006. Cary and Thomas won their fourth straight — and fifth overall — tandem title at El Tour.

“Shocking,” Noreen said. “I keep thinking I’m getting too old to do this, but every year it’s like we have to defend the championship.”

Added Paul: “It was good. This is our big event”

Paul and Noreen met in 2000 at a Rock ’N’ Roll Marathon, and something clicked. They rode their first El Tour together when Noreen was still a law student at the UA.

“There’s an athletic-based synergy that continues to go,” Paul said.

Saturday’s finish was particularly impressive since Noreen was only really able to start training for it six weeks ago mostly due to her job as an attorney.

Paul said he tallied it up, and Noren rode 1,300 miles for the entire preparation.

“I do all sorts of races, but this is the most satisfying,” Paul said. “I really gotta give her props. She has no athletic experience, but she’s in the race with all these top pros, going bar-to-bar, 3 inches away on each side, with people that have done the Tour de France.

“Noreen is probably the only person in this race that’s finished in the four-hour bracket, five-hour bracket, six-hour bracket, seven-hour bracket and the eight-hour bracket.”

Looking good

As the 104-mile race wrapped up, El Tour officials picked the winners in a kids competition for best-decorated bike.

Seth Villa, with his turkey bicycle, and Carmen Roe, with her bee-themed bike, both took home first-place trophies.

“First we bought this turkey hat — my grandma got it as a joke,” said Villa, 11. “But then I thought, ‘Hey, El Tour is coming up; why don’t we make a turkey bike?’ ”

For Villa and Roe, both Tucsonans, this was not their first time competing for best-decorated bike. The two have been battling it out for a few years now.

Roe collected her third first-place finish Saturday, and Villa got his second. But this is the first year they both won, together.

“I knew if we put lots of effort into it that it would pay off,” Roe said. “And I’m very happy I could share my prize.”

Next year is the final year Villa and Roe can compete in the best-decorated bike competition because of age limits, but that won’t stop them from at least trying to defend their tittles.

STORY CAN ALSO BE FOUND AT TUCSON.COM

(Photo by Mike Christy/ Arizona Daily Wildcat 2013)

The 32nd Special Olympics El Tour de Tucson presented by Casino del Sol Resort will be slightly smaller and shorter than usual.

What that means for Southern Arizona’s largest participatory sporting event, both today and in the future, remains up in the air.

Ridership for today’s race is down about 1,100 participants, and the 109-mile course has been cut to 104 miles because of construction in Oro Valley. There also is a smaller change to the course near the I-10 frontage road because of streetcar tracks, which riders can’t cross.

“This will be the shortest distance of El Tour probably in about 25 years,” said Richard DeBernardis, El Tour’s founder and executive director.

“Having fun and being safe is obviously very important. So if we have to cut down the course only 5 miles, it’s not a big problem.”

Dwindling registration numbers are a bigger problem, so much so that DeBernardis promised next year’s fees would be reduced — even though insurance for the race was increased from $20,000 to $100,000.

DeBernardis projects today’s race to be down 1,121 riders from last year’s total of 7,796. He blamed the decrease on last year’s rainy weather and the late registration start for this year’s race.

Registration begins in February, but El Tour’s website wasn’t functional until June.

About 500 Pima County residents who rode last year opted not to return. El Tour is also down 234 Arizona riders from outside Pima County, 348 riders from the rest of the country and 28 international competitors.

“And we think that’s because of weather,” DeBernardis said. “We think people were waiting for the last minute to register.

“Typically people at home register last-minute, so who knows? We could make up some.”

This year’s 104-mile race is the most popular of the four events (five if you count the 11-mile fun ride). A projected 3,200 riders will circle the perimeter of Tucson, about 100 fewer than last year.

At least 600 riders are expected to participate in the fun ride, which starts downtown and heads 5 miles west before turning around.

Former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords plans to be one of them.

Despite the lower numbers, El Tour still expects to raise about $7 million — money that will benefit 46 charities. That’s at least $5 million more in donations than last year’s event, DeBernardis said.

STORY CAN BE FOUND AT TUCSON.COM

(Photo by Kelly Presnell/ Arizona Daily Star)

Walk down the hallway leading to Cienega’s locker room, and you’ll see pictures of former Bobcats who went on to play football at four-year colleges.

Hanging next to the pictures are several empty frames, one of which might as well have senior wide receiver and defensive back Terrence Johnson’s name on it.

That is, unless he decides to play college basketball instead.

