Cal Poly Blows Out Kingsmen
By the end of Cal Lutheran’s 33-9 loss at the hands of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, it was hard to tell just who was in the most pain.
The candidates were, drum roll please, CLU quarterback Tom Bonds, forced to watch the game from the sidelines because of a week-old knee injury; Jeff Chalmers, a cool, tobacco-chewing freshman quarterback who started in place of Bonds; or CLU Coach Bob Shoup, who was not only burdened by Chalmers’ inexperienced play, but who was also doubled up in pain from a backache that has plagued him all week.
It was basically a toss-up, as were most of Chalmers’ passes. After the game, the freshman had little to say to reporters. His exact words were, “Save it for later.”
Bonds, meanwhile, said sitting through all of this was one of the most frustrating experiences of his life. “Man, this hasn’t been easy. Watching this is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my life.”
And Shoup said simply: “The good guys didn’t get enough points. There will be other days.”
But if any of those carry the prospect of this one, Shoup wanted no part of them. Shoup said he didn’t expect his offense, without Bonds, to win the game, but he said he hoped the offense wouldn’t lose it. But it did.
Chalmers started shaky and ended shaky. And the offense never got untracked.
Chalmers’ first offensive series began with the Kingsmen precariously on their 10. The 18-year-old quarterback’s first play resulted in an illegal-procedure penalty, pinning the offense to the five. Then Chalmers lofted a beautiful spiral 40 yards down the right sideline. The problem was, his target--wide receiver Joe Fuca--had run only 25 yards. On the next play, Chalmers threw a strike to receiver Eddie Gran, who dropped it. Welcome to college football, kid.
After Kent Sullivan’s punt, Cal Poly took over on CLU’s 32. The Mustangs drove to the six before running back Carlos Adams juked and jived his way to the end zone.
The Kingsmen got a break when the Mustangs were called for holding and the touchdown was taken away. The penalty was magnified when CLU defensive back Don Price intercepted Cal Poly quarterback Robert Perez in the end zone.
Chalmers continued to show that he could zip the ball, but the offense sputtered. Passes were dropped and the running game provided little support. At best, it was one yard and a cloud of dust.
Undaunted, Shoup threw in a batch of trick plays. Many expected Shoup to play conservatively, but the coach let it fly.
The Kingsmen (2-2) ran reverses, misdirections and Shoup once even called for a fake punt on fourth down. He allowed Chalmers to throw 17 passes in the first half. Chalmers completed 6 of his passes to Cal Lutheran receivers and two to Cal Poly defensive backs. Both interceptions resulted in San Luis Obispo touchdowns.
With CLU leading, 3-0, early in the second quarter, Chalmers’ lofted a high pass over the middle. Tight end Darren Gottschalk was the intended receiver, but Gottschalk could only watch as the ball first nearly brought rain and then landed softly in the hands of Cal Poly defender Bobby Brandon at the CLU 32.
That set up a 7-3 Mustang lead, Perez hitting Lance Martin in the end zone.
Thirty-two seconds later Cal Poly (2-1) went up, 14-3. Chris Dunn intercepted Chalmers and returned to the Kingsmen 40. A personal foul moved the ball to the 25, where Perez threw along the same route just half a minute earlier, this time finding receiver Claude Joseph for a touchdown.
Down but not completely out, Chalmers fought back with a 36-yard touchdown pass to Jim Osborn with 5:54 left in the half. A two-point conversion failed when Chalmers’ pass fell short.
All in all, Chalmers had a lousy first half. Still, the Kingsmen only trailed the Mustangs, 17-9, going into the locker room. It could have been worse.
And it was in the second half.