The Colleges : Injuries, Dropouts Make Fullback a Lean Position at Cal Lutheran

If fullback Dan Smeester can avoid linebackers no better than he avoids broken bottles, Cal Lutheran’s running game is in trouble.

Smeester, a 6-foot, 3-inch, 200-pound junior, has been unable to practice since suffering a deep cut on his left foot after he stepped on a broken bottle at a friend’s house in Tucson, Ariz. The injury occurred last Thursday, two days before Cal Lutheran’s first workout. Smeester is expected to be back in action as soon as this weekend.

But his return is not the only problem facing Coach Bob Shoup in his effort to shore up a Kingsmen ground game that finished last in the Western Football Conference last season, averaging 98 yards a game.

Shoup expected six fullbacks to report for practice last Saturday, but he is down to three until Smeester returns.

Ted Pappas, a transfer from Golden West College, and Troy Anderson, who played at Walla Walla (Wash.) College last season, have both quit. Suddenly, what once was a deep position is a little thin.

“We did not spend a lot of time recruiting fullbacks,” Shoup said.

Chris Hertsgaard, a fifth-year senior, and Chris Vargas, a freshman from Reseda High, are working out at fullback. In addition, Shoup plans to temporarily make a fullback out of Tim Lewis, a backup quarterback and defensive back.

Cal Lutheran also lost running back Kenny Durr, who rushed for 381 yards on 64 carries for Moorpark College last season before leaving the team after six games. Durr and senior defensive lineman Mike Ecsedy both are academically ineligible.

Rock steady: Ben White, an Occidental defensive back, has been working out all summer to prepare his arms for two rose tattoos. He plans to name the display “Guns N’ Roses” in honor of his favorite band.

In an effort to ensure White’s ego doesn’t swell with his biceps, his teammates suggested that his tattoo have two piles of rocks instead of roses. He could call it “Sticks and Stones.”

Cancellation: Because of a misunderstanding about the start date for practice, the Moorpark football team’s season opener against Taft on Sept. 3 has been canceled, Moorpark Coach Jim Bittner said Wednesday night.

State Athletic Commission rules specify the number of practice days and workouts a team is allowed before the first game of the season. Moorpark and Taft received special permission to play their game on a date normally set aside for scrimmages, but Bittner said he discovered Tuesday that Taft had begun practicing Aug. 12, while Moorpark did not start until Aug. 18.

Bittner said he decided to cancel the game because of the difference in the number of days Taft would have spent in full equipment.

“The people at Taft weren’t very happy, but I didn’t see any other recourse that would have been fair to my players,” Bittner said.

Moorpark’s first game is now Sept. 17 against Valley.

No Sisco: Moorpark’s hopes for its top quarterback prospect were sacked before Steve Sisco ever took a snap. Sisco, who led Thousand Oaks High to its first Southern Section championship last season, has decided not to play football this season.

Sisco (5-9, 160) who directed the Lancers’ 27-12 championship victory over Channel Islands and was named to the All-Marmonte League second team last fall, was selected most valuable offensive player at the Ventura County All-Star football game in June.

Moorpark offensive coordinator Will Thurston said Sisco has opted to concentrate on baseball at Moorpark.

“The guy had great leadership ability and he was everything we wanted in a quarterback,” Thurston said. “It was a big disappointment for us.”

Sophomore David Sommer, a backup last season, will battle freshmen Jayson Merrill, Steve Pinkston and Mike Henry for the starting quarterback position.

Moorpark mission: Pinkston will attempt to resurrect his football career after spending the past two years in Dallas on a mission for the Mormon church.

Pinkston, 21, started his mission after his senior season at Simi Valley High in 1984. Now that he has met his obligation, Pinkston (6-3, 205) is anxious to win the starting job at Moorpark.

“I don’t see the time off as any hindrance at all,” Pinkston said. “I think taking a break helped me because I still had some maturing to do, physically, after high school.”

Both of Pinkston’s brothers played football at Moorpark and served missions for the Mormon church.

Captain quits: The Northridge soccer team already has suffered a loss and the season has not yet started. Andy Torres, a senior midfielder from Simi Valley and a CSUN co-captain, dropped off the team this week. Torres scored three goals and five assists in 10 California Collegiate Athletic Assn. matches last season.

Northridge, 19-2-1 and a Division II finalist in 1987, opens its season Saturday night with a 7:30 exhibition against UCLA at North Campus Stadium.

The Baus: The going has been slow for former Valley College tailback Dondre Bausley, who is trying to break into the starting lineup at Oregon.

Bausley, a junior, has been nursing a groin injury and has been unable to show the speed or moves that helped him gain 1,454 yards and score 22 touchdowns last season for the Monarchs.

“Right now, he’s 70-75%,” said Gary Campbell, an Oregon assistant who coaches the running backs. “We also run a very complex offense. Dondre didn’t get to participate in spring football and that’s been a drawback for him.”

Bausley is hoping to challenge two-year starter Derek Loville for a starting position when the Ducks don pads for the first time today.

“I think, at worst, Dondre is going to be a guy who sees a lot of playing time,” Campbell said.

‘Bone to pick: M. J. Nelson, the Times’ Valley-area Back of the Year in 1985, enters his junior year at Colorado as third on the depth chart at wide receiver. That is not an encouraging sign when a team runs the wishbone offense. But Nelson will get a break this season.

Colorado Coach Bill McCartney experimented with the I formation during spring drills and will alternate that set with the wishbone this season. That means more than one wide receiver on the field at the same time.

The former Simi Valley High back remains Colorado’s No. 1 kick returner. Last year he returned nine kicks for 197 yards.

Sam Farmer and staff writers Ralph Nichols, Mike Hiserman, Gary Klein and John Lynch contributed to this notebook.