“I want him to play football; he’s a great safety,” Cienega quarterback Adriell Alvarado said. “But if he loves basketball more, then he should obviously play basketball.”

Johnson is a 6-foot-3-inch wide receiver and defensive back who has received football offers from Arizona and San Diego State. As for basketball, Johnson has Weber State and Portland high on his offer sheet. He’s one of the best guards in Southern Arizona.

“It’s really crazy,” Johnson said. “Trying to figure it all out and decide is tough.”

High school sports — particularly the playoffs — are second-nature by now. As a freshman, Johnson was promoted to Cienega’s varsity, and watched as the Bobcats advanced to the state championship game. As a junior, Johnson helped lead Cienega’s basketball team to the state semifinals.

Now Johnson finds himself back in the state semifinals. The fourth-seeded Bobcats will play No. 1 Peoria Liberty tonight at Phoenix Paradise Valley with a trip to the Division II title game on the line.

“We’re back in the final four,” Johnson said. “I kind of have a chip on my shoulder from basketball, so pulling it out and making the championship game would make this final season a lot more sweet.”

Johnson played his final home football game last weekend, a 50-49 double-overtime win against Tempe Marcos de Niza. He said that, while reality is finally sinking in, this is no time for reminiscing.

“I’ve always tried to play with no regrets,” Johnson said. “I want to leave everything out there.”

Back inside the Bobcats’ locker room, painted on the walls are a couple of signs that say, “Nobody Outworks Cienega.”

On the football field, few outwork Johnson. He leads the team in catches (43) and yards (557), and also in interceptions (five). He also has 81 tackles, second on the team, behind linebacker Will Walker’s 100.

Johnson has improved a lot over the past year, Alvarado said, and has become a more physical player as a receiver. But Johnson’s future in football lies as defensive back.

Alvarado also said Johnson is a competitor, even when it comes to video games. But it’s that competitive fire that has helped him improve as an athlete.

In basketball, Johnson uses his lengthy size, broad shoulders and athleticism to his advantage. He’s deadly in transitions, and has the talent to be an all-around shooting guard.

Johnson doesn’t have to officially pick a sport — or a school — until February, but said he’ll likely make up his mind before then.

But even if he does take the basketball route, his presence on the football team has been felt — even if his photo never makes it on the locker-room wall.

STORY CAN ALSO BE FOUND AT TUCSON.COM

(Photo by Kelly Presnell/ Arizona Daily Star)

Every week, Cienega football coach Nemer Hassey hands out black practice jerseys to the three players who had the best hits in the previous game.

This year, senior running back/linebacker Francisco Dicochea became the first player in Hassey’s 13 years at Cienega to receive the black practice jersey every week.

It’s not just on defense that Dicochea comes up with big hits.

“When you watch film, he just explodes off the screen,” Hassey said. “He’s probably one of the best kids I’ve ever coached at getting extra yards after initially getting hit.

“He’s a physical football player that never comes off the field for us.”

Dicochea — or simply “Dico,” as his teammates and coaches call him — is having a one-of-a-kind season. Heading into No.  4 Cienega’s Division II quarterfinal playoff game against No. 12 Tempe Marcos de Niza tonight, Dicochea is the team’s leading rusher with 1,281 yards. But it doesn’t stop on offense: He’s third on the team in tackles.

“Just trying to leave it all on the field,” Dicochea said. “This is my last high school season so I’m just trying to give it all I got.”

Regardless if the Bobcats win or lose, it will be the final home game for Dicochea and the seniors. It’s another reason to leave it all on the field, he said.

It’s also a chance to forget last season. The Bobcats went just 5-5 a year ago and missed the state playoffs.

“It (stunk); we were better than that,” Dicochea said. “I mean we were close, but we want to have no regrets at the end of the year.”

Cienega is riding a 10-game winning streak that began against Mountain View in Week 2. The Bobcats lost their season opener to Ironwood Ridge.

After that game, “I told our guys going into the Mountain View game it was pivotal,” Hassey said. “I told them this is the fork in the road. You will decide what kind of team we are this week. And we won, and I think we’ve really progressed since.”

Dicochea rushed for 83 yards in the 27-24 win over Mountain View. But it was his tough 35-yard TD run with two minutes remaining that saved the Bobcats’ game — and season.

“He’s a beast,” quarterback Adriell Alverado said. “You know he plays like Marshawn Lynch or Demarco Murray. He’s got such a strong lower half. Always is running and hitting people his hardest.”

