Manderino, Cal miss out on history

Barry Faulkner

Chris Manderino came to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Saturday to

help his Cal football team make history. But he nearly made some of

his own.

Manderino, a former Newport Harbor High star and a three-year

starter at fullback for the No. 7-ranked Golden Bears, rushed three

times for 15 yards and caught two passes for 21 more in Cal’s 23-17

Pac-10 loss to No. 1-ranked USC (5-0, 2-0 in conference).

The redshirt junior played 29 offensive snaps and produced first

downs on three of his season-high five touches.

But his most notable brush with NCAA lore occurred with about nine

minutes left in a game the visitors hoped would be the program’s

first victory in seven tries against a team sitting atop the national

polls.

By that time, Cal quarterback Aaron Rodgers was piling up

precedents of his own, completing his first 23 pass attempts to set

school and conference single-game records for consecutive

completions. That total also tied him for the NCAA single-game high,

established by Tennessee’s Tee Martin in 1998.

Add those to the three straight he completed at the end of a 49-7

drubbing of Oregon State Oct. 2, and it was 26 in a row as Cal (3-1,

1-1) broke the huddle on second-and-eight from the Trojans’ 36-yard

line.

Rodgers was flushed to his left by the USC pass rush, as Manderino

darted into the flat, his familiar rout that resulted in his two

receptions Saturday.

But, this time, Manderino was hawked by a USC defender all the way

to the visitors’ sideline, prompting Rodgers to intentionally loft

the ball out of bounds on a direct line above Manderino.

Thus, what could have been an NCAA-record-setting reception,

instead floated hopelessly over Manderino’s head.

“Aaron makes good decisions and he threw that one away,” said

Manderino, who had a record-setting career at Newport Harbor,

including a Newport-Mesa-best 31 touchdowns as a senior tailback in

2000. “I didn’t know if I was open or not, but when I turned around

after the ball went out of bounds, I saw the USC guy had me covered.”

When it comes to versatility at the fullback spot, Manderino has

it covered.

In addition to his punishing blocking, the 6-foot-1, 225-pound

former walk-on -- he was awarded a scholarship the week before making

his first start in the 2002 season-opener -- has compiled some modest

statistics.

Including Saturday, he now has 27 career carries for 116 yards and

one touchdown, as well as 23 receptions for 202 yards and two TDs.

Yet, despite his most prolific individual performance of the

season, Manderino’s focus on the team was clear in the somber

postgame mood outside the Cal locker room.

“The win is No. 1,” said Manderino, who quarterbacked Newport

Harbor to the 1999 CIF Southern Section Division VI title, before

gaining 2,141 yards as a senior to help the Tars reach the Division

VI title game. “Our program has come a long way since I’ve been here,

and we still have a way to go in the future. But I think we played

the No. 1 team in the country very tough today.”

Manderino, 21, who caught one pass for 5 yards in Cal’s 35-31,

three-overtime upset of USC last season in Strawberry Canyon, said he

was ready for Saturday’s return to Southern California.

“It’s a great atmosphere to play in,” he said of the 90,008 in

attendance, the first sellout for a Cal game at the Coliseum since

1930.

The Bears made the USC home crowd sweat it out, driving to the USC

9 in the final minutes, before a sack and three incompletions sealed

the Trojans’ 14th straight win.

Manderino said he has several friends who attend USC, including

former Sailor teammate Michael McDonald, a redshirt freshman walk-on

quarterback.

Manderino’s older sister, Jocelyn, another Newport Harbor product,

played water polo at USC.

“I have a passion for this game and [the Coliseum] is a great

place to play it,” he said.

Nearly a historic place, as well.