Basketball and Football Make for a Big Saturday at Cal Poly

On Saturday, the Cal Poly Mens Basketball and Football teams shared the spotlight. In their first game of the season, Joe Callero’s hoopsters clobbered San Jose State 79-52. In the nightcap, the football team closed out their season with a 53-51 triple-overtime defeat to Eastern Washington.

For many dedicated Mustangs fans, the campus was one-stop sports shopping. Eight hours of Cal Poly Basketball and Football, with only a short tailgating session to divide the two.

Basketball

Coach Callero’s basketball team got off to a great start, leading 20-4 early-on. San Jose State came back with a 16-5 run against the Mustangs’ second team and it looked like the game might be close. But the Mustangs closed the first half with a spurt to lead by 13 at halftime.

The Mustangs defense clamped down in the second half and the scoring kept on coming — a welcome sight for the fans who remember the offensive droughts the team experienced at times a year ago. By the middle of the second half, Coach Callero was emptying his bench. All twelve Mustangs saw time during the game and eleven of the twelve got into the scoring column.

What I learned about the 2011-12 team

While a defensive purist might have enjoyed Cal Poly’s tempo last year, Mustangs games will be much more aesthetically pleasing this season. Coach Callero calls it “spurtability,” but the truth is that the Mustangs will probably be in the 70’s more often than the 50’s this year. Callero talked about not caring how ugly games were as long as they were winning last year, but if they can have continued success playing with a little more offensive tempo, I don’t know any observer who will complain.

Experienced “additions” who are easy to root for

For the Mustangs, the game marked the regular-season return of three players who will play key roles this season. Point guard Amaurys Fermin played in his first game as a Mustang, despite the fact that he has been on-campus for the past two seasons. A junior college transfer from Hagerstown, Maryland, Fermin suffered season-ending injuries each of the past two seasons. As a senior, Fermin started his first game for the Mustangs and scored a game-high 17 points.

Joining Fermin in his return to the Mustangs was a slimmed down Will Taylor. Also a transfer from Hagerstown, Taylor sat out last year as a redshirt. In his first game back, the senior looked aerodynamic and spry, scoring 12 points and pulling down 13 rebounds. Callero says that Taylor gained four inches on his vertical jump during his absence and Taylor confirmed post-game that he has lost 40 pounds since arriving in San Luis Obispo.

Lost in the great games of Fermin and Taylor was Kyle Odister’s return. A sophomore, Odister reshirted last year due to an injury. The point guard who earned All-Big West Freshman Team honors two years ago came off the bench in the second half and knocked down a three-pointer. Odister clearly has some rust to knock-off to regain his form of two years ago, but his return adds a fifth guard who has some experience running the point. While he has had a limited off-season due to his lingering injury, Odister’s getting in the box score rounded out the return of the three key players Callero’s Mustangs missed in 2010-11.

Guard Play

At any time, this year’s Mustangs can have 2-3 guards on the floor with some experience at the point. Maliik Love and Drake U’u both have the ability to play out of the post and with only one true post player (Donahue or Taylor) on the floor at any one time, they should get some opportunities to show their strength and post skills against smaller guards.

Bottom Line

Cal Poly basketball is much more dynamic this year. With their guard play and deep bench, the Mustangs should be even more fun to watch than last year while maintaining their trademark defensive style.

Football

After losing the Golden Horseshoe rivalry game and their playoff hopes last week in Davis, the football team had pride to play for Saturday on Senior Night.

Fansmanship?

While the basketball team got a decent showing (almost 2,000 fans in Mott Gym for a 2:00 PM Saturday game), the football crowd was less-than-stellar. Nearly two whole sections on the eastern side of the field were empty as Eastern Washington drove for an early score. The irony is that students who chose not to attend missed what was probably one of the most entertaining home games of the year, despite the loss.

Senior Night

Senior Jake Romanelli (Templeton High School) led the Mustangs with 74 yards and a touchdown in the first half. Romanelli came out of the game with what looked like injuries at least three times during the game only to return to his duty, racking up consistent four and five-yard runs. On senior night, Romanelli ended the triple overtime contest with a career-high’t be kept out for long, rushing for 143 yards and a touchdown.

Comeback Kids

It seems like every home game for the Mustangs has been close. While Cal Poly has pulled out earlier games, they couldn’t keep Saturday’s game from going into overtime.

After Eastern Washington kicked a field goal in the first possession of overtime, Cal Poly’s James Langford evened the score with a field goal of his own.

 What I learned

College football is a fickle beast. When you fail to move the ball on a defense as porous as Eastern Washington’s, you leave your team susceptible to losses like the one Saturday night. It was surely a game the Mustangs feel like they should have had.

Bottom Line

The football program remains solid. And with increased pregame festivities, tailgating, etc… , going to a Cal Poly Football game is more fun than ever for even the casual fan.

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From a fan’s perspective, and isn’t that what we’re trying to provide here, Cal Poly Football and Basketball games on Saturday were a really great time. From the optimism of a first-game blowout to the excitement of a late-night triple-overtime thriller, a San Luis Obispo sports fan has plenty of worthwhile opportunities to display his or her fansmanship.