Dicochea’s hard-hitting playing style is not something he has coached, Hassey said; it’s all based on mentality.

So after Tuesday’s practice, Dicochea tucked his black jersey into his chest pad, looked at Alverado and told his quarterback he’s going play like “Dico.”

STORY CAN ALSO BE FOUND AT TUCSON.COM

(Photo by Ron Medvescek/ Arizona Daily Star)

Walking across the Arizona Dynamics gym Monday night, Natasha Trejo and Corinne Belkoff looked as if they had just been in a fight.

Bruises, scars and a lathering of chalk covered their small frames.

A fight would have been quicker — and probably easier — for the exhausted girls. They had completed a normal day of Level 10 training, the highest level in USA Gymnastics’ Junior Olympic program.

Persistent hard work has led to awards, accolades and — today — Division I college scholarships. Trejo will sign with BYU, and Belkoff with sign with Arizona State today, the first day high school athletes can sign national letters of intent.

“These girls work hard every day, 12 months a year,” said Arizona Dynamics gymnastic coach Regina Mueller-Martin. “We give them maybe 10 days off in the summer, but that’s what you have to give if you want to be at that level.”

Here’s all you need to know about the two standout gymnasts:

THE BRAINS

Despite their intense gymnastics schedule, the girls have found time to excel in their classrooms.

Belkoff, a Catalina Foothills High School senior, said she has always put school work over gymnastics.

“School has always been most important to me,” Belkoff said. “ASU’s Barrett Honors College is one of the reasons I chose to go there.”

Both plan on being pre-med majors, a challenging — and time-consuming — academic pursuit. However, Mueller-Martin isn’t worried: The girls’ longtime coach didn’t think they had ever received anything less than A’s.

Trejo, a Sahuaro senior, even said she expects some relief.

“I honestly think it will be easier,” said Trejo, a practicing Mormon who chose BYU for its location and faith-based education. “They practice less in college.”

THE ATTITUDES

Belkoff made a strong first impression on Trejo during their first encounter roughly eight years ago. In fact, Trejo says she can still recall the exact leotard her friend and fellow gymnast was wearing, and how intense Belkoff was.

“Sometimes she can be really intimidating,” Trejo said. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing, though, because it shows how much she cares.”

The 5-foot tall girls are anything but intimidating in person. However, they’re all business once they hit the mat.

“It’s what separates them,” said Mueller-Martin, a former UA gymnast. “It’s not just gymnastics, its in their academics as well. And when you get to that point of dedication it becomes you.”

THE COMEBACKS

Injuries are a part of gymnastics — and all sports. Trejo has overcome an especially rough one, though.

Two years ago Trejo suffered two stress fractures in her back, forcing her to miss an entire year of gymnastics. But she found a way to overcome it, even though her overall experience was far less than most Level 10 gymnasts.

The relentless dedication is the reason both girls are signing letters of intent today.

STORY CAN ALSO BE FOUND AT TUCSON.COM

(Photo by Patrick Brean/ The Arizona Republic)

MESA — Catalina Foothills won its second consecutive boys swimming and diving Division II boys championship Saturday with another dominating performance.

The Falcons scored 312 points and beat runner-up Scottsdale Notre Dame by 135 points to take home their 12th state crown in the last 14 years.

“It feels great to be back,” said Foothills coach Ed Walter. “The boys did a great job on individuals, and the 400 (freestyle) relay team also did an outstanding job.”

Out of the eight individual events, Foothills won four. Senior Matt Lujan, who was selected by coaches as the Division II boys swimmer of the year, won two championships. Sophomore Brooks Fail also won a pair of titles.

The boys 400-yard free relay team was the only relay race the Falcons won but it didn’t matter. In total, Foothills had nine top-five finishes in 11 events.

“Everyone did so great I couldn’t ask for a better way to close out my time here with this team,” said Lujan, who is verbally committed to the UA.

“It’s the icing on the cake,” he added about being named swimmer of the year.

Gilbert Campo Verde won the girls championship with 257 points, beating runner-up Salpointe Catholic by 47 points who just narrowly slipped past defending champion Foothills by three points thanks to the final event,.

“We just wanted to win that race so bad,” Salpointe sophomore Teagan McGinnis said. “Right before I dived in a thought to myself ‘Lets do it for the team’.”

Sitting in third and trailing the Falcons by just a couple points heading into the final event, the Lancers needed to beat Foothills in the 400-yard freestyle relay in order to leap frog them on the podium. And with a time of 3:41.03 Salpointe won the race and beat the Falcon girls by 1.45 seconds.

