Bonds Keeps Interest on Sidelines

Saturday’s 17-3 loss to Cal State Northridge was hard on Bob Shoup, Cal Lutheran football coach.

It was hard on CLU starting quarterback Jeff Chalmers.

It was hard on backup quarterback Shane Hawkins.

But it was probably hardest of all for Tom Bonds.

While Chalmers and Hawkins spent a long afternoon at Mt. Clef Stadium running up and down the field, trying unsuccessfully to kick the CLU offense from neutral into first gear--and Shoup did the same from the vantage point of his clipboard--Bonds had to be content just dragging his aching right knee up and down the sidelines, gnashing his teeth at what might have been.

He’d see a receiver open here, a defensive back out of position there. No matter. Bonds was out of his position all day.

It was two weeks ago that Bonds, an National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics All-American quarterback, stretched a ligament in his right knee against Cal State Hayward and had to come limping off the field.

At first, it was feared that Bonds had torn the ligament. When it was found to be only a sprain, however, Bonds decided he might miss last week’s game against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, but he’d come running back on the field for CSUN.

“The day the doctor told me I had only stretched my ligament, I started planning for CSUN,” Bonds said.

After falling to Cal Poly SLO, 33-9, last week, the Kingsmen could only hope Bonds was right.

That certainly appeared to be the case midway through the week when the former Hart High star tossed his knee brace and his crutches aside, put on his uniform and starting taking snaps from center in practice. He didn’t work with the regular squad, but he was going through the motions over to the side, running sprints, clutching the football, fading back, planting his leg and then firing those familiar spirals his teammates have come to depend on.

Last year, Bonds, then a sophomore, suffered a mid-season shoulder injury, yet still threw for 2,427 yards and 17 touchdowns, was twice the Western Football Conference Player of the Week and finished in the top 10 in passing efficiency among NCAA Division II quarterbacks. This season, he had played in three games and completed 60% of his passes for 634 yards and six touchdowns before going down.

On Friday morning, Bonds went to the office of Dr. Mel Hayashi for a final checkup. What he heard was good. But not good enough.

“He wanted me to play as much as I wanted to,” said Bonds of Hayashi. “But he told me I was at 80%. The ligament was still loose. There was no way to even suit up. I could plant and throw, but I don’t think I could have gotten away from the rush. I could run and drop back, but I don’t think I could have exploded off a cut.

“It’s real tough not to look short term, but in the long run, this is in my best interests.”

So instead, Bonds put his brace back on and trudged a couple of hundred yards up and down the sidelines while Chalmers and Hawkins tried to fill in.

Bonds rooted and he cheered and he agonized.

“It’s hard to watch a team play their hearts out and come up empty-handed,” he said, speaking on the sidelines while his eyes stayed glued to the field. “It’s just hard to watch a team when you wish you could be a part of it.”

He wasn’t the only one wishing that.

Chalmers, a freshman whose first collegiate action came in the Hayward game, managed to complete only 5 of 15 passes for 36 yards Saturday while throwing three interceptions. Hawkins, also a freshman, completed 5 of 12 for 51 yards and threw two interceptions.

“The whole thing is tough, real tough,” Chalmers said. “It was hard to pick up the coverages or know when to throw or where to throw.”

It was also pretty tough on the Kingsmen defense, which was forced to spend much of the afternoon on the field when the offense committed seven turnovers. Yet CLU still held the Matadors to 241 yards in the game and seven points going into the fourth quarter.

“It would be rough for most defenses,” said Kingsmen linebacker and team captain Jim Buffo, “but we like being put in that situation. That gives us a chance to show what we’ve got. Still, we were on the field a hell of a lot. I was optimistic Tom would suit up. When he didn’t, well, you’ve got to play.”

Shoup was philosophical.

“Sure Tom wanted to play,” he said. “I sure wanted him to play. But there’ll be other games, other seasons.”

Bonds knows that. But it didn’t make him feel any better Saturday.