The next Cal possession was not successful. The Stanford offense took the field. Despite interludes of incompletion, Paye threw effectively to James. Ran for a close first down. What occurred next was as surprising as the success of Cal's end-around play and Paye's 69-yard pass. A holding penalty backed up Stanford. Soon, in a definitive series of hits by Ken Harvey, Natu Tuatagloa, and Majett Whiteside, Paye was sacked. Sacked. James stopped. Morris stopped. Stanford forced to punt to Cal. With seconds left, Kapp herded his players into formation.

Final score: Cal 17 Stanford 11.

Cal fans poured into the field. From the Stanford sidelines, Cal reclaimed the fabled axe. The bears hoisted Joe Kapp up on their shoulders. With 501 career tackles, Cal senior Hardy Nickerson climbed up on a ladder and led the Cal band in "Big C".

But, from where Caydance sat, the sight of John Paye, dejected on the sidelines, was a poignant reminder of Coach Elway's son, John, after with "The Play", Cal won the legendary 1982 Big Game.

Coach Elway was not in sight. Neither was Griff. Across the crowd-dominated field, Yuri looked through his high-powered binoculars to where Caydance was sitting. Something unusual was moving directly above her in the stands. He handed the binoculars to her brother, Jack.