The Mustangs won both matches this past weekend, defeating the Santa Clara Broncos and Western Washington Vikings in back-to-back days — each by a significant margin.
Cal Poly played Santa Clara on Saturday, Jan. 31, winning 70-21 in a match that gave a rotation of newer Mustang players an opportunity at A-side minutes. O’Brien said the performance was great overall, but noted a few defensive breakdowns. Cal Poly’s B-side defeated Santa Clara, 97-7.
The Mustangs dotted down two tries before one of the aforementioned breakdowns gave a Santa Clara winger an open look at the try zone from 60 meters out. Cal Poly responded a short time later with a long try of their own: Coby Baker found flanker Joey Hodge on a skip pass out wide, Hodge stepping one defender before shifting another out of his path with a dummy pass to his right.
The Mustangs added two more tries in the first half and another five tries in the second half.
Western Washington
The match of the weekend came on Sunday versus the Vikings of Western Washington — a team described by head coach Chris O’Brien as the top team in D1AA. The match was tightly contested in the first half. The Mustangs held a narrow 14-12 advantage.
“I always knew that would be the toughest match,” O’Brien said. “They’re a very well-coached and competitive team.” O’Brien said the Vikings will be moving up to D1A in 2027.
Western Washington drew first blood with a penalty try. The Mustangs responded quickly after a turnover by the Vikings in their own 22-meter line; Cal Poly forwards responding with a hard-earned score.
The two teams would trade tries in the first half before a Mustang onslaught in the final 40, spurred by a 90-meter interception return by winger Nathan Vanderklugt as the Vikings were knocking on the door.
The Mustangs scored five second-half tries. The Vikings, none.
“They score a lot of points on most teams, so they wanted a test,” O’Brien said. “They reached out to me partly because of my brother, Tim — St. Mary’s has played them, and Western Washington has played high-level competition. […] It was a really good match for our team.”
Cal Poly plays Santa Cruz in San Luis Obispo on Saturday, Feb. 7. Kickoff is 1 p.m.