Titans, Northern Arizona Attempt to Salvage Something

Welcome to the Walkup Skydome, where a couple of reclamation projects will try to salvage what’s left of disappointing seasons at 5:30 today.

Cal State Fullerton, Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. champion the last two years with an 18-6 record over that span, is now a team that must win its last three games simply to finish with a winning record.

The Titans, 3-2 in the PCAA and 3-5 overall, have been ravaged by injuries and incapacitated by a struggling offense. Coach Gene Murphy has focused most of his attention this week on “eliminating the mistakes that are killing us offensively.”

On the other side of the line is Northern Arizona, which hasn’t had much offensive success, either. The Lumberjacks, 1-5 in the Big Sky Conference and 3-6 overall, have scored only 10 points in each of their last three games and 36 total points in their five conference losses.

The Lumberjacks also have been beset with injuries.

“They’re about like us at this stage,” Murphy said. “We’re both down to playing with freshmen and sophomores. They run about 10 different offenses, and we’ve tried to prepare a little bit for all of them, but we can’t be too concerned with Northern Arizona. We have to concentrate on getting some sort of offensive consistency.

“The defense and special teams had some fun last week (in a 21-17 win over New Mexico State), but the offense was sporadic, sputtering,” Murphy said.

Fullerton has lost seven players for the year (five with knee injuries) and Murphy is not looking forward to playing on the artificial surface in the Skydome tonight. It will be the Titans’ only game on artificial turf and only their second night game of the season. The Lumberjacks have played just once on grass this season and once during the day--although it’s a bit hard to tell indoors.

“I’ve never liked playing on artificial surface,” Murphy said. “I really believe it just increases the chances of injuries. High school kids don’t like it, college kids don’t like it and pro kids don’t like it. The only people who do like it are running backs who think it makes them quicker.”

Freshman Tony Dill will start again at quarterback for the Titans, and barring injury, he may stay out there no matter what happens. Murphy seems intent on preserving freshman Carlos Siragusa’s redshirt season and might even resort to quarterback-turned-tight-end Jim Thornton if Dill is hurt.

Had Northern Arizona quarterback Craig Austin remained at Fullerton, he might very well be starting for the Titans tonight. He was a redshirt at Fullerton in 1982 and figured he wouldn’t see much playing time behind Damon Allen.

The Titan coaching staff saw it much the same way and moved Austin to free safety in the spring of 1983, so Austin transferred to Santa Monica City College and played two seasons at quarterback before transferring to Northern Arizona.

Austin has completed 106 of 211 for 1,219 yards and 5 touchdowns this season. He’s been intercepted 14 times. His favorite target is wide receiver Jerry Davis, who has 40 catches for 606 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Titan Notes

Kevin Jan’s football career has ended. The senior quarterback was finally sidelined for good last week when he suffered a separated passing shoulder, the latest in a long line of injuries that include a knee problem that will require surgery, two cracked ribs and a fractured tail bone. “I’ve been coaching for 20 years and I’ve never worked with a young man who worked so hard and played with so much pain,” Murphy said.