COLLEGE NOTEBOOK : WFC Marks Fall in a Shoot-Out at CSUN

A crowd of 6,526, the largest of the season, already had filed out of North Campus Stadium last Saturday when Cal State Northridge Coach Bob Burt came strolling down the visiting sideline about half an hour after the Matadors had defeated Southern Utah State, 56-36.

“That was the best offensive performance I’ve ever seen,” he yelled up to a handful of people still working in the press box.

“Which team?” two reporters simultaneously yelled back.

Burt was referring to his own team, which had accumulated 504 yards in total offense.

A case could have been made for either team, however, after a game in which six Western Football Conference records were tied or broken.

The teams combined for 92 points, 13 touchdowns and 53 first downs--all records.

Dennis Wells of Southern Utah, the only player to break an individual record, returned nine kickoffs.

Thunderbird running back Jim Andrus tied the record for rushing touchdowns in a conference game with three. Northridge tied the mark for touchdowns by a team with eight.

Back of the century: Albert Fann surpassed the 100-yard mark in rushing on Saturday for the fifth time this season. The freshman from Cleveland High ran for 120 yards and two touchdowns against Southern Utah State. It was the fourth consecutive game in which he has rushed for more than 100 yards.

If Fann gains more than 100 yards in each of the remaining regular-season games, he will tie Mike Kane’s conference record of nine 100-yard rushing performances in a season. Kane was an All-American tailback for Northridge last season.

Act of mercy: Cal Lutheran quarterback Tom Bonds was pulled out in the third quarter of Saturday’s 40-7 loss at Portland State. Said Jim Buchheim, CLU’s sports information director: “He’s pretty bruised up. He was sacked seven times and hit probably 20 times. He’s black and blue, but he’ll play this week.”

CLU plays host to Cal State Sacramento at Mount Clef Stadium on Saturday.

Around the WFC: Three Western Football Conference teams are ranked in the Division II top 20.

Portland State (6-1-1) is No. 4, Santa Clara (6-1) is No. 9, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (6-1) is No. 14. Northridge (5-2) received votes for the second time in three weeks but fell shy of breaking into the rankings.

The Matadors play host to Santa Clara on Saturday night at North Campus Stadium. Portland plays at San Luis Obispo in a day game.

Three of the top seven rushers in the conference are from Cal State Northridge. Fann is No. 1, averaging 95.7 yards a game and 6.7 yards a carry; fullback Richard Brown is sixth, averaging 67.1 yards a game and 4.8 yards a carry; tailback Lance Harper is seventh with an average of 57.6 yards a game and 6 yards a carry.

Quarterback Rob Huffman of Northridge, the WFC’s offensive player of the week after accounting for 300 yards in total offense against Southern Utah State, moved from fifth to third in the conference in passing efficiency.

He has completed 63 of 127 passes for 896 yards and 8 touchdowns with 6 interceptions.

Tom Bonds of CLU is fifth in the ratings. He is 115 of 218 for 1,310 yards and 11 touchdowns but has been intercepted 13 times.

Rank and file: Valley (7-0, 6-0), which defeated Rio Hondo, 68-21, retained its No. 3-ranking in the state and No. 2 -ranking in Southern California. Valley also moved up four spots to No. 16 in the JC Grid-Wire’s national poll. Moorpark (5-1, 2-1), which was idle, fell from sixth to 10th in the state, but the previously unranked Raiders moved into 19th position in the JC Grid-Wire poll.

Streak talk: Valley has won 13 consecutive games on the field, but the official streak is nine because forfeits for using an ineligible player last season affected the official won-lost record. The Monarchs have averaged 36.5 points a game over the 13-game period.

Meanwhile, Taft (7-0) has averaged 42.7 points a game in putting together a 12-game win streak, which is the the nation’s longest.

Rolling on the Rio: Valley rolled up 616 yards in total offense in its 68-21 win over Rio Hondo, but the Monarchs--who went into the game with the top offense in the state--fell to third behind San Mateo (458 yards a game) and Taft (435.8). The Monarchs are averaging 434 yards a game.

Tailback Dondre Bausley, who has rushed for just 91 yards in the past two games, continues to lead the state in rushing with 991 yards.

Quarterback Barry Hanks, who completed 16 of 17 passes for 301 yards and 4 touchdowns against Rio Hondo, increased his state-leading passing percentage from 62.9% to 66.4%. He was named Southern California Conference co-player of the week, along with receiver James Reaves, who caught 8 passes for 176 yards and 2 touchdowns against Rio Hondo.

