Titans Wonder Again What Might Have Been : Fullerton’s Promising Season Becomes Dominated by Injuries and Frustrations

A season can turn on any sort of event--one play, an injury, a loss.

For Cal State Fullerton, the 1988 season lost its promise on the day A.J. Jenkins ran out of field.

The score was tied, 10-10, and Fresno State’s Kelly Skipper took a handoff at his 30 and churned upfield. Thirty yards later, a Titan player got a hold of his jersey, but Skipper pulled free and sprinted for the end zone. Jenkins, the Titans’ 6-foot 2-inch 235-pound end, was the last to give chase. He bore down, closing a 15-yard gap, but Skipper scored, giving the Bulldogs a lead they never gave up.

“If you’re any kind of football player, you try to catch him,” Jenkins said. “I tried. I just ran out of field.”

Fullerton had won its two Big West Conference games before that 23-10 loss. After it, Fresno State whipped through conference play without a loss, winning a spot in the California Bowl.

Fullerton finished second.

Fullerton had the low point of its season the next week, a lackluster, last-second loss on a field goal to Cal State Long Beach, then riding a 9-game losing streak.

Before the season was out, Fullerton lost another game on a last-second field goal, this one to Akron.

The Titans also went on to a jubilant 58-13 victory over San Jose State, a day on which Murphy’s Law was turned inside out, and everything that could go right, did.

In retrospect, their finest performances might have come in early-season games against Wyoming and West Virginia, teams that combined to go 21-1 in the regular season.

Fullerton lost to West Virginia, 45-10. As it turned out, the Mountaineers did about the same to every team they played, averaging 44 points a game.

The Titans had their chances in a 35-16 loss to Wyoming, trailing only 21-16 in the third quarter.

Fullerton finished with a 5-6 season. The Titans have not had a winning season since going 6-5 in 1985.

For Coach Gene Murphy, this season was particularly frustrating and disappointing.

“This year, for the first time since ‘84, I really thought we could contend for the conference championship,” Murphy said. “Did you look at our conference schedule? It was perfect.”

Fullerton played conference contenders Fresno State, San Jose State and Utah State at home.

What happened?

A number of players, especially offensive linemen, who were expected to be with the team were not. Some never arrived, some quit.

There were injuries--to running backs Michael Moore and Mike Pringle; to linebacker Bill Bryan, who lost his shot at the Fullerton career tackling record; to receiver John Gibbs, a career-ending knee injury against Wyoming; and to Jim Sirois, the consistent and unflappable punter.

Fewer than 50 players dressed for the final game.

There was Pringle’s 2-game suspension by the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. because the school incorrectly assessed his eligibility after he had transferred from Washington State.

There were four new coaches and a new offensive system under Mike Heimerdinger.

There was an unpredictably bumbling offense. Quarterback Dan Speltz struggled with fumbles, interceptions and poorly thrown passes for the first half of the season.

The defense, anchored by Jenkins, was the strength of the team.

But when Murphy says that this year’s defense was “physically one of the best” Fullerton has had, it’s only half a compliment. Something else--heart or determination, he’s telling you--was missing.

This was a team with a lack of team unity that showed itself clearly on the Thursday before the final game, when all but 4 seniors cut practice, angering Murphy.

“We say we want to be 1, not 101,” Murphy said. “We never fulfilled that. We were never close.

“I know 100 coaches around the country are saying this today, but we could easily have been 7-4.”

And next year?

The offense becomes the cornerstone. Speltz and Palamara hit their strides late in the season, Speltz passing for 622 yards in his final 2 games and Palamara finishing with 53 catches, 1 short of the Fullerton season record. Pringle returns with 11 games of eligibility.

But the core of the defense--Jenkins, lineman Alex Stewart, linebacker Jerry Leggett, cornerback James Howard--will be gone. Only one cornerback, redshirt Terry Tramble, will return.

“We’re going to build next year,” Murphy said. “We have nothing to ‘re’ off of.”