AXE RECLAIMED
Stanford: Blocked PAT in final minute secures Big Game victory for Cardinal
BERKELEY >> Almost nothing about 2020 has gone according to plan for Stanford football, but one thing is back to normal — a wild Big Game ending with the Stanford Axe returning to The Farm.
Defensive end Thomas Booker blocked an extra point attempt with 58 seconds left as Stanford beat Cal 24-23 Friday afternoon at Memorial Stadium, winning the Big Game for the 10th time in 11 years and avenging the 24-20 loss at Stanford a year ago.
Leading 24-17, Stanford watched Ca l ma rch 90 yards in 3:30 and score to draw within one point with less than a minute remaining. But Booker, a 6-foot- 4, 310-pound junior, blocked the PAT kick and Stanford (1-2) broke a six-game losing streak that dated to Oct. 26, 2019.
With no fans except for a handful of spectators on Tightwad Hill, no pre-game pageantry, and the first- ever Friday start, the 123rd Big Game was always going to be memorable. The blocked point-after ensured that people will remember the ending as well.
Let’s go to the film.
DOMINANT SPECIAL TEAMS >> Stanford had blocked a field goal at the end of the first
half and had come close to blocking the previous PAT. Chants of “We can block this” could be heard from the sideline before Cal’s game-tying attempt.
“I feel like the entire day we’ve been getting good pressure, we knew it was there,” Booker said. “The previous kick I got a similar amount of penetration, but I just missed it. Knowing the game was on the line, I knew I had to time the snap as well as I could, got my hand off and it hit me on the elbow.”
But that wasn’t the only big-time special teams play. When Stanford’s offense was stalling in the first half, Cardinal fullback Houston Heimuli recovered a fumbled punt at the Cal 16 to give the team a short field.
“We want to be a great football team, and great football teams take advantage of what happens,” Stanford coach David Shaw said. “They give you a chance to get on the ball, you have to get on it. Early in the year we had a punt that was muffed, and we ran by it and they jumped on it. So we worked on crowding around (the returner) and jumping on it.” CAPITALIZING ON GIFTS >> While Stanford continued its season-long streak of not turning the ball over, all three of its touchdowns were a direct result of miscues by the Bears.
After the muffed punt by Cal, Davis Mills threw an 11yard touchdown pass to Michael Wilson to tie the game at 10-10.
In the third quarter, Cardinal cornerback Salim Turner-Muhammed punched the ball away from Cal running back Marcel Dancy, and the fumble was recovered by Booker. After Mills hit Wilson for 33 yards on the next play, Austin Jones eventually scored on a 2-yard run to put Stanford up 17-10.
Cal soon tied it at 17-17, but then made one final costly miscue. Mills underthrew an open Simi Fehoko and was intercepted, but the turnover was negated by a defensive holding penalty away from the play — the only penalty on Cal in the game. Later in the drive, Jones muscled his way to a first down on third-and-1, and then broke more tackles on an 8-yard run that gave the Cardinal a 24-17 lead with 1:51 left in the third quarter.
Jones, who played at Bishop O’Dowd in Oakland, finished with 85 yards and two TDs on 21 carries. His 8-yard run on third-and- 6 with 30 seconds left sealed the win.
“It’s something we’ve been thinking about all year long,” the sophomore said. “It took 10 years for them to take it from us, we knew we had to get it back. It’s an unbelievable feeling.”
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT >> The blocked kicks papered over what at times was an ugly game. The Cardinal generated only 34 yards of offense in the second quarter, and then went threeand- out again to start the second half.
Stanford had two chances to make it a two-possession game in the fourth quarter, twice driving inside the Cal 35 while up 24-17. But both possessions ended in punts after freshman tackle Myles Hinton was called for holding on third-and-1 from the 24, and then when Mills was sacked on third-and-3 from the 32.
And after allowing Cal to score on a long touchdown drive to win at Stanford Stadium last year, the Cardinal almost allowed the Bears to tie on another drive late in the fourth quarter this year.
But Booker saved the day, or at least prevented overtime, and Stanford, now leading the series 65- 47-11, celebrated with the Axe on the turf of its rivals. After 13 months without a victory, it was enough just to win.
“Being able to feel that feeling again when you haven’t felt it for a calendar year is huge,” Booker said. “You practice all week and you want to put a product on the field that wins games so you know your work is going in the right direction. Even though it’s a gritty, ugly win, you can build on that for weeks to come.” CAPTURING THE AXE >> Stanford stayed on the field after the game to take a picture at midfield with the Axe. It was payback for the home team having celebrated its possession of the Axe with a pregame card stunt (even with no fans in the stands) behind the Cal bench.
Shaw said Stanford staff had brought him a photo of the exhibition and asked if he wanted to show the players.
“No,” Shaw said, “let them see that when they come out.
“I think our guys took a lot of pride in taking a picture in front of that ‘ Our Axe’ sign, and reminding people that it’s called the Stanford Axe.”
Added Mills, who completed 24 of 32 passes for 205 yards: “The Axe is back with their rightful owners.”