The Axe was in jeopardy of falling into Stanford’s hands after an early 14-point deficit. The California Golden Bears, however, made sure the coveted Big Game trophy stays put in Berkeley, beating the Cardinal 24-21 Saturday.
Cal outscored its annual Bay Area nemesis 24-7 over the final three quarters to keep the prestigious hardware in Strawberry Canyon. Again, the Bears had to dig themselves out of a brief hole.
Alternate Stanford quarterback Justin Lamson punched the ball inside the end zone twice on short-yardage runs – scoring on a one and two-yard run to build the early 14-0 lead. But then, Cal QB Fernando Mendoza sparked the rally…