Matadors Hold On, Hand Cal Lutheran Narrow Loss, 27-23 : Matadors Top Rival Cal Lutheran 27-23 in League Opener

Two weeks ago, in a 40-14 beating of St. Mary’s, Cal State Northridge found out it was capable of routing an opponent. The Matadors had already found out they were capable of being turned into pudding in a 56-12 thrashing by Nevada-Reno in the first game of the season.

Saturday night, CSUN found out something much more important than either of the first two lessons. It found out it could win the close ones, the games that turn grown men into frothing madmen as the clock ticks away.

When it finally ended, CSUN had held off Cal Lutheran, 27-23, in the Western Football Conference opener for both teams.

Cal Lutheran played most of the way without star quarterback Tom Bonds. CSUN was forced to go without all-time leading rusher Mike Kane for the final three quarters after a severe ankle sprain knocked him out of the game.

Kane, who scored his 11th touchdown of the season and his 68th point, both equaling school records, was replaced by a tornado of a runner named Richard Brown. Brown finished with 98 yards in 21 carries and two touchdowns.

“Brown is the second best athlete on the team,” CSUN Coach Tom Keele said. “He did a fine job.”

CSUN and Cal Lutheran both are 4-2 overall.

CSUN trailed, 17-13, after a first half made up of equal parts great plays and blunders by both teams. The blunders--there were 10 turnovers in the game--seemed to being taking control early in the third quarter as the Matadors and Kingsmen put on a brief display of awkwardness, confusion and lack of coordination.

First, CSUN quarterback Chris Parker coughed up the ball and Lorenzo Martinez of CLC made his second fumble recovery of the game. Less than a minute later, Victor Wilson, who was playing for the injured Bonds, was hit and sort of flung the ball into the air, and CSUN lineman Joe Barbosa ran under it for a fumble recovery at the Cal Lutheran 22.

Parker came to his senses at that point. On a daring fourth down call he pitched out to Brown on an option play and Brown swept into the right corner of the end zone from the 13, giving CSUN the lead, 20-17, with 6:56 left in the third quarter.

CLC had a chance to regain the lead early in the fourth quarter when the Kingsmen faked a punt on fourth down and kicker Kent Sullivan hit Tracy Downs with a pass for a first down at the CSUN 27. Downs, however, in a heart-warming show of sportsmanship, apologized to the Matadors for his dirty trick 20 seconds later by fumbling the ball at the 19. CSUN accepted the apology, recovering the fumble with 13:30 left in the game.

Parker then marched the Matadors to a quick touchdown, keying the drive with a 37-yard pass to Charles Collins to the CLC 18. Two plays later, Brown crashed into the end zone from the 1, giving CSUN a 27-17 lead with 11:47 left.

Cal Lutheran responded with an even quicker touchdown. Wilson unloaded a pass over the middle to Greg Harris, who broke into the open and scorched the middle of the field for an 80-yard scoring play. Kurt Lohse missed the extra point, and the Kingsmen trailed, 27-23, with 11:23 remaining.

A minute later, junior safety Todd Leavens intercepted a Parker pass and returned it to the Northridge 42. The Kingsmen moved to the 29 in three plays and Wilson hit Harris with a 15-yard toss to the 14. But again Wilson’s hands turned to Teflon, the ball sliding away and into the arms of CSUN’s Mike Pestana.

The CSUN offense entered the game as the second most productive in the nation among Division II schools. But its performance for most of the fourth quarter made one wonder which nation the statisticians were referring to. Lapland, perhaps.

The three-play-and-punt offense vanished, however, in the final five minutes as the Matadors ate up lots of ground behind Brown’s running and, more importantly, lots of time. When the drive finally stalled and Mike Doan’s 46-yard field goal attempt sailed wide, the Kingsmen got the ball back for their final chance with only 54 seconds remaining in the game.

With Bonds at quarterback, entering the game for the final two series, the Matadors appeared to put the game away when Steve Benjamin intercepted a pass with 20 seconds left. But a roughing the passer penalty and a clipping penalty on the interception return gave Cal Lutheran a first down at the CSUN 45 and another breath.

Bonds used that breath to hit Darren Gottschalk with a 13-yarder and Harris with a 10-yarder to the CSUN 22. The clock had run down to two seconds, but officials ordered two seconds t o be added.

The game ended with a desperation pass to the end zone that was knocked down by Benjamin.

Backup quarterback Wilson gave a hint of what was to come on the first play of the game when the signals he barked at the line sent three of his linemen lurching wildly offside for a five-yard penalty.

Things got better in a hurry, however, as Wilson marched his team 60 yards, all but seven of them on the ground, before the drive was shut down by two ferocious hits by Darrell McIntyre and Benjamin.

Cal Lutheran settled for a 32-yard field goal by Lohse for a 3-0 lead.

CSUN, after giving the ball away on a fumble by Parker, who was crunched in the backfield by Shawn Tippett, came to life on its third possession of the game behind the passing of Parker. He hit Charles Collins with a 17-yard pass on third down and then dumped one off to Kane, who turned two defenders into jelly on his way to the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown with 1:49 left in the first quarter, giving CSUN a 7-3 lead.

Cal Lutheran regained the lead, 10-7, with 45 seconds remaining in the opening quarter on the most spectacular play of the game. Wilson hit the Noel Hicks, who is listed as 5-9 and 180 pounds--which gives the impression that at least one other member of his family was attached to him during the weighing and measuring--and the swift running back exploded around the left end and outran four defenders down the sideline for an 80-yard touchdown play.

On the next-to-last play of the quarter, Kane romped 18 yards and was brought down by a committee of Kingsmen. Kane walked slowly off the field and did not return. He waited until halftime to ice the swollen ankle, and team officials did not know how serious the injury was.

CSUN, behind the sophomore Brown, stayed on the ground early in the second quarter, moving to the Cal Lutheran 34 in eight plays. On the ninth, Parker lofted a rain-maker to Scott Colvin, who out-jumped cornerback Mike Duffy in the end zone and came down with the ball for the touchdown, giving CSUN a 13-10 lead.

Wilson and Parker traded fumbles on the next two series, but Wilson made up for his mistake with 1:25 remaining in the half when he once again found Hicks hiding in a group of defenders and dropped a swing pass to him. Hicks again sought out the left sideline, found it again and also found the end zone again for a 14-yard touchdown and Cal Lutheran again went on top, 17-13.