Injury report: Barry Daniels, who is Valley’s best defensive lineman, and Howard Howell, the Monarchs’ starting fullback, both missed the Rio Hondo game because of injuries. Daniels is nursing a strained knee and Howell has a broken wrist. Valley Coach Chuck Ferrero said both players will play in Saturday night’s SCC showdown at Antelope Valley.

Point-counterpoint: The 68 points Valley scored in its win over Rio Hondo is nine short of the school record set last season when the Monarchs routed Chaffey, 77-14. Ferrero said the Monarchs weren’t going for the record or trying to run up the score, either. “We played everyone and they all want to do a good job,” Ferrero said. “What are you going to tell them? Fall down?”

Devalued?: Moorpark College’s stock might have dropped when it lost running back Kenny Durr for the season this past week.

Durr, the second-leading rusher on the team with 381 yards on 64 carries and 3 touchdowns, turned in his equipment after Moorpark’s 42-28 win over Santa Barbara Oct. 17.

Coach Jim Bittner, however, is confident that the Raiders can rebound from Durr’s loss by investing in running backs Dana Griffin and Larry Roberts.

“It takes us down a notch, but I think we’re still all right,” Bittner said. “We’re too deep in the backfield. As long as we don’t have injuries, we’ll be fine.”

Griffin burst into the Moorpark record books by rushing for a school-record 280 yards against Santa Barbara. Mike Daniels is Moorpark’s leading rusher with 411 yards.

Ruiz returns: Moorpark nose guard Johnny Ruiz, who has been sidelined three weeks because of a broken bone in his right foot, might return Saturday when the Raiders play host to Glendale.

Matador moves: The Cal State Northridge soccer team, which is ranked No. 1 this week in the Division II poll, has benefited immediately from lineup reshuffling that has given the Matadors a much more potent offense.

Before last week’s game against Cal Poly Pomona, Coach Marwan Ass’ad moved Steve Lazarus from fullback to forward, Rodney Batt from forward to midfield and Steve Harvey from midfield to fullback. In addition, Thor Lee, who is an All-American defender, has taken on more responsibility on offense.

Those moves, coupled with the continued offensive prowess of forward Joey Kirk (21 goals), have given the Matadors a new look heading into next Wednesday’s game with 18th-ranked Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, the conference co-leader. The teams tied, 2-2, a few weeks ago.

“The moves have made us more dangerous,” Ass’ad said. “We have been good all season at creating chances to score, but we have become better at finishing them.

“It’s always tough to play at San Luis Obispo, but I feel confident going into that game with the new lineup.”

Super season: The Master’s College soccer, cross-country and women’s volleyball teams are enjoying more success this fall than any other. The soccer team, led by freshman Chris Palm (30 goals), is 14-4. The Mustangs had their nine-game winning streak snapped Monday by La Verne in a 2-0 loss.

The women’s volleyball team is 19-8 and can will qualify for the District III playoffs with a victory over Cal Baptist tonight .

The men’s cross-country team is 17-1, the women’s is 14-3. “This is the best cross-country team we’ve ever had,” said John Zeller, Master’s sports information director. Zeller said junior Jeff Claassen, senior Phil Duncan, freshman Marlys Newey and senior Kim Fish have a good chance to qualify for the NAIA national championships in Kenosha, Wis., on Nov. 21.

Peak performances: The CSUN women’s volleyball team overtook Central-Missouri State with three victories last week to assume the top spot in the Tachikara Coaches Poll.

With its No. 1 ranking in Division II secure, CSUN ran its California Collegiate Athletic Assn. winning streak to 35 games by defeating Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday.

The Lady Matadors (21-5, 8-0) play at UC Riverside on Friday.

Deceiving look: Kathleen and Marianne Dixon are double trouble for most opponents of CSUN’s women’s basketball team but not because of their rebounding or shooting.

Defensing twin sisters can be confusing outside a zone formation.

“I’ll be double-teamed and Marianne will be wide open,” Kathleen said. “It happens all of the time.”

The slight differences between the sisters are too subtle for most opponents to notice. At 6-1, Kathleen is an inch taller than Marianne and doesn’t share the blond streak in her hair that Marianne sports.

The Dixons, who also play on the CSUN volleyball team, will join the basketball team after volleyball ends in December.