VR hits a sick flip after a perfect TD catch
California football and Hawaii became a Christmas Eve party on the grill. Even over a period of time Cal is building its first coaching staff led by Tosh Lupoi. Except the Golden Bears wide receiver delivered the most electrifying moment — on a turnover.
Quarterback Cal Jaron-Keave Sagapolutele returned to his home state for the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. “JKS” threw a wicked bomb to Jacob De Jesus for the game’s opening 41-yard touchdown.
But the diminutive running back/wide receiver fired up fans with his following stunt in the end zone after the TD:
De Jesus finished close to 100 yards receiving before the fourth quarter against the Rainbow Warriors. He arrived as a reward College football transfer portal supplement — who even scored a goal against Cal in the 2024 LA Bowl with UNLV.
Cal vs. Hawaii with rallying angles
The 2025 Hawaii Bowl ended up being a reunion of sorts. And not just limited to Cal’s prized freshman right guard.
Interim Golden Bears coach Nick Rolovich is familiar with the venue and the opponent — as he once led Hawaii. “Rolo” went 28-27 overall on the island and led the way in three bowl appearances. Ironically, all three postseason honors ended in the very bowl game he coached at Cal on Wednesday. Rolovich went 2-1 in the Hawaii Bowl with the ‘Bows.
He eventually left Hawaii after a 10-5 2019 campaign and took a job at Washington State. That stay, however, was cut short due to his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as required by Washington state law.
Rolovich, however, has made a new permanent home in Berkeley. Lupoi decided to keep Rolovich on his new coaching staff in 2025 — agreeing to a two-year contract on December 11. The move also benefits the further development of Sagapolutele.
Cal led 21-13 during the third quarter of the bowl game against the 8-4 representative from the Mountain West Conference.
2025-12-25 03:42:00
