Bonds Has the Hot Hand in Cal Lutheran Rout

Bob Shoup is to the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics what Ulysses S. Grant was to the U.S. Army. In his 24th year as football coach at Cal Lutheran College, Shoup is field general, conqueror, leader of a noble cause and just plain champion.

Among NAIA coaches, Shoup sets the standard. Cal Lutheran’s 34-7 victory over Western New Mexico on Saturday before 2,983 at Mt. Clef Stadium was the 168th win of Shoup’s college career. His winning percentage of .744 is the best among active NAIA coaches--by a large margin.

The nonconference win gave the Kingsmen a 3-1 record and a .750 winning percentage this season.

After facing three straight NCAA Division II opponents, the Kingsmen pounced on the Mustangs (2-3), scoring 14 points in each of the first two quarters to take a 28-0 halftime lead.

Western New Mexico is located in Silver City, N.M., where Billy the Kid purportedly spent his final years. On Saturday, the gunslinger was 19-year-old Tom Bonds.

Utilizing 10 different receivers, Bonds was 20 of 24 passing for 271 yards and two touchdowns. He was not intercepted.

“It was a whole different story than last week (a 37-15 loss to Cal State Hayward),” said Bonds in the fourth quarter while watching the second string run out the clock. “We took the early lead today.”

The Kingsmen scored twice in the first seven minutes. Western New Mexico has a grind-it-out, ball-control offense, which is fine for protecting leads but not ideal for overcoming them.

Before the game, Shoup thought that the team that scored first would probably win. So, when CLC linebacker Chris Heintz intercepted a pass on the Mustangs’ third play from scrimmage and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown, there were smiles all around the Kingsmen bench.

“I’m used to doing the chasing,” Heintz said. “It was nice to run away.”

On their first possession moments later, the Kingsmen drove 84 yards on 10 plays, scoring on Bonds’ 13-yard pass to tight end Darren Gottschalk with 8:50 remaining in the first period.

Gottschalk, who had previously been in the shadows of wide receivers Greg Harris and Joe Fuca, emerged as Bonds’ favorite target. The 6-4, 225-pound junior caught five passes for 84 yards.

“They double-covered both wide receivers and left the middle open,” Shoup said. “Darren did a fine job of finding the open area.”

Said Gottschalk: “They had problems in their secondary. They go against their own offense in practice all week and never get to see a good pass offense until game day.”

Mustangs quarterback Adam Gragnano, who threw one pass in a 30-7 win over Colorado School of Mines last week, was forced to put the ball in the air after CLC took an early lead. The 5-11 senior completed 13 of 25 passes, but for only 88 yards. The Mustangs’ longest completion was 18 yards, and they were unable to move the ball consistently in the first half.

Bonds began the second period by engineering another long drive. Mixing short passes with runs by Noel Hicks, Leo Briones and Tracy Downs, the Kingsmen advanced from their 20 to the Western New Mexico 30 in 12 plays.

On second and 18, sophomore wide receiver Troy Davis, who had caught one pass for 45 yards this season, broke free in the end zone, where Bonds hit him on the run for a 30-yard score with 10:18 remaining in the first half.

After Western New Mexico failed on a fourth-and-two running attempt by Scott Baldwin on its ensuing possession, Cal Lutheran took over on the Mustang 46.

Bonds wasted no time, hitting Gottschalk for 16 yards and wide receiver Jim Osborn for 14 yards on to reach the Mustang 16. Six running plays later, Downs knifed over from the four.

Kurt Lohse kicked his fourth consecutive PAT, and the Kingsmen had an insurmountable 28-0 lead.

“We had a great week of practice and were fired up,” CLC offensive guard Scott Innis said. “This could be a turning point for us.”

The performance certainly had to be a confidence builder for the offensive line. Bonds, who was sacked eight times last week, was dropped only once in the decisive first half.

The game also marked the return, however briefly, of emotional leader Earl Bentancourt. The junior linebacker, who had missed the past two games with a knee injury, recorded a sack on his first play.

“The knee is sore,” Bentancourt said, “but it felt good to hit somebody. I’ll be 90% next week and, hopefully, 100% when we play Northridge in two weeks.”

Because the outcome was all but decided, the second half was sloppily played. After a scoreless third quarter, Cal Lutheran put together an 83-yard scoring drive on 15 plays, capped by Briones’ two-yard plunge. A 17-yard scramble by Bonds and a 19-yard completion to Eddie Gran were the key plays.

A fourth-quarter, 60-yard scoring run by Hicks, who was Cal Lutheran’s leading rusher with 40 yards on six carries, was nullified by a penalty.

Western New Mexico averted a shutout by scoring on an 11-yard pass from Gragnano to Austin Dickson with 1:13 left.