COLLEGE DIGEST : FOOTBALL : Southern Utah State Chases CSUN in Football Rankings

CSUN is ranked 12th in this week’s Division II football poll. Southern Utah State, which will play host to the Matadors on Saturday night in Cedar City, is the only other Western Football Conference team in the top 20. The Thunderbirds are No. 19. UC Davis, which has won 15 straight Northern California Athletic Conference titles, is ranked fourth. Davis plays Northridge at North Campus Stadium on Nov. 8.

Speedy recovery: Although Cal Lutheran is officially saying that Tom Bonds will miss at least two games because of a knee injury, Coach Bob Shoup said the junior quarterback expects to play a week from Saturday when the Kingsmen play CSUN. “He thinks he can begin to practice next week,” Shoup said. “He could play against Northridge. It’s hard to tell. Within minutes after it happened, the knee has been in ice. There hasn’t been much swelling or discoloring, but he has yet to put any weight on it.”

Still searching: Valley College football Coach Chuck Ferrero believes he is getting closer to his first victory of the season despite a 44-30 loss Saturday to College of the Desert in their Southern California Conference opener.

“There’s no doubt that the ability is there,” he said. “The problem has been our continuity.”

That problem surfaced again against Desert, as Valley (0-1, 0-3) used three quarterbacks and five tailbacks. A bright spot for Valley was freshman Barry Hanks, who passed for 232 yards and one touchdown after entering the game at the start of the fourth quarter.

Judgement call: In last week’s 17-16 loss to Long Beach City College, Moorpark Coach Jim Bittner played for the win and wound up with a loss.

Raider reserve quarterback Steve Armstrong threw a six-yard scoring pass to Ron Williams to bring Moorpark within a point with 40 seconds left. Bittner opted for a two-point conversion and the win instead of an extra point and the tie.

“We don’t play for ties, especially if it doesn’t have any effect on league,” Bittner said.

It will make a difference this week. Moorpark opens its Western State Conference schedule at home against Ventura on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

Around the WFC: Western Football Conference teams are 12-7-1 against nonconference opponents. Northridge and Southern Utah are a combined 7-0.

Mike Kane of Northridge had his Western Football Conference single-game rushing record broken last week by fullback Rob Harrison of Cal State Sacramento.

Harrison rushed for 247 yards and 3 touchdowns on 23 carries as Sacramento beat Humbolt State in a nonconference game, 45-17. The previous record for rushing yardage was 180 by Kane against St. Mary’s in 1984.

Harrison and Portland State linebacker Brett Rodarte were WFC Players of the Week.

Stat Watch: Since 1980, Southern Utah State is 37-23-3 overall, but 24-3-1 at home. Southern Utah averages 276.4 rushing yards a game, best in the WFC. . . . The Northridge defense allows an average of only 86.7 rushing yards a game, also best in the conference. The Matadors are first in total defense, giving up an average of 166.3 yards and eight points a game. Northridge’s defense hasn’t been scored on in eight quarters. . . . Southern Utah averages 459.2 yards and 37.8 points a game.