FOOTBALL : Cal Lutheran Tight End Takes a Medical Pass

Darren Gottschalk, Cal Lutheran’s All-American tight end, will not play against Cal State Hayward on Saturday. Gottschalk suffered a severe ankle sprain in last week’s 37-21 win over Sonoma State.

Although CLU plans to use a quick-pass offense that depends heavily on the tight end, CLU Coach Bob Shoup said he isn’t concerned.

“Mark Jones will replace Gottschalk,” he said. “It’s not like we’re going from the penthouse to the outhouse.”

Jones transferred to Cal Lutheran from Gavilan Community College in Gilroy, Calif., where he was an all-state selection.

Stamp of approval: Chris Hutcherson, a fifth-year senior at Cal Lutheran, has been ruled eligible to play this season, Shoup said. Hutcherson had applied for an additional year of eligibility after playing in only two games last season because of a knee injury.

The defensive back missed the Kingsmen’s first two games this season while awaiting a decision from the Western Football Conference, the NCAA and the NAIA.

Stating his case: Dan Nagelmann, a freshman from Thousand Oaks High, doesn’t have a lock on the starting quarterback job at Moorpark, Coach Jim Bittner said.

Nagelmann, however, has started for the Raiders in their first two games and made a strong case for himself.

Sharing duties with Steve Armstrong and Steve Haddad, Nagelmann has completed 13 of 24 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns.

Armstrong and Haddad, who played at Pierce last season, have combined for 127 passing yards, including Haddad’s 72-yard bomb to Mark Lockwood last week.

Stat watch: Cal State Northridge leads the WFC in defense, having allowed an average of 192.5 yards a game--one yard less than Cal Lutheran.

The Matadors limited Cal State Hayward to 111 rushing yards in 27 attempts last week.

Cal Lutheran was even stronger against the run in its victory over Sonoma State, limiting the Cossacks to 13 yards.

Add Northridge: The last time Northridge was in the top 20, it barely finished the season with a winning record.

In 1981, Northridge opened the season 4-0-1 and was ranked as high as ninth. The Matadors then lost four of their next five games and finished with a 6-4-1 record.

A victory over San Francisco State on Saturday would give Northridge its first 3-0 start since 1976, Jack Elway’s first year as coach.

Northridge is ranked 15th in this week’s NCAA Division II poll.

Around the WFC: Defending conference champion Santa Clara was the victim of an outstanding passing performance by Chico State’s Craig Wallis last week. Wallis completed 17 of 22 first-half passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns. Chico State (1-2) led, 28-0, at the half on its way to a 35-8 win.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (1-1) also fell prey to a strong passing attack, losing to UC Davis, 32-21, as Chris Petersen threw for 232 yards and four touchdowns.

Southern Utah State improved to 3-1 with a 50-7 win over Western Montana. Linebacker Todd Olsen, who had 12 tackles and a fumble recovery against Western Montana, was the conference’s defensive player of the week.

At the JCs: Valley College, picked by at least one football magazine to finish first in the Southern California Conference, is 0-2. Chaffey, also in the SCC, is 2-0. . . . A week before play begins in the Western State Conference, Allan Hancock, Glendale, Santa Monica and Ventura are all 2-0.