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Mickey Pimentel:
Crusader grad leads Golden Bears to Holiday Bowl win

Posted Jan. 4, 2007
Mickey Pimentel got used to playing football on Friday nights while excelling on the gridiron at Marian Catholic High School. He got used to playing the same game — though at an elevated level — on Saturday afternoons as a member of the University of California-Berkeley Golden Bears.

It is not unthinkable that Pimentel — the 2002 South Bay League Defensive Player of the Year — could be playing the game he loves on Sundays in the NFL.

That translates to ESPN and live network television — as good as it gets.

Certainly, Pimentel, a starting linebacker for Cal, and the rest of his teammates made an impression in the No. 20 Golden Bears’ 45-10 victory against the No. 21 Texas A&M Aggies in the 29th annual Pacific Life Holiday Bowl Dec. 28 at Qualcomm Stadium.

Pimentel was credited with seven tackles — second on the team to Holiday Bowl Defensive Player of the Game Desmond Bishop.

But it was the zeal with which he and his Cal defensive teammates played that made firm believers of the 62,395 fans in attendance that the Golden Bears were worthy champions — and could play just as physical as any opponent from the Big 12 Conference.

“Those hits were hard out there. It shows the passion we have for the game and how united we are,” Pimentel said in regard to a comment on the ferocity of the hits delivered by Cal defenders throughout the contest.
The Golden Bears, who made amends for a 45-31 loss to 21st-ranked Texas Tech in the 2004 Holiday Bowl when they coughed up 597 yards, collected one interception, two sacks, six tackles for a loss and three pass break-ups. The 10 points allowed on defense was a Holiday Bowl record.

Pimentel was at the heart of the maelstrom.

“I’ve had a great time at Cal so far. I’ve enjoyed being with this new family,” Pimentel said.

Many of the Golden Bears were so charged up after the victory that at least one player, sophomore wide receiver DeSean Jackson, was predicting the team would not only play in next year’s national championship game but win it.

If so, Pimentel could be watching his former teammates from an NFL stadium.

A senior, the former Metro Conference standout concluded his two-year career with the Golden Bears with some jaw-dropping statistics.

Following his graduation from Marian Catholic in 2003 (the Crusaders won the San Diego Section Division III championship title his senior year and finished second his junior year), the 6-foot-2, 238-pound Pimentel played two years at Pima Community College in Arizona.

It’s the numbers he compiled while at Pima that brought him to Cal — and could ultimately push him on to a professional career.

His final year at the community college level, Pimentel, who has 4.6 speed in the 40-yard dash, accumulated 10.5 sacks and two interceptions for a Pima team that finished 9-3 with a final No. 5 national ranking. Pimentel collected such honors as the National Junior College Athletic Association Region I Defensive Player of the Year, SuperPrep Junior College All-American and Western States Football League Defensive Player of the Year.

SuperPrep ranked him as the No. 46 overall junior college player in the nation. Fox Sports’ College Football News.com ranked him as the No. 10 junior college linebacker in the country.

In two years at Cal, he did nothing to refute those honors. He amassed 34 tackles as a junior, including 20 unassisted stops, made 8.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage to rank fourth on the team in that category, had two interceptions that he returned for 82 yards against Oregon State and ended the regular season by being named the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week after recording five tackles, 3.5 tackles for 27 yards in losses, 2.5 quarterback sacks and forcing a fumble in a 27-3 win against arch-rival Stanford.

Pimentel had seven tackles and one pass break-up in Cal’s 35-28 victory against BYU in the 2005 Las Vegas Bowl.

His senior year was even more eventful. The Golden Bears (10-3) finished as Pac-10 co-champions. On the field, the athletic Pimentel made 57 tackles, including 23 solo hits, made 10 tackles for a loss of 27 yards, had quarterback sacks in four games (Minnesota, Portland State, Oregon and Washington State) and returned an interception 20 yards for a touchdown against Arizona State.

In the latter game, he did a flip in the endzone after scoring.

Pimentel finished in a tie for fifth overall on the team in tackles in 2006, tied for second in tackles for losses and tied for first in quarterback sacks.

The Holiday Bowl victory only adds an exclamation point to the season — and a gleam in the eye of pro scouts.

Taking this all in on a first-hand basis has been Hilltop High grad Chet Teofilo, who is back on the Cal roster after red-shirting in 2004. The 6-3, 305-pounder switched to offensive line in the spring of 2005 and provides depth up front, according to the coaching staff. He saw his only action of 2005 against Stanford.

Teofilo, who is listed as a sophomore, looks to make a name with the Golden Bears in the future.

At Hilltop, Teofilo was a defensive force. He had 75 tackles and 9.5 sacks as a senior in 2003. His showcase game came against Sweetwater when he made 14 tackles and two sacks.

Overall, the 2006 Cal roster featured five former San Diego Section players. Joining Pimentel and Teofilo were junior tight end Julian Arthur (Bishop’s), freshman wide receiver Daniel Lofton (Westview) and freshman linebacker Michael Mohamed (Brawley).