Santa Clara Throws a Fog Over Kingsmen in a 28-Point Rout

A dense layer of low clouds, which had enveloped this peninsular city earlier in the day, cleared Saturday just before Cal Lutheran College met Santa Clara University before a homecoming crowd of 7,339 at Buck Shaw Stadium. The fog, however, never lifted for the Kingsmen, who fell behind in the first quarter, 28-0, en route to a 51-23 loss.

“We set an ominous tone early,” said Cal Lutheran Coach Bob Shoup.

Behind an odd mixture of experienced players and reserves, who were pressed into action because of recent injuries, Cal Lutheran fought back to trail at halftime, 35-17.

The Kingsmen (4-3 overall) spoke boldly of a comeback as they took the field in the third quarter. But the reality of the rout quickly set in after quarterback Tom Bonds was sacked for a safety and Santa Clara followed with a touchdown and a 44-17 lead.

“Santa Clara is a team with a lot of tools,” Shoup acknowledged.

Tools, indeed.

Freshman running backs Matt Shaw (99 yards, 18 carries, 2 touchdowns) and Bryan Smith (53 yards rushing, 56 receiving) represented the hammers as they pounded the ball through the Cal Lutheran line.

Quarterbacks Greg Calcagno (13 for 19, 180 yards, 2 touchdowns) and Ron Anderson (7 for 8, 127 yards, 1 touchdown) were the cross-cut saws, slicing apart the Cal Lutheran secondary.

And the Santa Clara defenders were like wrenches and pliers, yanking the football from Cal Lutheran running backs and receivers. Rob Ulrich and Jesus Guerra each recovered fumbles, and Joe Lynam, Chris Hessler and John Faylor each had interceptions.

In all, it made Bronco Coach Terry Malley feel like the architect of something grand.

“We’ve been notoriously slow starters,” Malley said as he busily shook hands with exuberant alumni.

“We wanted to take an early lead today and we went out and did it,” he said. “I think the players may have given a little extra because it was homecoming. It was a meaningful victory because Cal Lutheran is not as bad as the score indicated.”

The win gives Santa Clara a 3-0 record in the Western Football Conference and dropped Cal Lutheran to 0-2. The Broncos, 6-1 overall, are ranked eighth in the NCAA Division II, having defeated WFC members Sacramento State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

“We are in the best position to win the conference,” Malley said. “Of course, (Cal State) Northridge scares me because of the run-and-shoot (offense.)”

Santa Clara travels to Northridge on Nov. 9.

After the lopsided first quarter, Cal Lutheran abandoned the defensive scheme it had practiced all week.

“We threw out the 5-3 in the second quarter,” Shoup said. “There was no way we could make it work. We didn’t have the personnel, so we went with a straight Okie set.”

The defense was without depth and overmatched because of injuries to three of four starting linebackers. Replacements Jim Buffo, Torri Lehr and Tom Gabriel each made solid tackles, but were consistently beaten on medium-range pass patterns.

On offense, a shoulder injury kept Bonds from starting for the second consecutive week. His replacement at quarterback, senior Victor Wilson, threw for three touchdowns in last week’s narrow loss to Northridge, but did not fare as well against Santa Clara. Wilson completed one of five passes in the first quarter and threw an interception.

Wilson’s only completion came on Cal Lutheran’s first play, but receiver Leo Briones fumbled, giving Santa Clara the ball on the Kingsmen 20-yard line.

Four plays later, Calcagno hit All-America tight end Brent Jones on a nine-yard out pattern for the Broncos’ first score.

Wilson over threw receivers twice on the next Kingsmen possession. After Cal Lutheran punted, Calcagno cut loose on a 45-yard bomb to split end Eric Florence, moving the ball to the Kingsman 18. Shaw and Smith alternated carries, with Smith bucking the final three yards for a 14-0 Bronco lead.

After over throwing a receiver for the third consecutive time on his next pass, Wilson under threw Troy Davis and was picked off by Faylor. The Santa Clara safety returned the interception 30 yards to the Cal Lutheran 10.

Shaw romped off left tackle untouched on the next play, giving Santa Clara a 21-0 lead with 7:27 remaining in the first quarter.

Bonds replaced Wilson at that point, but the sophomore must have felt like a rodeo rider attempting to halt a runaway horse. These Broncos did not know the meaning of the word “whoa.”

And woe was Bonds when he tried to pass into the teeth of the Santa Clara defense. After a 16-yard completion to Greg Harris, his next pass was intercepted by Lynam at the Cal Lutheran 43.

Seven plays later, the Broncos had another touchdown, this time on a seven-yard run by Shaw. After Doug Davidovich’s fourth straight extra point, Santa Clara led, 28-0.

More than three quarters remained, so rather than resorting to panic, Bonds got resourceful. He faked an option and pitched the ball to Harris on a reverse for a 12-yard gain.

Bonds dropped back, looked right, wheeled and dropped off a screen pass to Noel Hicks for a 16-yard gain.

He drilled a bullet into the belly of wide receiver Joe Fuca for 15 yards, then faked a hand-off to Leo Briones and gave the ball to Hicks, who dashed around left end for a five-yard touchdown.

Santa Clara responded quickly. With Anderson at quarterback, the Broncos needed only four plays to make the score 35-7. The junior quarterback hit Kevin Collins with a 34-yard pass for the score.

Undaunted, Bonds found Fuca free for a 48-yard touchdown three minutes later to cut the deficit to 35-14.

On their last possession of the half, the Kingsmen moved from their own 30 to the Santa Clara 17 where they had to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Kurt Lohse. Cal Lutheran actually had advanced to the Bronco 11 after Tracy Downs gained 18 yards on a draw play and Bonds hit Harris for a 29-yard gain. Bonds was sacked for losses of 11 and 12 yards on successive plays, however, the second time on a safety blitz by Faylor that knocked the Kingsmen quarterback half way to San Jose.

A spirited Cal Lutheran team emerged from the locker room, but Bonds was drilled by Guerra for a safety following a punt into the coffin corner by Bryan Barker.

The Kingsmen had to free kick the ball back to the Broncos following the safety, and Calcagno soon had the Broncos in the end zone. Collins, whose two touchdowns gave him seven for the season, made a 12-yard scoring grab.

Calcagno plunged one yard for the final Bronco touchdown with 8:55 remaining in the game.

Cal Lutheran refused to give in, scoring on a one-yard run by Briones with just over two minutes remaining.

“I was proud that we didn’t throw in the towel,” Shoup said. “We had a flicker of life in the second quarter, but it would have had to be a monumental comeback after falling behind by so much.”

Shoup, ever the optimist, also noted that for the first time in several weeks, no Kingsmen starters were seriously injured.