Box score blah only reveals numbers

  Mike Maloney Maloney wants to remind you
that there’s more to life than making shallow, fairly obvious
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Saturday’s box score tells us that Cory Paus connected
with DeShaun Foster for a 34-yard touchdown pass. The box score
says the score capped a six-play, 80-yard drive. And according to
the box score, the TD gave UCLA a 21-10 lead with 1:16 to play in
the first half.

All that information packed neatly into a few lines. Funny thing
is, it only begins to tell the story.

On the play, Cal linebacker John Klotsche hit Paus from behind
just as he brought his arm forward to throw the ball. The pass
fluttered into the air like a moth that’s been swung at with
a rolled up newspaper. It looked more like the kind of ball
you’d see thrown at a slow pitch softball tournament. More
than anything though, it looked like a sitting duck ““ an
interception waiting to happen.

Apparently, the ball had other ideas.

It floated right toward the waiting arms of Foster, standing by
himself for the first time since pre-game warm-ups.
California’s defense had spent the better part of the first
half throwing eight and nine defenders in the Heisman
hopeful’s direction. And yet, there was Foster, 10 yards
downfield and all alone. Cal’s fate was sealed the moment he
caught the ball.

And what about the Bruins’ first score? The box score tell
us that Craig Bragg scored on a 42-yard touchdown run. On paper, it
sounds rather mundane ““ a dime a dozen. Then again, they
don’t play these games on paper.

It started simply enough when Paus took the snap. But all of a
sudden, the ball started changing hands faster than a newly lit
joint at a Grateful Dead concert.

Paus handed the ball to Foster, and as he sweeped right, the
defense followed. Foster handed the ball to Tab Perry coming back
across the field, only to see Perry deposit the ball in the arms of
a streaking Bragg. The double reverse ended with Bragg dashing past
a befuddled Bears’ defense, down the right sideline for a
42-yard score.

Leave it to Bob Toledo to call the “Harlem
Globetrotters’ weave play” with his offense struggling
to get on track. By the time the play was finally over, you
half-expected Bragg to run over to the Cal sideline and dump a
bucket of confetti over head coach Tom Holmoe’s head.

The fact is, when you rely on the box score to tell the story,
it’s the little things that you miss.

Take a run by Foster early in the first quarter, where he
steamrolled over Golden Bears’ defensive back Bert Watts.

Now, in the box score, the run isn’t all that impressive
““ just one of Foster’s 24 rushing attempts, merely nine
of his 117 rushing yards. And yet on the field, it might have been
the most awe-inspiring play of the night. As he burst into the
Bears’ secondary, Foster began dishing out punishment like he
was the Headless Horseman galloping through Sleepy Hollow.

The collision with Watts not only knocked the Cal safety flat on
his back, but the impact from Foster also managed to dislodge Watts
from his helmet, sending it flying backward a good three yards. But
those three yards aren’t the only thing you won’t find
in the box score.

Take for example the Bruins’ blocked punt returned for a
touchdown midway through the third quarter. Strangely enough, you
won’t find Marcus Reese’s name printed in the scoring
entry.

This, despite the fact that Marcus Reese completely laid out to
block the punt. He looked like a golden retriever leaping headlong
off the dock and into the lake after his favorite tennis ball.
Reese shot off the line of scrimmage like an anti-submarine homing
torpedo. And true to form, Reese sunk Cal’s last hopes on
impact.

A second later, Devon Reese would return the blocked punt 16
yards into the end zone for a Bruin touchdown and a 35-10 lead with
6:22 left to play in the third quarter. Of course, you don’t
need me to tell you that.

That part, at least, you’ll find in the box score.