`RESPECT' CARRIES CALIFORNIA ALL-STARS SHOW FLORIDA WHO'S OVERMATCHED CALIFORNIA 26, FLORIDA 15.Byline: Gerry Gittelson Staff Writer WALNUT - Defying a growing chorus of skeptics who believed the California All-Stars would be overmatched against Florida this year, the locals jumped to an early two-touchdown lead and cruised to a 26-15 football victory in CaliFlorida Bowl IV on Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College Mt. San Antonio College (commonly called Mt. SAC; pronounced as the word "sack") is a community college located in the Los Angeles suburb of Walnut, California, next to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona which is just over a hill. Mt. . Florida had won the previous two CaliFlorida matchups, and this year's team featured running back Ernie Sims Ernie Sims III (born December 23, 1984 in Tallahassee, Florida) is an American football player for the Detroit Lions, who played outside linebacker for the Florida State University Seminoles. He also attended North Florida Christian High School. His father Ernie Sims Jr. , the nation's consensus No. 1 recruit, along with safety Antonio Cromartie Antonio Cromartie (born April 15, 1984 in Tallahassee, Florida) is a current American football cornerback for the San Diego Chargers. Early years Cromartie was a do-everything player at Lincoln High School in Tallahassee, Florida. , recently named USA Today's Defensive Player of the Year. One CaliFlorida Bowl staff member tabbed California a 30-point underdog. But California took command during the first seven minutes, scoring on a 6-yard pass from Richard Irvin to Joe Cowan Joseph William Cowan (born September 15, 1984 in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian-born American college football wide receiver for the UCLA Bruins. High school He played at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California. , followed by a 35-yard strike from Sam Keller to Brian Shields of Harvard-Westlake of Studio City. From there, the California defense took over. Florida totaled 315 yards, but 125 came during its final two drives over the last four minutes when the outcome had been decided. California had five quarterback sacks and three interceptions. ``Florida was cocky and talked a lot of smack. They might have taken us lightly, but that was their problem, not ours,'' Irvin said. ``I think we kind of shocked them by coming out with our guns blazing and jumping ahead early. They didn't expect that. Then we stayed focused and controlled the line of scrimmage line of scrimmage n. pl. lines of scrimmage Football Either of two imaginary lines extending across the field parallel to the goal line at the ends of the ball as it rests prior to being snapped and at which each team lines up for .'' Irvin, who played at Harvard-Westlake before transferring to Muir of Pasadena before last season, was named California MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. . He completed 12 of 18 passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns, including a 2-yarder to B.J. Vickers to give California a 19-point lead with 4:35 left. Dennis Keyes of Birmingham of Lake Balboa set up the final touchdown with a 10-yard run to the 2. Keyes only appeared in one series after sitting out all of California's practices because of a pulled groin. ``This was a great experience. It was real fun to play with so many unbelievable players,'' Irvin said. ``I've had some peaks and valleys during my high school career, and this was definitely a great way to end it on a high note.'' Defensive back Chad Green Chad Elton Green (Born: June 28, 1975 in Dunkirk, New York) is a former switch-hitting, righthanded minor league baseball player. An outfielder, he attended Mentor High School and then the University of Kentucky. of Birmingham played regularly and also started as a kick returner. ``It was a good game and a great experience. It was great to play with players of this caliber,'' Green said. ``We had a goal all week to dominate on defense and make some big plays and some big hits. We came out here and did that.'' California, coached by Bill Redell Bill Redell (born April 17, 1941 in Red Bluff, California) is an American football coach and member of the College Football Hall of Fame. Redell serves as head coach at Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, California, since 2000, and has formed them into one of of Oaks Christian of Westlake Village, evened the series 2-2. ``I was very impressed. We made very few mistakes, especially when you consider we had so few practices, just about four or five in pads,'' Redell said. ``We got a good jump on them, and I was able to rotate kids in. I think that was important to get an early lead, especially in an all-star game An all-star game is an exhibition game played by the best players in their sports league. The players are often chosen by a popular vote of fans of the sport and the game often occurs at the halfway point of the regular season, although this is not the case for some all-star games , because that put Florida back on their heels for most of the game. I thought our defense played very well.'' Before the game, Redell said he was impressed with his team. But he never made any predictions or talked about winning or losing. ``Actually, I talked to the team about three things: having respect for yourself, for your school and for your state,'' Redell said. ``I still think California and Florida are the two best states for high school football. I just really enjoyed coaching, meeting the guys and meeting new kids. It was a quality experience.'' Redell's staff included offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator typically refers to the coach on a football team in the National Football League or College football who is in charge of the offense. This position aids the head coach by designing and scripting plays, delegating work to offensive position coaches during Jim Benkert of Westlake and assistants Mark Bates Bates , Katherine Lee 1859-1929. American educator and writer best known for her poem "America the Beautiful," written in 1893 and revised in 1904 and 1911. of Oaks Christian, Ray Gerena of Westlake and Mike Sanders For the former National Basketball Association (NBA) player, see Mike Sanders (basketball). Michael Edwin Neil Sanders[1] (born July 20, 1974 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American professional wrestler and stand-up comedian, formerly working with WWA, TNA of Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. . California's Jeff Ferrier of Mission Viejo kicked field goals of 40 and 47 yards. Keller completed 9 of 14 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown. Derrick Williams led California with 42 yards rushing on five carries. Maurice Drew added 25 yards on six carries and also caught four passes for 42 yards. Defensive back Clarence Simpson of Sylmar, linemen Kyle Gunther of Camarillo and P.J. Irvin of Agoura, and linebacker Jason Jenkins of Crescenta Valley of La Crescenta also participated for California. For Florida, Sims rushed for 86 yards on 15 carries, and his longest run was 9 yards. Steven Moffit completed 9 of 14 passes for 151 yards, and Justin Midgitt completed 7 of 17 for 84 yards; two of his first four attempts were intercepted. CALIFLORIDA BOWL Series history 2003 California 26, Florida 15 2002 Florida 34, California 24 2001 Florida 17, California 14 2000 California 21, Florida 11 CAPTION(S): photo, box Photo: Junior Lemau'u, left, of Long Beach Poly and Michael Okwo, right, of Mira Costa Beach tackle Florida's Brian Dennison. Keith Birmingham/Staff Photographer Box: CALIFLORIDA BOWL (see text) |
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