Cal routs Presbyterian 63-12

Published 7:44 pm Saturday, September 17, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO — All week Jeff Tedford thought he could control his emotions.

He didn’t stand a chance.

As the clock ticked down on an otherwise routine rout, tears formed in the corner of his eyes. An ice bath from his players, hugs from his coaches and kisses from his wife and c

hildren finally sent him over the top.

At long last, Tedford stands alone.

Zach Maynard threw for 215 yards and three touchdowns, and California made Tedford the program’s winningest coach with a 63-12 romp over Presbyterian on Saturday in the first home game at AT&T Park. Even Tedford’s son, Quinn, caught his first collegiate pass.

“It makes it extra special,” the coach said, his voice cracking. “I guess that doesn’t happen every day.”

There were a lot of rare moments in this one.

Isi Sofele ran for a career-high 105 yards and two touchdowns and Brendan Bigelow returned his first kick 88 yards for a score to give Tedford his 75th victory. He passed Andy Smith, who had held the record since 1925.

In his 10th season at the helm in Berkeley, Tedford eclipsed them all.

“I could see he was trying to hold it in,” said senior safety Sean Cattouse, who intercepted two passes for the first time in his career. “But I’m a little older than some guys, and I could tell he was getting emotional.”

Cal racked up 581 total yards, allowed only 48 yards and left no doubt about the outcome.

Maynard finished 15 for 25 passing and only played one half for the Golden Bears (3-0) in the first of five games this season at the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants’ cozy waterfront ballpark. Cal’s longtime home, Memorial Stadium, is undergoing a $321 million renovation.

Justin Bethel had all the highlights for the Blue Hose (1-2). He blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown and intercepted a pass by Maynard for a score.

The Bears settled into their temporary digs just fine.

The water cannons in right field — normally reserved for Giants home runs — shot into the air every time Cal scored. Large bleachers erected along the far sideline piled in fans and the goal posts squeezed against the padded walls just below the stands

A somewhat serene crowd that came across San Francisco Bay colored the park in blue and gold and spread banners over some of the Giants’ decor might have been the only damper on Tedford’s day.

“It felt a little dead out there, to be honest with you,” Tedford said.

While the Bears will face tougher opponents at home in the Pac-12 Conference, the Blue Hose certainly weren’t one of them. They overwhelmed and overmatched Presbyterian from the start.

After three penalties stalled the opening drive, Cal wasted little time on its next possession. C.J. Anderson rushed for a 9-yard touchdown through the infield dirt to cap a three-play, 50-yard drive that gave the Bears a 7-0 lead.

Cattouse followed with an interception on a gift-wrapped pass by Presbyterian’s Ryan Singer that landed in his chest. Two plays later, Sofele powered his way into the end zone from a yard out to put Cal ahead 14-0.

Cattouse leaped up to snag his second interception — the sixth of his career and the most among Cal’s active players — near the Bears sideline early in the second quarter. Three players later, Marvin Jones sprinted across the field on a crossing pattern and slipped past two defenders for a 51-yard touchdown that extended Cal’s lead to 28-0.

Presbyterian made a few memories to take back home.

Bethel ran through the line untouched, blocked a punt and picked up the ball, running 15 yards for the Blue Hose’s first score. Presbyterian players erupted on the sideline, spilling onto the field in celebration after trimming the Bears’ lead to 28-6. They missed the extra point.

Bethel gave them more to cheer about when he intercepted a pass by Maynard and returned it 29 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. After a missed two-point conversation, Cal led 35-12.

“I was coming down and I saw the quarterback basically staring him down, so I just broke on the ball, caught it and ran it in,” Bethel said.

Things were never that close again.

The Bears quickly drove 55 yards on five plays highlighted by Keenan Allen’s 21-yard touchdown catch from Maynard just before the break. Bigelow returned the opening kickoff in the second half for an 88-yard touchdown that put the Bears ahead 49-12, and the rout was on.

The matchup between the two schools was hardly one that Cal fans were excited about.

The Bears had trouble finding an opponent because they had to wait for the Giants to release their 2011 schedule and then the Pac-12 to announce the conference schedule — not to mention the initial time spent trying to determine an alternate venue to Memorial Stadium this year. The Blue Hose, who play in the Football Championship Subdivision, were guaranteed at least $400,000 from the host school for making the nearly 2,700-mile journey, by far the longest in school history.

For Tedford, it counted all the same.

“(The record) has a lot to do with all the players and coaches over the last nine years and three games,” he said. “That’s who really deserves the credit, all the players who play the game.”