Kluwe Has Finishing Kick for California

OK, so maybe you can mess with Texas.

For the second consecutive year, the California all-star team pinned a last-second victory over Texas, turning a seemingly for-sure loss into a postgame celebration at the Shrine All-Star football game.

This time, Chris Kluwe booted a 53-yard field goal as time expired to give California a 29-27 victory in front of 7,000 Saturday at Cerritos College.

Kluwe, who has signed with UCLA, is no stranger to long field goals--he drilled a 60-yarder for Los Alamitos High in a playoff victory over Loyola.

His kicking during the game suggested otherwise--he missed an extra point wide left, shanked a punt and missed badly on a 50-yard field goal in the first half--but Kluwe calmly knocked the ball through the uprights when it counted.

The victory was the sixth in a row for California, which defeated Texas last year, 28-25, on a last-second pass from Kyle Boller to Keenan Howry.

Texas scored with 17.7 seconds left to take a 27-26 lead, Aaron Karas connecting with Shirdonya Mitchell for a 14-yard touchdown pass.

But Jason Wright returned the ensuing kickoff 34 yards to the 43-yard line. California was helped by a personal foul call on an incomplete pass and, after a six-yard reception by Tab Perry, Kluwe trotted onto the field.

He trotted off it successfully.

“I was a little upset at the missed PAT, the missed field goal and the bad punt, but that erases it,” he said.

Perry, who has signed with UCLA, had five catches for 165 yards and scored on pass plays of 66 and 63 yards for California.

Out to stop a 0-5 skid against California, Texas mostly stopped itself, particularly in the first half, failing to convert three drives into California territory.

The teams couldn’t have taken a more different approach to the game. California practiced with full pads almost every day this week, choosing to engage in plenty of full-contact drills.

Texas went full-contact too . . . for all of about five minutes.

Neither team’s pregame preparation appeared to work in a scoreless first quarter. California’s offense looked particularly rusty, netting minus-seven yards.

A quarterback switch from Zac Wasserman to Nate Ray in the second quarter didn’t help at first--running back Michael Williams was stuffed on fourth-and-one at the California 39 with 8:29 to play in the first half.

But California finally found the end zone, Ray hooking up with Perry on what appeared to be a harmless out pattern. Perry, however, broke free of two tacklers and scooted down the left sideline for a 66-yard touchdown with 5:39 left in the second quarter.

Texas stopped short-circuiting on offense, tying the score at 7-7 on a three-yard run by Vontez Duff with 1:47 left in the quarter.

Then came the California rush--two touchdowns in a 15-second span.

Ray capped a rapid 73-yard drive, finding Williams for an eight-yard strike with 31 seconds left. The extra-point attempt by Kluwe went wide left.

California scored again, Igor Olshansky intercepting a screen pass over the middle and returning it 17 yards for a touchdown and 19-7 lead. The two-point conversion failed.

Texas began its comeback in the fourth quarter, Jonathan Thompson scoring on a 39-yard pass from Karas.

Duff, who signed with Notre Dame, finished with 109 yards in 22 carries and was selected the most valuable player for Texas.