Arizona-Cal storylines: On Berryhill's big day, 'Hill Mary' facts and close clashes

Arizona’s Stanley Berryhill III looks for next hill to climb after already-eventful 2018

As is customary, Arizona Wildcats coach Kevin Sumlin rattled through announcements at the end of a team meeting. Then the last slide came up.

“Oh yeah, and this,” Sumlin said.

The words projected on the giant screen behind Sumlin pertained to redshirt-freshman receiver Stanley Berryhill III. At first, he didn’t know what was happening.

“It took a while to comprehend what was going on,” Berryhill said. “All I know is I’m getting hit by all the players because they’re so excited. Then it clicked in my mind: You’re on scholarship now.”

The big reveal happened on Aug. 18. Berryhill, a Tucsonan who came to Arizona as a walk-on, had achieved one of his primary goals. He couldn’t wait to tell his family.

He began by conveying the news in a group chat to his parents and older sisters.

“No one really responded,” Berryhill said. “Then I called them one by one. They’re like, ‘Oh my god, we’re so proud of you!’ I was like, ‘I send you guys a text message, and I don’t get a response?’ ”

Berryhill told his grandparents in person. The tears were flowing.

But Berryhill understands that earning a scholarship isn’t the end of his story. It’s merely the next chapter.

“I get a lot of crap from the guys: ‘Scholarship boy, scholarship boy.’ But it’s still the same thing,” Berryhill said. “I still do what I did when I was a walk-on – work hard.

“I have a lot of little goals that I keep with me and my dad. It’s just one of many goals. Becoming a starter next year, stuff like that.”

Berryhill began his high school career at Mountain View before transferring to Orange Lutheran in Orange, California, for his senior year. He had opportunities to play baseball in college but decided to walk on to the football team at his hometown school.

After redshirting last year, Berryhill earned a spot as the No. 3 slot receiver behind Shun Brown and Tony Ellison. In his fifth collegiate game, Berryhill scored his first touchdown.

Arizona was trailing USC 24-0 in the third quarter last Saturday when Khalil Tate connected with Berryhill for a 33-yard score. The play was called “91.” Berryhill ran a fade route from the left slot and got past Trojans safety Marvell Tell III.

“I run this route quite often in one-on-ones and in practice,” Berryhill said. “I kind of had an idea that this is the time it’s going to come to me. So I just took off, gave him an inside move and saw that I was two steps ahead. And Khalil threw the ball.”

A flag was thrown on the play. It was against USC. Berryhill could celebrate another milestone with his family.

“My family members come to every game,” he said. “They said they’re going to keep coming until I score. Hopefully they keep coming.”

The Berryhill clan most assuredly will be on hand for Arizona’s Family Weekend game against Cal on Saturday.

A linebacker Jacob Colacion finds his way onto the field at ‘Will’

Jacob Colacion finally was ready to play football again. He wasn’t sure how many snaps he’d get.

Then, in the second quarter against USC, starting “Will” linebacker Tony Fields II injured his shoulder. He left the game, briefly returned but couldn’t finish.

With usual backup “Will” Anthony Pandy suspended, Colacion became the proverbial next man up. His first action since 2017 turned out to be extensive.

“I went into the game obviously prepared to play but wasn’t sure if I wasn’t going to get in,” Colacion said. “Unfortunately, Tony got hurt and I got the call. It was great. I had a lot of fun – fun I hadn’t had in a while.”

Colacion sat out the first four games while recuperating from a sports hernia. The injury cropped up during the offseason. It caused Colacion to miss all but a handful of practices during training camp. He avoided surgery but spent countless hours undergoing physical therapy.

Colacion, a redshirt sophomore, returned to full practice in the week leading up to the Oregon State game. It isn’t the same as playing.

“The first couple drives I played a little timid,” Colacion said. “I wasn’t really used to live contact, especially against a team like USC.

“But I feel like after a couple snaps you kind of get back into it. Pretty soon, I was just having fun out there. I wasn’t really thinking.”

Colacion finished with a career-high four tackles and his first fumble recovery as a Wildcat. It came under unusual circumstances.

Shortly after Colacion entered the game, the Trojans miscommunicated on a shotgun snap. The ball caromed off unsuspecting USC quarterback JT Daniels into a gaggle of players.

“I just remember seeing the ball on the ground, seeing a bunch of legs, looking around and no one was going for it,” Colacion said. “I dove on it and got the turnover. That was pretty nice.”

It’s unclear whether Fields and/or Pandy will return against Cal. Regardless, Colacion provides depth at a position that needs it.

He primarily has trained at “Mike” linebacker but was needed at “Will” with Fields hurt and Pandy unavailable. That enabled Colacion to play alongside Colin Schooler, his roommate and former high school rival in Orange County, California.

“It’s kind of fun … being on the same side,” Colacion said. “He helped me out a lot. Being out, I missed a few things. He brought me back up to speed pretty quickly.”

