Fullerton Scores 28 in Fourth to Beat 49ers

Cal State Fullerton had overcome more than 120 yards in penalties . . . and a 13-point deficit . . . and a fumble at its 9-yard line . . . and two wide-open receivers overthrown in the end zone . . . and freshman quarterback Tony Dill’s inexperience. Finally, all that scrambling had given the Titans the lead, a four-point advantage with five minutes to play.

Yet, Fullerton’s troubles seemed just to be beginning.

Cal State Long Beach quarterback Doug Gaynor had the football and time remaining. Yep, you could call it nervous time for the Titans.

Already Saturday, Gaynor had set the NCAA single-season record for most completions, and was ready to pad that total with another quick dash down the field. All afternoon, Gaynor had sent footballs smacking into the hands of white-shirted receivers, and with 4:20 remaining, he did it again.

Sure enough, Gaynor hit wide receiver Charles Lockett in the hands--but on this play, Lockett’s hands weren’t sure enough. The football squirted right through them and wound up in the arms of Fullerton safety Mike Romero. Romero didn’t let go until he was in the end zone--the result of a 35-yard interception return--and the Titans had the final points in a 38-27 victory over the 49ers in front of 4,012 in Santa Ana Stadium.

Just like that, a couple of coveted records came crumbling down for Long Beach.

First was the 49ers’ won-lost record. Despite all of Gaynor’s gains through the air--3,559 yards and 19 touchdowns--Long Beach would wind up its 1985 season a nondescript 6-6.

And second, there was Gaynor’s bid to break Steve Young’s single-season completion percentage record of .713. Gaynor completed 26 of 37 passes for 297 yards Saturday--giving him a final season’s percentage of .712.

One-thousandth of a point away from history. Maybe if Lockett catches that pass. Or maybe if Romero doesn’t intercept Gaynor again on Long Beach’s last last-ditch drive of 1985.

Gaynor shrugged.

“You can go to the well too many times,” Gaynor said. “Up until then, I really thought we were going to win. We’d been moving up and down the field all day.”

And Gaynor had the 49ers on the move again late in the fourth quarter. The Titans led, 31-27, but Long Beach had the ball on second and five at its 37-yard line with just under 4 1/2 minutes left. A lot of time. With Gaynor, too much time.

The senior quarterback spotted Lockett alone in the flat and fired just before the pass rush collapsed around him. The pressure forced Gaynor to throw a bit high, but the ball was catchable.

“Charles has caught a lot of passes this year,” Long Beach Coach Mike Sheppard said, “and he could’ve caught that one. But (Fullerton) forced Doug to throw high. In a way, they forced their own luck.”

Lockett leaped, but his outstretched arms couldn’t pull down the ball. Romero, a senior strong safety, ran up to make the tackle and instead wound up with the football.

He picked it off at the 49er 35-yard line and didn’t stop running until the Titans had a 38-27 lead.

“I didn’t see what happened,” Gaynor said. “They hit me as I threw and slung me around at the last second. That might have made me throw a bit off.”

Long Beach got the ball back with 4:06 left and drove to the Fullerton 30 before encountering the same result--Romero intercepting Gaynor. It was Romero’s eighth interception of the season, ranking him among the leaders in the NCAA.

The Titans were rolling to victory and, as Coach Gene Murphy put it, “Mike Romero was a big part of the wheel.”

Other spokes included:

--Fullback Ricky Calhoun, who rushed for 164 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a squirming, hurdling six-yard run that gave Fullerton a 31-27 advantage with 5:09 left. Calhoun’s 164 yards were the most by a Titan since 1978.

--Dill, who completed 8 of 18 passes for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns in his third major-college start.

--Reserve running back Dan Josten, who snagged a two-point conversion pass in heavy coverage, pulling the Titans to within 27-25 with 7:29 remaining.

--Kicker Kevin Strandley, who had a 46-yard field goal and delivered a perfect onside kick following Josten’s catch. Todd White recovered for the Titans and seven plays later, Calhoun scored the go-ahead touchdown.

All together, they helped produce a few Fullerton firsts.

For the first time in six seasons under Murphy, the Titans scored 28 points in one quarter. That was the fourth, when Fullerton turned a 20-10 deficit into victory.

For the first time this season, the Titans are at .500 (5-5 and 4-2 in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn.). Fullerton can record its third straight winning season with a victory over University of the Pacific next week.

And, for the first time in the school’s history, Fullerton has beaten rival Long Beach in three successive years. The 49ers still lead the series, 9-5.

The only real disappointment for Fullerton, in Murphy’s eyes, was the meager turnout at Santa Ana Stadium.

“There was nobody here,” Murphy said. “I feel sorry for the players. The people who went to the USC-UCLA game went to the wrong one. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fourth quarter like the one we had today.”

The Titans’ late, 28-point outburst left Sheppard in a disbelief.

“I don’t know how they did it,” he said, staring at the ground.

The Titans may not be sure themselves. But they needed that fourth quarter because of their transgressions in the first three. With Fullerton bogged down by penalties and crippled by key mistakes, it was an upset to see the Titans leave the field at halftime trailing by only six points, 13-7.

Fullerton set up Long Beach’s first touchdown with a late-hit penalty. That sustained a drive that culminated in a 29-yard scoring pass from Gaynor to Sheldon Gaines.

The Titans then practically gave the 49ers a 13-0 lead when Mark Hood lost a fumble at the Fullerton 9. Two plays later, Long Beach’s Martin Sartin scored his first of two touchdowns from the 3-yard line.

Fullerton, which committed nine penalties for 88 yards in the first half, held its offense together long enough to produce one score--an 11-yard touchdown pass from Dill to Allen Pitts. But the Titans missed two other sure touchdowns when Dill and White, attempting an option pass, overthrew open receivers in the end zone.

Dill was also intercepted once and fumbled two snaps.

Yet, the Titans rallied. Down, 20-10, late in the third quarter, Fullerton got a break when Strandley was roughed on an errant 39-yard field-goal attempt. The penalty gave the Titans a first down at the Long Beach 11 and two plays later, Calhoun scored his first touchdown, from the 2.

“That was the turning point,” Sheppard said. “We made the foul, but there’s no way we should rough the kicker in that situation.”

The teams traded touchdowns--Gaynor scoring on a 23-yard run, Dill passing three yards to Jim Thornton--before things got wild, starting with Strandley’s onside kick.

Then came Calhoun’s touchdown. Then came Romero’s interception return.

Then came Fullerton’s victory.