Bonds Brings Cal Lutheran to Life in 28-7 Win

A polished entertainer should have a knack for ad-libbing when a script is drab.

Tom Bonds of Cal Lutheran College is a highly entertaining quarterback, so it came as little surprise when he brought a sluggish football game to life Saturday against Sonoma State with a third-quarter 50-yard touchdown pass on a broken play.

The scoring pass to wide receiver Greg Harris helped Cal Lutheran shake off opening-day jitters and post a 28-7 nonconference win over the Cossacks before a crowd of 1,264.

With CLC leading, 7-0, but trailing in total yardage midway through the third period, Bonds rolled to his right in anticipation of hitting Harris with a 10-yard out pattern. Harris was covered, so Bonds waved him up field.

Harris took the cue, and raced up the sideline past a defender. Bonds lofted a perfect pass that Harris caught before tumbling into the end zone.

The play ignited a three-touchdown explosion by the Kingsmen in the third quarter.

“I wanted to hit Greg at about 10 yards,” Bonds said, “but he wasn’t looking. We made eye contact and I waved him up the sideline.”

Added Harris: “It was a secondary route. I ran out of real estate on the out pattern and turned up. Tom read it real well.”

Bonds capped a 56-yard drive four minutes later with a 19-yard touchdown strike to Joe Fuca. Following Shawn Tippit’s interception on Sonoma’s ensuing possession, Bonds needed only 36 seconds to direct the Kingsmen 49 yards in five plays for another touchdown and a 28-0 lead.

The key play on the final scoring march was a 39-yard pass to--guess who--Harris. Bonds dove over from the three for the touchdown.

Early in the game, Bonds struggled against a Sonoma defense that surprised the Kingsmen with its formation.

“We expected a 4-4 defense with only three defensive backs,” Bonds said. “They came out in a 5-2 with four deep. It took us a while to adjust.”

The sophomore scrambler from Hart High, who is fun to watch even when he misfires, completed only 1 of 7 passes in the first half and was sacked twice. He finished the day 7 of 20 for 144 yards.

CLC scored its first touchdown with 3:51 remaining in the first half. Halfback Noel Hicks dashed 27 yards down the left sideline to the Sonoma three-yard line, and Tracy Downs bucked over from the one for the score.

Kurt Lohse, filling in for injured Kent Sullivan, was successful on all four point-after-touchdown attempts.

“The team was nervous during the first half,” CLC Coach Bob Shoup said. “We were a tentative football team.”

Not only were the Kingsmen surprised by the Cossack defensive alignment, the offense of the home team was unexpected, as well.

“They’ve run a veer for the last four years,” Shoup said, shaking his head. “We come up here and they pass all day.”

Cossack quarterback Randy Lingle, a transfer from Yuba City College who had the highest completion percentage among JC passers last season, was 7 of 10 for 62 yards in the first half. Three Sonoma quarterbacks completed 19 of 38 passes for 204 yards.

Whenever Sonoma got close to the goal line, however, the Kingsmen defense responded with big plays. Two sacks and a fumble recovery by tackle Rueben Solorio were especially important.

“I was having trouble getting into the backfield early in the game,” Solorio said. “My coach (assistant Ernie Sandlin) told me to keep my feet driving. It worked.”

Interceptions by Kingsmen Todd Leavens, Earl Bentancourt and Tippit also halted Cossack drives.

While opportunistic defensive play kept the game scoreless until Bonds got untracked, it was a previously suspect CLC running attack that forced Sonoma to abandon its strategy of laying back to prevent the pass.

Downs, a 5-7, 180-pound fireplug, gained a career-high 92 yards on 17 carries. Hicks had 59 yards on eight carries. Fullback Leo Briones had 32 yards on 11 attempts.

“Our line opened some big holes,” Shoup said.

Although he was pleased with the victory, Shoup was concerned with his team’s slow start.

“Sonoma made a sufficient share of mistakes,” he said. “They didn’t take control of the game when they had a chance. We were lucky not to fall behind early.”

Against more formidable Western Football Conference opponents later this season, a sluggish start could prove disastrous. But Sonoma State is not the calibre of defending WFC champion Portland State.

And the Kingsmen were able to gingerly test the waters before diving headlong into a tough 1985 schedule. “We may not get away with another start as slow as this,” Shoup said. “This was a nice team to start against.”

Certainly, the Cossacks provided just the right confidence-builder.

“We got better as the game went on,” Bonds said. “I hope this momentum stays with us.”

CAL LUTHERAN SCORING SUMMARY

Cal Lutheran 0 7 21 0 -- 28 Sonoma State 0 0 7 0 -- 7

Team Statistics

CLC Sonoma First downs 17 14 Rushes-yards 53-196 24-30 Net. yd. passing 151 204 Passes 22-8 38-19 Int.-yd. ret. 3-41 0-0 Plays-net yd. 75-347 62-234 Punts-average 7-38.9 6-38.7 Punts ret.-yd. 1-5 1-28 Kickoffs ret.-yd. 0-0 5-83 Fumbles-lost 0-0 3-2 Penalties-yards 8-73 12-105 Time of possession 30:06 29:54

Individual Statistics Rushing

Cal Lutheran TCB NYG Avg. TD Downs 17 92 5.41 1 Hicks 8 59 7.36 0 Briones 11 32 2.91 0 Hunt 2 14 7.00 0 Chesnut 5 13 2.60 0 Marti 2 8 4.00 0 V. Wilson 1 0 0.00 0 Bonds 7 -22 -3.14 1 Totals 53 196 3.70 2

Sonoma St. TCB NYG Avg. TD Lewis 2 17 8.50 0 Dedrick 5 13 2.60 1 Hanley 4 7 1.75 0 S. Robinson 1 6 6.00 0 Mefford 4 6 1.50 0 Lingle 6 -1 -0.17 0 Gillis 2 -18 -9.00 0 Totals 24 30 1.25 1

Passing

Cal Lutheran PA PC PI Yd TD Bonds 20 7 0 144 2 V. Wilson 2 1 0 7 0 Totals 22 8 0 151 2

Sonoma St. PA PC PI Yd TD Lingle 16 9 2 78 0 Gillis 14 7 1 79 0 Mefford 8 3 0 47 0 Totals 38 19 3 204 0

Receiving

Cal Lutheran No. Yd. TD Harris 3 95 1 Gottschalk 2 24 0 Fuca 1 19 1 J. Wilson 1 7 0 Marti 1 6 0 Totals 8 151 2

Sonoma St. No. Yd. TD Dedrick 6 49 0 Morrison 4 44 0 Turner 3 39 0 Phillips 2 31 0 E. Robinson 3 19 0 Decker 1 22 0 Totals 19 204 0