Fielding a Bad Omen at CSUN

You can usually tell a college athletic program is in trouble when:

--The players who turn out for the soccer team argue over who will play shortstop.

--The water polo players show up for the first day of practice with towels for their horses. And the head coach scolds one player for not bringing a horse.

--The cross-country coach schedules three night meets.

--The gymnastics team members argue over who will have to clean out the pommel horse’s corral.

--The football team allows 15 more points in a game than the basketball team scores.

At Cal State Northridge, none of the first six danger signs have ever appeared. Well, probably have never appeared.

But the last foreboding indication made an appearance this past weekend.

The CSUN football team was walloped Saturday night by Portland State, 61-24, in what was mercifully the final game of the season. And, at virtually the same time, the CSUN basketball team lost to Colorado State, 47-46, in its second game of the season.

It shouldn’t be long, you figure, before West Coast sports fans begin pleading for the obvious dream matchup--Portland State’s football team against the Colorado State basketball team.

In Memory: Noel Hicks of CLC and Chris Parker of CSUN were nominated by their coaches for the first Pat Malley Memorial Award for overall excellence on the football field and in the classroom. Malley was a long-time coach at Santa Clara. He died last year.

“Noel holds a 3.8 grade point average in his geology major,” Shoup said. “He had more than 1,000 yards total offense and is active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.”

Hicks, a senior running back, gained 505 yards rushing on 97 carries, caught 26 passes for 277 yards and returned 17 kicks for 384 yards for 1,166 yards total offense.

“Chris is a physical education major with a 3.2 grade point average,” CSUN Coach Tom Keele said. “He is a great young man with a great attitude.”

Parker, a junior quarterback, set a CSUN record with 2,773 yards total offense. He passed for 2,658 yards and ran for 115. Parker led the WFC with 19 touchdown passes.

Attitude Adjustment: Four Canyon High football players, including heavily-recruited nose guard Joe Zacharia, were at Mt. Clef Stadium Saturday for the game between Cal Lutheran and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo as part of high school visitation day.

With Cal Lutheran trailing, 17-9, at halftime, Zacharia was asked his opinion of CLC.

“It’s OK,” Zacharia said. “We’re definitely thinking of bigger schools, though.”

Cal Lutheran rallied for an emotional 29-24 victory, its first conquest in the Western Football Conference. Zacharia was asked if his opinion had changed.

“Sure it did,” he said. “They moved up to the WFC and won a big game today.”

CSUN basketball Coach Pete Cassidy’s team was beaten by 37 points Friday night against Wyoming, 24 hours before losing to Colorado State. It was zero degrees in Laramie and only slightly warmer in Fort Collins, Colo. It was so cold and windy outside that people were unable to change their minds without stepping into a warm building.

The Matadors’ trip started off with a whimper when their plane was put in a holding pattern for an hour over Stapleton International Airport in Denver because the city was fogged in. Then, when the team arrived by bus in Laramie, the driver couldn’t find the motel. After driving around town for an hour, the bus driver, named Red, got on his CB and started yelling, “Breaker one-nine. Hey y’all, how ‘bout a little local information?”

He repeated his request many times. All other CB owners ignored him many times.

Finally, with the number of Laramie streets the bus had not been on dwindling towards single digits, Red found the motel.

All in all, you figure Cassidy would rank the trip right up there with a root canal, right?

Wrong.

“I’m glad we came on this trip,” he said.

Anyone else get the idea Cassidy would have re-booked on the Titanic and asked for a cabin closer to the water?

Cassidy’s players and some others did not share his warm feelings about the journey.

While riding through Laramie, one CSUN player asked, “What direction do we have to go to get back to earth?”

And Tony McAndrews, the Colorado State Coach, was overheard telling Cassidy, “Laramie isn’t the end of the earth. But you can see it from there.”

Divison II Blues: No team from the Western Football Conference made the eight-team Division II playoffs.

Santa Clara (4-0-1, 8-2-1), the conference champion, was 15th in the final rankings after losing last week to St. Mary’s, 21-16. Sacramento State (4-1, 8-3) was ranked 19th.

“Conference commissioner Vic Buccola lobbied for Santa Clara after they tied Portland State,” WFC Information Director Wayne Shaw said. “Then Santa Clara goes and loses to St. Mary’s.”

St. Mary’s, which finished 3-8, won on a 48-yard interception return for a touchdown by Doug Beurlein with 10 minutes remaining in the game.

Wood Would: Cal Lutheran middle linebacker Ken Wood was named WFC Defensive Player of the Week after he made 21 tackles in the Kingsmen’s 29-24 win over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo last week.

Wood, a senior who transferred to CLC after playing two years at Ventura College, began the season at outside linebacker but was forced to man the middle following a series of injuries to Kingsman linebackers.

“Ken’s quickness and relatively slight build made him better suited for the outside,” CLC Coach Bob Shoup said. “But when he had to play in the middle, he came through in outstanding fashion.”

Catching On: Cal State Northridge wide receiver Kenny Garrett led the WFC with 54 catches. The 5-9 junior gained 614 yards on his receptions and scored three touchdowns.

Portland State’s Brian Coushay, who played at Newbury Park High, was second with 47 catches for 743 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Cal Lutheran wide receiver Greg Harris had the most yards receiving with 805. The senior had 44 catches and five touchdowns.

More Leaders: CSUN kicker Mike Doan set school records with 71 points and 16 field goals.

CLC junior defensive back Don Price, who made the starting lineup only because of an injury to Chris Hutcherson, tied for the WFC lead with five interceptions.

“Don is a great pass defender,” Shoup said, “and his tackling improved all season. He was a pleasant surprise.”

Sophomore quarterback Tom Bonds set a CLC record with 416 total plays. That’s not exactly a glamour record but Bonds did rebound from a midseason injury to pass for 674 yards in the last two games, both of which were CLC victories.

“Tom is becoming a dominant player at this level,” Shoup said. “He could have all of our records before he’s through.”