Now He Stands Guard for Cal Lutheran

If the Big Kingsman in the Sky told Cal Lutheran Coach Bob Shoup that he would be granted one football player for next season, Shoup’s request probably would go something like this:

Because the offensive line has been such a trouble spot for the past few years, lay a 6-5, 280-pound guard on me, one who runs the 40-yard dash in 4.8, is mean on the field and conscientious in the classroom. Let him practice with the team this season, just so he learns our system. And, while I’m at it, he can pay his own tuition so I don’t use up a scholarship.

Shoup would never be that greedy, at least not out loud, but it appears the Big Kingsman has answered his prayers anyway.

Meet Andy Dickerson, who found Cal Lutheran by way of the University of Miami and USC, and is waiting impatiently to step in and protect Kingsmen quarterback Tom Bonds the way he once protected Miami’s Bernie Kosar.

He is 6-5, runs the 40 in 4.85, and weighs 270, but says, “I’m a skinny old thing from not working out like I should. It’s tough to be motivated when you know you’re not playing. I’ll be 285 by next fall.”

Dickerson, 22, isn’t playing because, like so many Division I schools, Miami allowed a big guy to slip through a small crack. After playing junior varsity as a freshman in 1981, he lost a redshirt season as a sophomore by charging onto the field along with the second team in a late-season game against Cincinnati.

“The coach said, ‘Second-team offense take the field,’ ” recalled Dickerson. “I didn’t ask questions, I took the field.”

On Miami’s national championship team in 1983, Dickerson played extensively and even roomed with Kosar for a while. In 1984, Dickerson didn’t realize he was a considered a senior by the Division I until he transferred to USC after failing to make the starting lineup at Miami.

“I got shafted twice,” said the native of Ft. Meyers, Fla. “Coach (Howard) Schnellenberger left and so did all the assistant coaches. I wasn’t included in the new plans for some reason.”

On an impulse, Dickerson took off for Southern California within days.

“My mother said I was crazy,” he said. “I told her, ‘Don’t worry, Ma, I’ll make good.’ ”

But not before another setback. After he enrolled at USC, an assistant coach discovered that Dickerson’s Division I eligibility had expired. “It was like someone ripped my heart out,” he said.

Players are allowed 10 consecutive semesters of eligibility in Division I. In Division II, the “consecutive” stipulation is omitted. Because Dickerson did not attend college during the 1983-84 school year, he can play one more year in Division II. That pleases Shoup enormously, even though NCAA rules prohibit the guard from playing this season.

“Andy cuts a wide swath through Thousand Oaks,” said Shoup, chuckling. “The first day he put on pads, he knocked the heck out of our defensive linemen.”

Dickerson’s tuition is paid through a scholarship granted by the Philadelphia Police Department, because his father was wounded while working as a patrolman. So Dickerson attends class, practices with the team, and counts the days until next fall.

“The facilities at Cal Lutheran may not be up to the standards I am used to,” Dickerson said. “But there is a more personal touch to the coaching and everyone has treated me great.

“I don’t flaunt having been at a big school. I’m motivated again to get in shape because there is no doubt that I’ll be on the game field next season.”

Red-Faced Young Lions: Shoup is considered a straight shooter by most of the Cal Lutheran players. So it is little wonder that a large chunk of the team, who have been dubbed “the Young Lions,” fell for a prank he pulled Monday after learning quarterback Tom Bonds was named Western Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week.

The award is co-sponsored by Red Lion Inns, so it didn’t seem too strange when Shoup informed the team that Bonds, 19, would receive a free vacation at the Red Lion of his choice. But it should have been obvious that something was amiss when Shoup added that the girl of Bonds’ choice could accompany him.

“Even my wife fell for it for a while,” said Shoup, laughing. “It was a throwaway line and some people took it hook, line and sinker.”

For the record, there is no vacation and no girl attached to the award. And Bonds already has a steady girlfriend.

Now Hair This: Sacramento State’s Don Hair led the WFC in rushing with an average of 84.5 yards per game and five touchdowns.

CSUN’s Mike Kane, who became the school’s all-time leading rusher last week despite being virtually ignored in the Matadors’ passing offense, ranks fifth in the conference with an average of 66 yards a game. Kane, however, leads the conference in scoring with 44 points on seven touchdowns and a two-point conversion.

Although Saturday’s games against St. Mary’s College (0-4) will be homecoming for Cal Lutheran (3-1), one St. Mary’s player will be coming home as well.

Scott Meyers, former All-Western State Conference defensive back at Moorpark College and quarterback at Royal High, will start at defensive back for the Gaels.

Meyers, who grew up in Thousand Oaks and was part of a Conejo Cowboy youth team that won a Ventura County title in 1975, intercepted four passes last season and ran back one for a 51-yard touchdown.

Radio station KWINK, 670 am, will broadcast the Cal Lutheran--St. Mary’s game on a tape delay beginning at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Kent Sullivan was penciled in to replace graduated punter Bill Turner and kicker Joe Haynoski, both of whom were Cal Lutheran record holders. Sullivan, who injured his leg in an intra squad game and hasn’t played, should be ready to play in another week, according to Shoup.

“Tom Sweeney and Ben Vermillion have done a nice job of punting in Kent’s absence,” Shoup said, “and Kurt Lohse has been consistent on extra points. Kent should give us a stronger leg on kickoffs and field goals, however.”

Despite the inexperienced kickers, no Cal Lutheran punts have been blocked and Lohse is 12 of 14 on PATs.

The Numbers Game: With 270 yards in last week’s 25-20 loss to Hayward, CSUN quarterback Chris Parker stayed in second place in the Western Football Conference with an average of 281 passing yards per game. Leader Terry Summerfield of Portland State boosted his average to 308 yards.