Cal Sports Report

Cal QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele Impressive in Polynesian Bowl

Sagapolutele was perfect in his team's first possession and nearly drove his team for a game-tying touchdown in the closing seconds

Jake Curtis

Former Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin, who is now Cal's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach
Former Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin, who is now Cal's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach / Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Cal fans who watched the Polynesian Bowl on Friday night had to be excited by what they saw.

Incoming Cal freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagpolutele provided an impressive performance in the game while playing for Team Mauka, which lost the contest played in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Team Makai 28-21.

In his team's first offensive possession, Sagapolutele completed all three of his passes for 70 yards and a touchdown. And it was the way he threw the ball that was particuarly impressive.

He finished the game 12-for-17 for 178 yards, one touchdown and one interception, the pick coming when Sagapolutele was on the verge of directing a masterful game-tying drive in the closing seconds.

It was that first possession that showed Sagapolutele's potential, and it was the last possession that showed his poise before a mistake at the end ruined things.

Team Makai had just taken a 28-21 lead when Sagapolutele took over at its 25-yard line with 1:40 remaining. On a fourth-and-11 play on that drive, Sagapolutele stepped up in the pocket and delivered a perfect 34-yard pass that gave his team a first down at the opponent's 42-yard line with a minute left. He followed that with a 22-yard completion, but on the next play, the drive ended. On that play, Sagapolutele was flushed out of the pocket, and scrambled to his right. Just before being tackled and just before stepping out of bounds, Sagapolutele threw an awkward pass for a left-hander back toward the mddle of the field and it would up being intercepted, ending the threat.

Otherwise Sagapulotele was nearly perfect.

On Mauka's first offensive snap of the game, the left-handed Sagapolutele delivered a perfect 37-yard completion down the seam that would have made an NFL quarterback proud. He followed that with 23-yard completion along the right sideline. He then finished the drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass.

On his second possession, Sagapolutele completed perfect 33-yard pass before a screen pass to a wide receiver lost 2 yards. Sagapolutele threw his first incompletion on the next play, but it may have been his most impressive play of the first half. Flushed out of the pocket Sagpoultele rolled to his left, showing his mobility, then just before hitting the sideline, he threw across his body, delivering a rope that should have been caught 20 yards down the field. Two Mauka receivers could have made the catch, but they got in each other's way, essentially knocking the ball away from each other.

Sagapolutele then threw his first legitimate incompletion as he misfired on a 15-yard throw over the middle.

On his first pass attempt in the second half, Sagapolutele attempted a long pass to a closley covered receiver that went incomplete along the right sideline. He hen threw three short completions before throwing an incompetion on a third-down play.

Husan Longstreet, the USC commit who began the game as Makai's quarterback, was just as impressive, throwing four touchdown passes.

But the ease of Sagapolutele's delivery, his pocket presence, the strength of his arm and the accuracy of his throws showed why he is considered a good bet to be Cal's starting quarterback next fall as a true freshman. Cal is likely to add a quarterback through the transfer portal before the 2025 season begins, but Sagapolutele will be given a shot to win the job regardless of the competition at the quarterback position.

Cal's top three quarterbacks in 2024 -- Fernando Mendoza, Chandler Rogers and CJ Harris -- all entered the transfer portal.

During his senior season at Campbell High School in Hawaii, he threw 46 touchdown passes with just three interceptions. He signed with Oregon, but two weeks after he arrived, he entered the transfer portal and signed with Cal.

He has already enrolled at Cal so it is presumed he will participate in spring ball, although has not been confirmed.

Three other Cal commits -- all defensive players -- also played in the game: linebacker Lebron Williams, safety Aiden Manutai and defensive back Jae'on Young. Manutai and Young almost came up with a big play. Manutai stepped in front of a receiver and the pass hit him the chest for what would have been an interception. But he was unable to hang onto the ball. In the second half, Young also got in front of the intended receiver and was in perfect position for the interception, but the ball bounced off his somach.

However, Manutai had the covereage on Makai's long touchdown pass with 1:40 left in the game.

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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