Six Teams Remain In College 7s Hunt In Santa Clara

Six Teams Remain In College 7s Hunt In Santa Clara

A recap of the Collegiate Fall Classic after Day One.

Nov 5, 2017 by Alex Goff
Six Teams Remain In College 7s Hunt In Santa Clara

The Fall Collegiate Classic 7s tournament at the Silicon Valley 7s should finish up with Central Washington against Arizona in the final, but there are still some chances for a few surprises at Avaya Stadium in Santa Clara, CA.

This tournament has a double-elimination factor that will kick in on Sunday, but here's what happened on Saturday.

Stanford was stung with injuries going into the tournament, and then got two more in the first half of the team's opening game against UA that put the Cardinal behind the 8-ball. It might not have mattered as Arizona looked very polished in winning 36-0.

San Diego State, now benefitting from the international experience of injured USA stars Brett Thompson and Zack Test as coaches, looked impressive in beating Santa Clara 28-0. 

Test said knowing what to do and teaching others how to do it are two "very different things, but there are very skilled players and we're really enjoying it."

Central Washington was delayed in getting to Santa Clara thanks to snow in the Evergreen State. The Wildcats showed up Saturday morning, worked out the cobwebs, and managed to defeat a tenacious USC team.

Cal Poly held off UC Davis 14-10. 

"The good news is we closed out a close one, but we were up and thought that 14 points was enough," Cal Poly coach James Tesoriero said.

In the second round, Arizona blew by Cal Poly 22-7, and CWU took care of San Diego State. Arizona captain Kyle Rogers was singularly unimpressed with his team's effort, but both teams seemed to make errors at key moments.

Arizona Captain Kyle Rogers Isn't Satisfied


That sets up a semifinal Sunday between the two 2-0 teams, Arizona and Central Washington. The winner of that game goes straight to the final. The loser still has a chance.

Meanwhile, the four 1-1 teams will all play off to get a shot at the final. The two 0-2 teams, Santa Clara and Stanford, have no games on Sunday.

UC Davis plays San Diego State and Cal Poly takes on USC.

The winners of those two games will then face off for a chance to play the loser of Arizona and CWU. So that game — repechage winner vs. UA/CWU loser — will decide who makes the final.

So it's possible that a team can make the final despite being 1-1 on Saturday, but the format makes the final that team's fourth game of the day, while the other finalist will be playing its second game.