When Going Got Tough, Only CSUN Got Close : An Impatient cal Lutheran Drops Fourth Straight Game, 38-7, to Sacramento State

An impatient and impotent Cal Lutheran College dropped its fourth consecutive Western Football Conference game Saturday to Sacramento State, 38-7, before a sparse crowd of 1,120 at Mt. Clef Stadium.

It marked the first time in the 24 years of the school’s football program that CLC (4-5 overall) has lost four straight games.

A decision to go for a first down on a fourth-and-one situation at their own 48-yard line on the first Kingsmen possession set the tone for the imbroglio. A pitch to Noel Hicks ended in a loss of one yard, and Sacramento took over and scored seven plays later.

Trying for the first down may have been gutsy, but giving Sacramento the ball in CLC territory that early in the game was a gift. The Hornets, a ball-control bunch, went on to take a 14-0 first-quarter lead. The Kingsmen trailed 38-0 before finally scoring in the fourth quarter.

Sacramento, which improved to 3-1 in the WFC and 7-2 overall, rode the early cushion and attacked viciously on defense, sacking CLC quarterback Tom Bonds six times.

Hornet running backs Don Hair (120 yards and three touchdowns) and Rob Harrison (74 yards) battered an already bruised CLC defense. And Quarterback Greg Knapp, who had lost his job to Angelo Oliva earlier this season, returned from a three-week slumber to complete 18 of 27 passes for 193 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Kingsmen Coach Bob Shoup had little to say after the game, but who could blame him? With a lifetime record of 169-60-6 at CLC, Shoup is not used to explaining a trouncing of his team. CLC could lose every game for the next 10 years and Shoup would still have a winning record.

For the first time all season, Shoup went straight to the locker room without meeting the press. He emerged a few minutes later and and said: “We were very fragmented in our mental preparation this week. It is difficult for the players to accept that when we play our best, like we did last week (in a 27-20 loss to Portland), we aren’t rewarded with victory.”

CLC is in serious danger of finishing with only the third losing record in the school’s history. Such is the consequence, however temporary, of dropping the likes of LaVerne, Claremont-Mudd and Redlands from the schedule and replacing them with Hayward, Santa Clara, Portland State and Sacramento.

But the Kingsmen can spend precious little time licking their wounds. Around the bend are undefeated NAIA rival Azusa Pacific and big Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, a WFC team that defeated Portland, 34-21, Saturday.

This is the first WFC campaign for Sacramento as well. The Hornets, picked by Street and Smith in preseason to finish ahead of only CLC, have defeated Cal Poly and Portland. They ranked 14th in Division II before the game. Sacramento belonged to the Northern California Athletic Conference, but was fed up with finishing second to UC Davis every year. Davis has won 14 consecutive NCAC titles.

“I think we have the capability to win the WFC,” Sacramento Coach Bob Mattos said. “My kids are playing really well.”

The manner in which Mattos employed his Hornets late in the game upset Shoup.

“They’re ahead 30-0 and we get a drive going, so he (Mattos) puts his first string back in there,” said Shoup. “I have very little respect for the Sacramento coaching staff.”

The Hornets showed very little respect for a CLC defense that began the game with six starters out with injuries and got progressively weaker. Linebackers Jim Buffo and Ken Wood were both injured in the game.

“By the fourth quarter, we had no linebackers in uniform except for the guys on the field,” Shoup said.

The Kingsmen secondary was just as undermanned, and junior wide receiver Lin Klinkhammer exploited the weakness as Knapp’s favorite target, catching eight passes for 89 yards and one touchdown.

“It was pretty easy getting open,” said Klinkhammer. “Their cornerbacks played way off the ball and anything underneath was clear.”

When Knapp wasn’t passing, he was handing the ball off to Hair or Harrison. Hair, a freshman who gained 148 yards last week, is quickly emerging as a top player in the WFC. Harrison is a hard-running, 6-2, 220-pound junior playing in place of the injured Mark Schutz.

By contrast, Sacramento swarmed over the CLC ball carriers. The Kingsmen gained just 22 yards rushing.

Although Bonds completed 22 of 33 passes for 205 yards, most were screens and dump-offs forced by Sacramento pressure. CLC was most successful on middle screen passes to tight end Darren Gottschalk, who caught eight passes for 88 yards. The Kingsmen’s only score came on a 10-yard bullet from Bonds to wide receiver Joe Monarrez with 4:04 remaining in the game.

After Sacramento scored its first touchdown on a three-yard run by Hair, Bonds was intercepted by linebacker Greg Dockweiler, which led to a 5-yard scoring run by Hair. Klinkhammer took a six-yard toss from Knapp in the second period to give the Hornets a 21-0 halftime lead.

After a 44-yard field goal by Dave DeSilva, Hair scored his third touchdown late in the third quarter on a four-yard run. Bill Sanders finished Sacramento’s scoring with a four-yard touchdown reception with 12:42 remaining in the game.

By the fourth quarter, it was garbage time.

The stands at Mt. Clef Stadium are close to the playing field, enabling frustrated CLC fans to shout sour remarks at Sacramento players. Hornet guard Mike Black, whose number is 77, had been called twice for holding, and when a flag was thrown late in the third quarter, a spectator yelled, “No. 77 must have been holding again.”

Without turning around, Black lifted his chin and replied, “Just look at the scoreboard, baby.”