Fullerton, Out of Luck Again in Las Vegas, Takes a 40-23 Defeat

With a long list of bad memories in a bitter and sometimes violent rivalry, Cal State Fullerton came here Saturday night to try to take out all the aggressions it felt toward Nevada Las Vegas, and some that have built up in its 1-3 start this season.

What the Titans got was something else to add to the list.

UNLV outscored Fullerton, 26-6, in the second half en route to a 40-23 Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. win in front of 20,101 in the Silver Bowl.

The loss drops Fullerton to 0-2 in PCAA play, 1-4 overall. UNLV is 1-0, 3-1.

Since 1972, Fullerton’s only victories over UNLV were handed to them by a PCAA Compliance Committee that ordered the Rebels to forfeit all of their 1983 and 1984 wins for using ineligible players.

But as far as the scoreboard is concerned, this was UNLV’s ninth straight win over Fullerton in a series that has included words and punches.

These teams fought on the field in 1983, and have never had many nice things to say about each other off of it. Wayne Nunnley’s appointment as the UNLV coach before the season was considered a big step in improving relations with the Titans. Nunnley briefly worked for Fullerton Coach Gene Murphy.

The rivalry may have been somewhat subdued, but the results remain much the same.

This time, the Titans began seeing things slip away from them on the first play of the second half, when UNLV’s George Thomas returned the kickoff 71 yards to the Fullerton eight. Three plays later, Rebel quarterback Steve Stallworth connected with tight end Cedric Davis for a four-yard touchdown pass. It was Davis’ first reception of the season, and it gave the Rebels their first lead of the game, 21-17.

From that point, things seemed to get progressively worse for the Titans. Kelly Gogerty recovered a UNLV fumble at the Fullerton 19, only to see Titan running back Rick Calhoun fumble it away on the next play to set up a 43-yard field goal by Daren Libonati that gave the Rebels a 24-17 lead.

After a dazed Stallworth left the game after absorbing a hit, reserve quarterback Eugene Bowen came in to connect with Thomas on an 80-yard play. With 8:41 left in the game, the Rebels had a 31-17 lead.

Murphy lifted quarterback Ronnie Barber late in the third quarter to give redshirt freshman Carlos Siragusa a chance at changing the Titans’ luck. It didn’t work. Outside of Calhoun, who finished with 197 yards in 36 carries, nothing really did.

Fullerton would have left the field at halftime with a 10-point lead if not for a defensive lapse at the end of the half. UNLV took just five plays and 49 seconds to cover 82 yards and cut the Titans’ lead to 17-14 with 29 seconds left.

Rebel flanker George Thomas beat Titan cornerback Reggie Hill deep for a 48-yard gain to the Fullerton nine, then caught a nine-yard scoring pass from Stallworth on the next play.

Calhoun had 100 yards rushing by halftime, much of which came on the game’s opening possession. The Titans opened with a no-huddle offense that was in no hurry to move the ball downfield. The result was a touchdown drive that covered 73 yards in 15 plays and consumed 6 minutes 3 seconds. Calhoun had a 14-yard gain to the Rebel 49 and a 6-yard burst off left tackle on a fourth-and-two play to set up his 7-yard scoring run at the 8:57 mark.