COLLEGE NOTEBOOK : Plaster Not the Kind of Cast CLU Had In Mind

When junior college transfers grab the attention of football coaches during spring workouts, returning starters have cause for concern.

But Cal Lutheran linebackers Sean Demmon and Earl Bentancourt have more to worry about than retaining their positions.

Every time Demmon eats in the cafeteria, he wonders if he’ll be able to hold a fork normally again. And Bentancourt wonders if he’ll ever be able to walk up a flight of stairs without holding the railing.

After undergoing operations this month, neither player is participating in spring practices and both are questionable for next season.

That’s understandable.

But the injuries to Demmon’s right hand and Bentancourt’s right knee were sustained last October in CLU’s 27-23 loss to Cal State Northridge.

That’s incredible.

“Their doctors claim they’ll be ready in August,” said Jim Bauer, the defensive coordinator at Cal Lutheran. “But to look at them now, you wouldn’t think so.”

Both players have been in some sort of cast since the CSUN game. Demmon’s hand, broken in the CSUN game, didn’t heal properly. Bone from his hip was grafted into the hand April 4, and he’ll be in a full arm cast for three months.

Bentancourt had surgery this week to remove adhesions from his knee.

“If rehabilitation goes well, I’ll be able to play,” said Demmon, who will be a junior next season. “But I really don’t have any idea. If it doesn’t heal right, I’ll take a redshirt year.”

Bentancourt, whose injury in the CSUN game was the latest in a series of knee problems, has applied to have 1985 count as a redshirt year. He will be a junior next season if the NCAA grants the request.

Although junior college transfers Terry Rowe and David Moore have been impressive this spring, Bentancourt and Demmon would have places in the lineup if healthy.

In his first two seasons as an outside linebacker, Bentancourt recorded 40 sacks.

“Earl is tremendous on the blitz,” Bauer said. “He is one of the best linebackers we’ve had at Cal Lutheran when he is healthy.”

Demmon, who played inside and outside linebacker last season after playing center as a freshman, also is highly regarded. “Sean is strong and aggressive,” Bauer said. “And his versatility is a plus.”

Following injuries to Bentancourt, Demmon and Chris Heintz, the CLU linebacking corps was paper-thin in the second half of the season. Rowe and Moore, therefore, are welcome additions.

“The new guys have been excellent this spring,” Bauer said. “We need Earl and Sean badly, but if the season started tomorrow, we’d field a good team.”

Demmon said that rather than viewing them as threats, the newcomers have taken pressure off him to return before he is fit.

“I think we’ll have a lot more depth next year,” Demmon said. “There is no need for me to push and play before I’m ready.”

Taking stock of Bonds: Although only six projected starters are participating in spring workouts, the CLU offense is holding its own in intra-squad scrimmages. Bauer said the reason is quarterback Tom Bonds.

“My impression from the other side of the ball is that Bonds’ leadership is phenomenal,” Bauer said. “He takes guys who are on the third team and makes them believe they can beat the first team defense.”

Bonds, an NAIA All-American as a sophomore last season, completed 178 of 319 passes for 2,427 yards and 17 touchdowns.

“Tom is throwing the ball great,” Bauer said. “He ate up our defense in seven-on-seven the other day.”

Raiders on the rise: Despite Thursday’s 5-3 loss to Allan Hancock, the Moorpark baseball team is still a contender for the Western State Conference title. Before Thursday, the Raiders (8-4, 16-11 overall) reeled off five straight WSC wins and had pulled into a tie for first with Ventura and Taft.

“The difference has been pitching and defense,” Moorpark Coach Ron Stillwell said. “Steve Reed has been our ace on the mound and Jon Egertson has been magnificent at third base.”

Reed, formerly of Chatsworth High and Pierce, is 5-2 with a 2.30 earned-run average. Egertson, a transfer from Cal Lutheran, has made a successful transition from shortstop to third and is batting .379.

Despite the recent surge, Stillwell is unhappy with his team’s hitting in the clutch, saying Moorpark is leaving too many men on base. “Bob Ayrault has carried us with the bat,” he said. Ayrault is hitting .356 and has driven in 27 runs.

If earlier scores are an indication, the conference race can be expected to go down to the final week. Moorpark has split two games each with Taft and Ventura, and all four have been decided by one run.

Take two and hang a right: Cal Lutheran third baseman Rob Burden, who is hitting a robust .345, proved to a TV audience that he is tough with two strikes.

As a recent contestant on The Price Is Right, Burden won a silver Pontiac Firebird during the Three Strikes, You’re Out portion of the game show. He had two strikes when he won.

Interior combat: The fiercest battles during CSUN spring football practices have been in the middle of the field, according to Coach Bob Burt. Center Brian Clark and nose guard Darrell McIntyre, both returning starters, are hitting like they are unproven freshmen trying to win jobs.

“It’s been the war of the world every day when those two go against each other,” Burt said.

CSUN bright spots: A couple of newcomers have caught the attention of the first-year football coach.

Lou Green, a transfer from Chabot College, has moved from free safety to outside linebacker. “The surprise is how well he’s been able to adapt,” Burt said.

Dester Stowers, a defensive tackle who transferred from Pasadena College, has also been impressive. “Dester’s been a force all spring,” Burt said.

Burt also noted that spring workouts have been nearly injury-free. Only Tony Palamara, a transfer from Saddleback College, has been hurt. He suffered a sprained knee.

Sixty-one more and they’re done: The Cal State Northridge softball team has canceled its May 1-3 trip to Sacramento, where it was scheduled to participate in a tournament.

The Lady Matadors are being victimized by an NCAA rule that allows Division II schools to play only 60 games a season. If CSUN (39-9-1, 11-3) were to play in the tournament, the Lady Matadors would conclude the regular season with 61 games and thus be declared ineligible for postseason play.

College Notes

Moorpark softball pitcher Karen Mead set a school record with 26 consecutive shutout innings, breaking the mark of 23 set by Mary Kay Grandpre in 1978. Mead, a freshman from Lompoc, had tied the record going into Monday’s game against Ventura. She held the Pirates scoreless the first three innings and won, 6-2. On Thursday, she struck out nine in a 2-1 win over Taft to increase her school single-season strikeout record to 127. . . . The Moorpark women’s track team won a four-way WSC meet at Ventura College on Tuesday. The Raider men finished second to Taft. Glenn Wellman won the 100- and 200-meter dashes for Moorpark. . . . The Cal Lutheran baseball team is hitting .337 and all six players with 100 or more at-bats are batting over .300. Jon Knight leads the Kingsmen with a .430 mark. . . . Chris Pinsak leads CSUN regulars with a .357 batting average. . . . After winning the Western State Conference under Coach Jerry White last season, the Oxnard College baseball team is 0-18 under Dick Jaquez and Mike Glenn. Every returning starter transferred after White decided to take a one-year sabbatical. . . . Wide receivers Charlie Collins, Chris Moore, Kenneth Garrett and Nick Uruburu have been impressive during CSUN spring football practices, according to Coach Bob Burt. More than one returning offensive lineman is being pushed for his position, Burt added. . . . On the CSUN basketball scene, Julius Thomas, a 6-5 guard-forward from Riverside City College, visited CSUN on Thursday and said he will attend either CSUN or UC Riverside this fall. Thomas averaged 14 points per game for Riverside last season. . . . The CSUN alumni football game is scheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m. at North Campus Stadium. Cal Lutheran’s alumni game will be played April 26 at 1 p.m. at Mount Clef Stadium.