Templeton Sets NCAA Mark; Long Beach Wins

With all that has unfolded the past few days involving the future of the Cal State Long Beach football program, it was difficult for anyone at Veterans Stadium Saturday night to keep their minds on the 49ers’ season finale.

Cal State Long Beach, playing possibly its last football game, defeated the University of Pacific, 38-21, in a Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. game that included a record-setting performance by 49er fullback Mark Templeton.

Earlier in the week, Long Beach President Stephen Horn announced that the school had to raise $300,000 by the end of the year or he would eliminate its football program.

Horn, embroiled in a funding controversy that has the college facing a deficit approaching $1 million, said that even with a successful fund-raising effort in the next month, the college has until June of 1988 to come up with an additional $800,000, or the football team would face the ax again.

So, even the explosive nature of Saturday night’s contest put its outcome on the back burner for all but Templeton. The 6-foot 1-inch, 205-pound senior set a number of career pass receiving marks. With 15 catches, Templeton became the NCAA’s career pass reception leader. His 262 catches topped Howard Twilley’s mark by one. Templeton made his record-setting reception with 3:04 left in the game on a two-yard swing pass from reserve quarterback Gary Ruhlen.

Templeton’s 100 catches this season were also an NCAA mark for running backs and established a PCAA single-season pass reception record.

Yet, it was his three rushing touchdowns in the first quarter that staked the 49ers to a 21-0 lead with barely 10 minutes gone.

Long Beach (6-5) held a 24-7 lead early in the second quarter, but Pacific (4-7) rallied to trail, 24-21, at the half.

A pair of passing touchdowns, one by Ruhlen to flanker Derek Washington and another by starter Jeff Graham to tight end Greg Locy, accounted for all the second-half scoring.

It was Long Beach’s first winning season in three years.