Northridge, Fann Quiet Idaho State

When the Bengals are on the prowl, Holt Arena, home of the Idaho State football team, shakes with noise.

A crowd of 5,868 can sound like 58,000, which was the case when the home team was on a roll Saturday night against Cal State Northridge.

It can also get real quiet when things don’t go as planned.

How quiet?

Quiet enough to hear the pitter-patter of Albert Fann’s feet.

Fann, Northridge’s sophomore tailback, broke loose on a 61-yard touchdown run with 1:13 left to secure the Matadors’ 34-23 nonconference victory over Idaho State.

As CSUN lined up at its own 39 for the first-down play, the crowd noise was deafening. That soon changed when Fann popped through a stacked Bengal line and galloped away.

Fann had spent most of the rest of game pounding away at that same Idaho State line, but it had refused to open very wide.

“I was getting a little frustrated at first,” said Fann, who gained 166 yards in 28 carries. “Our line was so pumped. All we needed to do was settle down. They did a great job.”

Ditto for quarterback Rob Huffman, who completed 9 of 20 passes for 161 yards and 3 touchdowns despite taking a number of hard hits.

The last time he faced such a ferocious rush from a Division I-AA team was against Boise State in last season’s opener. Huffman was intercepted five times in that game.

“I thought about Boise a lot,” Huffman said. “These teams in Division I-AA have a lot of great athletes.

“I didn’t say anything to anyone about it, but I felt I had something to prove tonight. It seems like every good game I’d had was against a mediocre team. I feel a lot better now.”

Northridge, which came in ranked No. 6 in Division II, became only the second team in school history to win its first four games. The 1964 team won four in a row, then lost its last six.

The chance of history repeating itself appears slim after Northridge rolled up 388 total yards--including 227 rushing--against Idaho State.

Huffman had a hand in the rushing yardage, too. Fann’s blast over left tackle had been intended to go over right tackle until Huffman saw the defense stacked in the hole.

So he audibled. “It was an easy call and read,” he said.

And the one the finally broke the Bengals’ backs.

Idaho State is 0-3--having lost to Division I and I-AA teams--but mounted a comeback after falling behind, 27-7, early in the third quarter.

The Bengals rang up 16 unanswered points, cutting the margin to 27-23 on a one-yard pass from Jason Whitmer to fullback Guy Ebanez with 1:15 left.

Idaho State tried for a two-point conversion, but Whitmer’s pass to Kevin Pettit was dropped.

The touchdown was set up by a bad snap from CSUN’s Richard Ane to punter Trent Morgan. The ball sailed over Morgan’s head and he had to fall on it at the Northridge 22. Four plays later, Whitmer, who passed for 332 yards, hit Ebanez out of the backfield.

But then, after Northridge recovered Idaho State’s onside kick, Fann broke loose.

There was a measure of bad news for Northridge, even in victory.

Lance Harper, who danced for 107 yards on 12 carries over the artificial surface, suffered ligament damage to his right knee and may miss several games.

Nose tackle Rob Weber missed the second half with a similar injury.

Huffman didn’t completely escape, either. He bruised a knee on a spectacular third-down pass to Ane with 3:26 left. The 12-yard gain was good for a first down and helped CSUN take some time off the clock at a point when the crowd noise was at a fever pitch.

Sherdrick Bonner temporarily replaced Huffman, but Huffman came back for the Matadors’ last possession.

“I felt it was my game,” he said.

With Harper gaining 97 yards in 9 carries in the first half--41 on a breakaway run that set up a touchdown--Northridge took a 20-7 lead.

The Matadors had a 20-0 lead before Whitmer hooked up with Joe Funk on a 41-yard touchdown pass with 39 seconds left in the half.

Funk was well-covered by safety Bill McDonald, but Funk made an acrobatic catch near the goal line and fell forward for the first touchdown scored on the Matadors this season.

Northridge scored on its first possession, driving from its own 22 to the Idaho State 30 before settling for a 47-yard field goal by sophomore Abo Velasco. The kick was his longest as a Matador.