White Has Rosy Start in Pasadena

Manuel White, meet the Rose Bowl.

White, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound running back out of Valencia High who will attend UCLA, introduced himself to his future home stadium Saturday night at the first CaliFlorida All-Star football game.

Granted, White was playing against recent high school graduates, not the front seven of USC or Washington, but he scored two touchdowns in California’s 21-11 victory over Florida before 9,200 fans.

White was not a workhorse on Saturday--California ran four-receiver sets on practically every down--but he displayed a decent burst of speed on a pass play near the end zone, taking a quick hitch from Matt Cassel and sprinting 14 yards down the left side for a touchdown with 8:34 left in the second quarter.

White also scored on a one-yard plunge with 3:00 left in the first quarter to give California a 7-3 lead.

White finished with 18 yards rushing in five carries and had two catches for 10 yards.

“I feel right at home here,” said White, who rushed for 6,745 yards and 78 touchdowns at Valencia. “It was a great experience.”

The USC-bound Cassel, who passed for nearly 6,000 yards in three years at Chatsworth, completed five of 10 passes for 22 yards for California, which led by as many as 18 points.

Wide receiver Keary Colbert of Hueneme, who has signed with USC, caught a 34-yard touchdown pass from Chris Rix with 3:22 left in the third quarter, giving California a 21-3 lead.

Colbert got behind the defense and was practically all alone when he caught the ball a few yards in front of the end zone.

“I didn’t see anything but the [stadium] lights,” Colbert said. “I thought I was going to drop it, but I didn’t.”

Colbert, a 6-1, 180-pounder, finished with two catches for 40 yards.

Pat Norton, a linebacker-fullback from Hart High who has signed with UCLA, had two tackles.

Quarterback Scott Vossmeyer of Crescenta Valley, who has signed with Oregon, completed two of three passes for 11 yards and rushed for 30 yards in five carries.

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Florida goes a long way to come up short in inaugural game. Page 11