Keelhaulers Win Pacific Coast Championship

(Bellingham, WA - April 5, 2009)  Cal Maritime has won the Pacific Coast Division II college crown by downing Utah Valley State 35-13 in the title game Sunday in Bellingham, WA.

Following a lineout, Rufus Walker opened the scoring in the first minute for the Keelhaulers, which was quickly followed by wing Kevin Hawke’s first try of the day to quickly build a first half lead, all while playing into a strong head wind.

Utah Valley State kicked an excellent drop goal to get on the scoreboard followed by a try as they pressured the Cal Maritime line for long periods of play. The game was evenly balanced with the Keelhaulers ahead at half time by 10-8.

In the second half Cal Maritime scored four more tries as Kevin Hawke scored his second and Bobbie Rather, Dave Bennett and Kirk Mueller scored the others to earn the championship.

“Our forwards played well today. But Utah Valley make you fight for every ball and created a real problem for us at the contact area,” said coach Edward Roberts. “We have some work to improve our ball retention for the next round”.

The victory means Cal Maritime qualify as the Pacific coast #1 seed and travel to Sanford, Florida to play in the National Sweet 16 on April 17 & 18, 2009. In their first game, Cal Maritime will face Loyola Marymount.

Scorers

Tries: Walker, Hawke (2), Rather, Bennett, Mueller

Cons: Walker

Pens: Walker