Winner buys the sandwiches

Tedford and Sac State coach have been friends since their teens
By Dave Newhouse, STAFF WRITER
BERKELEY — Saturday's projected football mismatch between Cal and Sacramento State is all about a cheese sandwich.
Well, not just a cheese sandwich. It's also about a longtime friendship between the two head coaches, Jeff Tedford and Steve Mooshagian, which adds some relish to the story.
They met when Tedford was 15 and Mooshagian 17, when the latter was a parks and recreation director. Tedford, a Downey High student and a quarterback, complimented Mooshagian on a catch he made for Warren High the year before.
Mooshagian then became a fan of Tedford, and later a favorite receiver of Tedford's at both Cerritos College and Fresno State. Then these two college roommates coached at Fresno State under Jim Sweeney.
That's when their relationship became, well, cheesy.
"Donna (Tedford) used to make Jeff a sandwich, and only give him cheese and bread," Mooshagian said Tuesday. "He wasn't making much money. When he got his new contract (at Cal), I asked him if she is giving him bologna and an extra piece of cheese.
"He has more money in his checkbook, he drives a better car, and he lives in a better house. But the person has not changed a bit. He's a guy I'd give the shirt off my back for, and I know he would for me."
And maybe even buy a cheese sandwich for — or try.
"Those are the things he remembers," Tedford said. "I can't believe he remembers that. I think there was (only cheese) one day. One day! I opened it up, and I had no idea either that there wasn't meat. I don't have a fetish for cheese sandwiches."
Mooshagian views the expected one-sided outcome of this first meeting between the two schools with a sense of perspective, some light-hearted humor, and an unforced smile. Say cheese, coach!
"It's a case for a bleeding ulcer," said Mooshagian. "Jeff used to coach in the CFL, so I asked him if we could use 12 men to his 11.
"It's a great challenge. I and my team have never been one to back down from a challenge. We played Oregon State two years ago (a 40-7 OSU win) with not as much talent as we have now. This is a great gauge for our program to see where we need to get to. "Hey, nobody gave the U.S. hockey team a chance to beat the Russians (in 1960 or 1980). It's a David and Goliath battle, but anything can happen on any given Saturday."
Mooshagian and his Hornets must be admired for stepping in as a replacement for San Jose State, which backed out of the opener. Tedford pointed out his friendship with Mooshagian wasn't the primary motivation behind this game, though it sped things along. "I'm very impressed with Jeff's offensive line and his run game," Mooshagian said. "I hope he runs it about 90 times and gets the game over in 2 hours and 15 minutes."
This is Mooshagian's third year in the state capital. His overall record with the Hornets is 5-17.
"We are a much better team," he noted, than their predicted last-place finish in the Big Sky Conference. "I'm sure Steve will have his team ready to play," Tedford said. "It's all about opportunity. I'm sure all summer long, those guys have had one thing on their mind, an opportunity to play a Top 20 team."
"I'll give Jeff a hug before the game," Mooshagian said, "then we'll go to the sidelines and battle our butts off. Then we'll hug again after the game because that's the way things should be." Hugs don't hurt so much when they're between friends.