“It was a heck of a race unfortunately it likely pushed us out of second but after everything these girls lost from last season to come back and place in the top-three only a couple points behind is fantastic,” Walter said.

Before the diving scores were added the Lancers had only lost to Campo Verde by one point. Neither Salpointe nor Catalina Foothills had divers compete in the state tournament.

“It’s not first but I’m so happy we raced so hard there at the end to take second,” McGinnis said.

A program that could be standing on the podium next season is the Sabino girls’ team. Its coach, Lisa Sartori, was voted the state’s girls’ swimming coach of the year at Saturday’s meet.

“I’m shocked to be honest,” Sartori said. “It’s a honor and a surprise but I’m focused on these girls.”

Overall the Sabercats took fifth place with 138 points. If it wasn’t for a disqualification on their 200 medley relay, which they were the No. 1 seed, Sabino might have been the ones fighting for second place.

Taylor Nations, a junior, carried the team with a first place finish in the girls 100 freestyle and 100 backstroke, which she also won last fall.

“It was an honest mistake,” Nations said. “And we have next year too. There were two freshmen on that relay as well as my self and a junior so we have a lot coming back.”

A couple of Southern Arizona schools competed at the Division I state championship, which took place later in the day.

STORY CAN ALSO BE FOUND AT TUCSON.COM

(Arizona Daily Star)

PHOENIX – The defending Division II state champion’s season came to an abrupt end Friday night.

In the first round of the Division II state playoffs, No. 11 Salpointe Catholic lost 42-7 at sixth-seeded Phoenix Sunnyslope.

“We had to come out and beat them quick,” said freshman receiver Jamarye Joiner. “We were the more athletic team.”

On Friday, though, turnovers killed any chance Salpointe had to come out quick.

The Lancers’ first drive was halted on a failed fourth down attempt inside the Vikings’ 30-yard line yard. In return Sunnyslope went 74-yards and scored the game’s opening touchdown.

The Vikings never looked back and, with constant good starting position, took a 28-7 lead into halftime.

“We still thought we were the more conditioned team and thought we could beat them with our quickness,” Joiner said about trailing at halftime.

Despite the deficit Salpointe Catholic showed some life to start the second half with a quicker tempo. But once again, a strong drive ended on a failed fourth down attempt inside Sunnyslope’s 30-yard line.

In total Salpointe Catholic had three fumbles and two interceptions to go along with a number of failed fourth down attempts.

Buried in a hole, the Lancers’ looked towards senior quarterback Sammy Muniz to dig them out. But a stout Sunnyslope defensive back shut down any big pass play attempt, forced turnovers and put pressure on Muniz to run with the ball. He was the only Lancer with more than nine rushing attempts.

“It was frustrating standing on the sideline and having any momentum killed,” said junior defensive lineman Justin Holt. “But we needed to put that in the past and keep working.”

Muniz completed just 48 percent of his 29 pass attempts. In his final game he had 198 passing yard and his longest pass was a 35-yard touchdown to sophomore D.J. Hinton in the first quarter.

STORY CAN ALSO BE FOUND AT TUCSON.COM

(Photo by Kelly Presnell/ Arizona Daily Star 2013)

When some members of the Salpointe Catholic girls swimming and diving team said last month that anything less than a state championship would be unacceptable, the defending champions just up the road took notice.

Catalina Foothills coach Ed Walter told his girls to cut out the article, read it every day and use it as motivation.

“We’d like to make them regret that they ever said those types of things,” Walter said. “It’s fuel for the fire; you don’t trash talk until it’s over. I’ve told these guys not to give other teams incentive to come after you.

“Now, obviously, we know we have a target on our backs because we’re the winners from last year, but we know we lost a lot.”

Losses like 11 senior girls, including several who contributed at state.

The Falcons’ boys team, which also won the team title, meanwhile still stands strong with senior Matt Lujan, a future Arizona Wildcat.

The defending champs, though, are staying humble. They know, after all, that several things have to happen for another championship sweep.

RELAYS

Relay races often determine state championships. Foothills finished in the top three in all but one of the relays last year. So it should come as no surprise that in one of the Falcons’ final practices before state, Walter had his swimmers working on their relay starts.

“Relays are key because they come with the most points,” said Lujan, who won the boys Division II 200-yard individual medley last year and was second in the 100 backstroke and two relay events. “If you have just one little error, then it’ll be harder to win. But I think we have pretty good relays.”

