Northridge Turns Back 19th-Ranked CS Hayward

A crowd of about 5,000 came to North Campus Stadium at Cal State Northridge on Saturday night, some to check out each other and others presumably to take a look at the Matador football team under new Coach Bob Burt.

The majority who came to watch football saw tailback Mike Kane gain more than 100 yards for the second straight Saturday in leading the Matadors to a 20-7 upset over Cal State Hayward, which went into the game ranked No. 19 in Division II.

“We played at a different level tonight,” Burt said. “That has to happen when you play a good football team. We were playing at home against a top-20 team. The kids had reason to be excited.”

Northridge has had only two winning seasons in the last eight years, but is now 2-0. When Burt arrived in January, he began preaching new enthusiasm and intensity. Both were evident Saturday night in the stands as well as on the field.

At one point during the fourth quarter a group of Northridge fans even tried to start a wave. It didn’t go very far, though, traveling about the same distance as Hayward’s longest drive in the second half. That’s 27 yards.

In spite of Kane’s 133 yards, this night truly belonged to the Matador defense, which came up with four turnovers and gave up only 208 total yards, or only 33 more yards than Kane had rushing and pass receiving.

“We preached all week,” Burt said. “Turnovers to the defense and ball control to the offense. We needed both and we got it.”

Northridge had 324 total yards and even more impressively had an 11-minute edge over Hayward in time of possession.

“Again, we responded very well to adversity,” said Burt, who had the same comment after a 35-17 victory over Sonoma State last week. “Twice we rose to the occasion after mistakes.”

Hayward tested Northridge’s mettle early.

Danny Fernandez, who was so impressive in relief in the Matadors’ 35-17 win over Sonoma last week, celebrated his first starting assignment of the young season by throwing an interception on Northridge’s second play from scrimmage.

Michael Grayson of Hayward picked off Fernandez’s pass intended for Chris Moore at the 28-yard line and took it in for a touchdown. Fernandez was forced to unload the ball before he wanted to because of a heavy rush by blitzing linebacker Joe Terry. The result was a pass that hung in the air long enough for Grayson to time his jump perfectly and take the ball in full stride toward the Matador goal line.

Northridge suffered another setback on its next possession. After driving from its 36 to the Hayward 12, CSUN stalled and All-Western Football Conference kicker Mike Doan was wide right on a 37-yard field goal attempt.

The Matador defense responded by evening up the turnover count, and in turn the score, when Kip Dukes recovered a fumbled pitchout at the Hayward 17.

Two plays later, Fernandez hit Kane with a screen pass at the 14 and the 5-10, 185-pound senior broke two tackles on his way to the end zone.

Kane accounted for 103 of the Matadors’ 156 total yards in the first half, carrying 13 times for 71 yards and catching 2 passes for 32 yards.

Hayward, which totaled more than 400 yards in its 34-7 win over St. Mary’s last week, was held to 136 total yards and only 6 first downs in the first half.

The Pioneers had a chance to take the lead early in the second quarter, driving from their own three to the Matador 27. From there, however, Northridge tackle Steve Dominic took things into his own hands.

First, he teamed with Billy Ward to sack Hayward quarterback Bill Neal for a loss of six. He then dropped Pioneer running backs Mike Matthews and Marcus Whitten for losses of one and seven yards.

“On film of last week’s game we saw where we didn’t play well at all,” Dominic said after the game. “We weren’t going to let that happen again. Every time they came up with a big play we dug a little deeper.”

Northridge took the lead for good on its first possession of the second half, driving 58 yards on 12 plays for a 41-yard field goal by Doan.

The Matadors made it 17-7 midway through the third period, when Chris Parker, who split time with Fernandez, hit the streaking Nick Uruburu down the west sideline for a 45-yard touchdown pass.

It was the only time Parker, who attempted an average of more than 20 times a game last season, was asked to really air it out with a long pass.

Parker completed 4 of 8 for 89 yards, while Fernandez was 5 for 9 for 69 yards. Meanwhile, CSUN running backs carried 49 times for 166 yards.

Matador Notes

Danny Fernandez’s start Saturday was not his first for the Matadors. He started a game against Sonoma State last season when Parker was injured.