Cal wrapped up their impressive pool play at the 2011 rugby 7s by holding off a spirited Penn State effort to win Group A. The fate of the Bears was very much in doubt until midway through the second half, but Cal eventually found their way to another solid victory.
Seamus Kelly set up Dustin Muhn, who managed an impressive 40 meter sprint to the end zone to take the try and hand the Bears the early 7-0 lead. Immediately, Blaine Scully managed to steal the kickoff and take it the other way to make it 12-0, and Cal seemed on their way to another quick victory.
But Penn State did have a few opportunities and showed some life early on. First Chris Saint set up Joe Baker after Baker threw the ball inbounds to him (pretty much working like a give-and-go in basketball), cutting the lead to 12-7 before halftime. Penn State also stopped a Cal try right before the first half expired, keeping them in the game a bit longer. And the Nittany Lions had great field position early in the half to try and put pressure on Cal.
But they couldn't convert, and the Bears made them pay. Dustin Muhn's beautiful kick downfield went right into the hands of the streaking Scully, who ran into the end zone untouched to extend the lead to 19-7. Connor Ring added a score later on to make it 26-7, and Cal was on their way.
The Bears move onto the quarterfinals tomorrow at 7:19 AM PT/10:19 AM ET. For more coverage of Cal rugby, head over to the California Golden Blogs!