UNDERCLASSMEN

Despite the losses, Foothills still has plenty of fast swimmers who can carry the team in relays. Underclassmen might determine if the Falcons can repeat with both teams.

“We have to put the fastest people in the relays,” senior Samantha Saul said. “We have confidence in (Walter’s) experience, so he knows who should be in those relays.”

The boys had a wave of 11 freshmen come through the program last year. Walter expects those underclassmen to thrive as sophomores; at least three could be in the boys’ three relay races.

At the Southern Arizona Region Qualifier last weekend, Foothills won five of the six relays, with the girls winning all three of theirs.

ONE TO WATCH

The girls don’t have the same depth or experience as the boys; 14 freshmen made the varsity.

One of them, Gianna Badillo, looks like a future star.

Badillo swam on Foothills’ 200- and 400-yard free relay teams last weekend, and placed fourth in the 100 free with a time of 57 seconds.

She also placed fourth in the 200 individual medley and the 500 free at the Mike Ward Memorial Invitational on Oct. 25.

STORY CAN ALSO BE FOUND AT TUCSON.COM

PHOENIX — Southern Arizonans finished first, second and third in the boys Division II state golf championships Tuesday, with Canyon del Oro’s Chris Meyers taking home the title.

The senior shot an 8-under 136 at Aguila Golf Course, finishing six strokes ahead of Salpointe Catholic’s Trevor Werbylo in the two-round tournament. Catalina Foothills’ Gavin Cohen shot a 147, 11 strokes behind the lead and tied for third place.

“I managed to shoot a really good score (in the first round),” Meyers said. “So after my round I practiced for about 30 minutes and really worked on some things and I think it helped me shoot just as well (Tuesday).”

Meyers, who is headed to Stanford, shot 4-under par in both rounds.

Though he won convincingly, Meyers entered the final round just one shot ahead of Werbylo. Meyers teed off right behind the Lancer but said he was only focused on his game.

In the second round, Meyers hit par on 14 holes and made four birdies. Werbylo ran into some trouble on holes 11 and 12, where he shot back-to-back bogeys. That left Werbylo four shots behind Meyers and fighting to just stay under par.

“Started struggling a bit on the back nine,” Werbylo said. “Had a bad tee shot and missed a short putt on 12 that put me in a tough spot.”

Cohen worked his way back into the top three after dropping to fifth following a double bogey on 13. But a late birdie gave Cohen a score of 3-over par and put three Tucson golfers on top of the leaderboard.

“Tucson golf has definitely evolved over the past couple years,” Cohen said. “And we all know each other, so for us to come up here and maybe make a statement is awesome.”

As for the team standings, Canyon del Oro finished second with a score of 34-over par and Catalina Foothills came in third, five strokes behind the Dorados.

Phoenix Thunderbird claimed the team state championship with ease. The Chiefs ended the tournament 18-over by shooting just 4-over par in the second round.

STORY CAN ALSO BE FOUND AT TUCSON.COM

Desert Christian’s boys soccer team advanced to the Division IV state semifinals after coming from behind to narrowly beat Flagstaff Northland Prep 2-1 in in penalty kicks on Saturday night.

The fourth-seeded Eagles (12-1) will play No. 1 seed and defending champion Chino Valley at 7 p.m. at Gilbert Campo Verde high school on Friday. The Cougars defeated No. 8 Phoenix Country Day 5-0 on Saturday.

Desert Christian trailed 1-0 at halftime. A goal by sophomore Ethan Malis in the 58th minute tied the match. After a physical 20-minute overtime period, the match went down to penalty kicks.

Desert Christian took the edge on back-to-back goals from brothers Tommy and Tate McGuire. A just-too-high shot from the Spartans’ final shooter sealed the match, giving Desert Christian a 3-2 edge in penalty kicks.

“I thought the match might have been over after we missed those first two [penalty kicks],” junior Tate McGuire said. “But once we tied the penalty kicks I knew we had a chance.”

Desert Christian was eliminated in the second round of last year’s tournament, losing to eventual state runner-up Lakeside Blue Ridge.

Though they have never have won the state championship, the Eagles are now just one win away from advancing to their third state championship in five years and seventh overall. That being said, Desert Christian rolls into the state semifinals winners of its now past six matches.

“Early in games we still need to capitalize on our shots more,” Tate McGuire said. “Tonight we had a lot of possessions but capitalizing will be key moving forward.”