Express Really Has a Kick Coming : Zendejas May Be Providing All the Offense Again Tonight

If you stopped the average guy on the street and asked him what he thought was wrong with the Los Angeles Express, he’d probably walk away, saying that he wasn’t interested in the problems of rapid transit.

If you shook the same guy senseless and told him that the Express wasn’t a train, bus or a rickshaw, but rather his home town’s spring football team, he might snap out of it and come up with some answers.

He might vaguely remember that the Express is 2-6 and suggest that it got that way because their star quarterback, Steve Young, has missed three games with a knee injury. He might recall the dozens of injuries that have hit this team. He might sympathize with the players, who have played with the pressure of having no owner, possibly no future and possibly, one day, no dinner.

But deep down, the problem may rest with one of the team’s best players, kicker Tony Zendejas.

Zendejas is so good that the Express has built its game plan around him.

Tonight, at 6 p.m, the Express will throw Mr. Offense at the Denver Gold (5-3) in a United States Football League game to be played at Denver’s Mile High Stadium.

Zendejas, sadly, has become the Express’ main attraction this season.

The second-year kicker from Nevada Reno has made 17 of 20 field goals this season, 17 of 18 inside of 50 yards. His only miss inside of 50 was partly the result of a bad snap. He kicked four field goals in last week’s 18-17 win over the Houston Gamblers and became the first kicker ever honored as USFL player of the week.

But Zendejas may be dragging the team down.

The Express has scored only one touchdown in its last three games.

Four times last week, the Express had first downs deep inside Houston territory. Four times the Express came away with field goals, not touchdowns.

The scenario has been the same nearly every week.

What the Express needs, though, is more extra points from Zendejas. In math, seven points are greater than three every time.

Since joining the Express last season, Zendejas has made 38 of 44 attempts inside of 50 yards. That’s 86%. Zendejas is closing in on the USFL record for consecutive field goals. He’s made 11 in a row and is closing in on his record of 13 straight.

Zendejas figured prominently in all 10 Express regular-season victories last season. This year, he’s even become a larger part of the offense.

Express Notes Tonight’s game will be shown live on ESPN and heard on radio stations KGIL (1260), KPZE (1190), KWNK (670) and KWRM (1370). . . . OK, maybe this is the week quarterback Steve Young is coming back. Young, who has been out of the lineup since hyper-extending his knee against the Arizona Outlaws March 23, is expected to start tonight. He was supposed to start last week, but Coach John Hadl decided against playing him after watching Young warm up. “I think he’ll be 100% this week,” Hadl said.

Another week in the life of the Express: Earlier this year, this financially troubled team was rumored headed for a new home in Hawaii. Then, the Express was supposed to merge with the Houston Gamblers. The latest rumor claimed that the Express was trying to peddle some of its big-name players, Young among them, to the NFL. The rumor had the Express folding in two weeks. Said Express President Don Klosterman: “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe that these rumors continue to abound. It’s the same old story. I’m just going to get a record and play it over. We’ve never, ever talked to any other team about Steve Young or anyone else.” Commissioner Harry Usher also vehemently denied the rumor. He, in fact, was in Los Angeles last week interviewing potential buyers for the Express.

Denver is coached by Mouse Davis, who assembled the celebrated run-and-shoot offense with the Gamblers last season. Davis is running the same offense at Denver with quarterback Vince Evans.