8 fun facts about the game: Cal returns to scene of ‘Hill Mary’

No Arizona fan ever will forget the last time Cal visited Tucson.

The 2014 matchup between the Wildcats and Golden Bears forever will be known as the “Hill Mary” game. Austin Hill’s catch on a Hail Mary pass as time expired capped a frantic fourth-quarter comeback and gave Arizona a 49-45 victory.

Here are some factoids about the game that you may or may not remember:

1. The author of the pass, Anu Solomon, set school records with 47 completions, 73 attempts and 520 yards. His five TD passes were one off the UA mark.
2. Arizona trailed 28-6 at halftime and 31-13 through three quarters. Cal led 45-30 with 5:21 remaining. The Wildcats scored three touchdowns in the final 3:30.
3. Arizona had a chance to tie with 2:44 left after Solomon’s 15-yard TD pass to Cayleb Jones. But Solomon and the Wildcats couldn’t pull off the 2-point conversion.
4. Arizona took possession at its 30 with 52 seconds left after a missed 47-yard field goal. The Wildcats were flagged for offensive pass interference on the first play, pushing them back to their 15. Solomon then completed 3 of 4 passes for 38 yards to set up the Hail Mary at the Cal 47.
5. Solomon, a redshirt freshman at the time, completed passes to nine receivers. Jones finished with 13 catches for 186 yards and three touchdowns. Hill had eight grabs for 127 yards and two TDs. Nate Phillips had eight receptions for 80 yards.
6. Arizona finished with 627 yards of offense, its highest total in a Pac-12 game. The Wildcats had 420 yards in the second half, including 371 through the air.
7. Cal’s quarterback that day was sophomore Jared Goff, who threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns. He would throw 35 TD passes that season and become the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NFL draft.
8. The “Hill Mary” game was Arizona’s league opener. The Wildcats would go 7-2 in the conference to win the Pac-12 South title. Arizona lost to Oregon in the league championship game and to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl to finish 10-4. The ’14 Cats were the third team in school history to win 10 or more games.

UA offensive line seeks rebound after subpar performance vs. USC

Two Saturdays ago, Arizona rushed for a season-high 442 yards. The Wildcats followed that effort up with a season-low 98.

For an offensive line that prides itself on run-blocking, that’s an unacceptable drop-off.

“Our goal is way over 100 yards,” redshirt junior Cody Creason said. “To be under 100 is not good.”

After blasting open holes against Oregon State, the line met serious resistance against USC. The group seeks a bounce-back against Cal but likely won’t be at full strength.

Senior left tackle Layth Friekh, the line’s undisputed leader and top performer, hobbled through two-plus quarters against the Trojans. He finally ceded to redshirt sophomore Michael Eletise. Arizona finished the game with a quintet that hadn’t previously played together: Eletise, Creason, Josh McCauley, Bryson Cain and Donovan Laie.

Friekh, who has never missed a start because of injury, is expected to give it a go against the Golden Bears. How effective he’ll be, and whether he lasts the whole game, remains to be seen.

Creason, who was just getting used to playing alongside Friekh, enjoyed double-teaming defenders with the less polished but more powerful Eletise.

“Mike did a really nice job,” Creason said. “He’s getting big-time movement.

Eletise was expected to be a starting guard. He ended up as a reserve tackle for a line that has been in flux since spring.

Creason began the season as the starting right tackle. He shifted to left guard when Friekh returned from his two-game NCAA limbo. Creason hadn’t played guard previously.

“Never,” he said. “Never gotten in a three-point stance in my life.”

The experiment was going well until Arizona ran into USC. The Wildcats’ longest run against the Trojans was 10 yards.

“They definitely had more people in the box,” Creason said, “which made it tougher for us to run the ball.”

Cal is likely to utilize a similar strategy. Arizona rushed for 345 yards in last year’s meeting despite tailback J.J. Taylor being disqualified late in the first quarter because of targeting.

Friekh is the only healthy and available starter back from the 2017 offensive line – and both of those are in question Saturday night.

Close games are the norm when Cats, Cal clash

Since a trio of unsightly blowouts from 2003-05, almost every Arizona-Cal game has been compellingly close.

Six of the past eight meetings have been decided by one score or less, including five in a row. The past two were decided on the final play.

The Wildcats have won the past four matchups, offsetting the Golden Bears’ win streak from ’03-05.

Here are the results of the past eight meetings:

• Nov. 11, 2006: Arizona 24, Cal 20
• Sept. 22, 2007: Cal 45, Arizona 27
• Oct. 18, 2008: Arizona 42, Cal 27
• Nov. 14, 2009: Cal 24, Arizona 16
• Sept. 25, 2010: Arizona 10, Cal 9
• Nov. 11, 2013: Arizona 33, Cal 28
• Sept. 20, 2014: Arizona 49, Cal 45
• Oct. 21, 2017: Arizona 45, Cal 44 (2OT)