Late Kick Ends 41-41 Shootout : SDSU, Fullerton Tie in Unusual Ending

Phil Nevin gave up a six-figure contract offer from the Dodgers to play shortstop this summer to kick for the Cal State Fullerton football team.

More difficult choices have been made, but few have resulted in a stranger finish than what Nevin brought to Saturday night’s 41-41 tie between the Titans and San Diego State.

Nevin kicked a 22-yard field goal as time expired to give the Titans their first tie since 1976.

The field goal was Nevin’s fourth in four attempts and finished off a rally in which the Titans twice came from behind in the fourth quarter.

Earlier, Nevin, a freshman from Placentia El Dorado High School, connected on field goals of 25, 24 and 42 yards in the first half.

Fullerton elected to go for the tie, calling its final timeout after a last-minute drive reached the SDSU 5 with four seconds left. With what noise the crowd of 15,721 -- the smallest for the Aztecs in San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium since the last game of the 1985 season -- could muster, Nevin calmly kicked the ball through the uprights.

“It’s just like any other field goal,” said Nevin, who was selected in the third round of the June free agent draft by the Dodgers. “You’ve got to put it through the uprights.”

Asked if he would have made the same choice as Fullerton Coach Gene Murphy and kick a field goal, Nevin replied, “I’m not sure. But I’m ready anytime he needs me.”

Murphy said he was not happy with the tie but was pleased with his team’s play.

“We improved light years from a week ago (42-14 loss at Colorado State),” Murphy said. “We played a cerebral game and played like we’re capable. We kept our breakdowns to a minimum.”

The field goal ended a push that began at the Fullerton 39 following a squib kick by the Aztecs after they had taken a 41-38 lead on freshman running back Darrin Wagner’s six-yard touchdown run with 2:34 to play.

Nevin’s kicking was the difference in a game otherwise dominated by two running backs.

Wagner was the leader for the Aztecs (0-2-1), rushing 22 times for 161 yards and two touchdowns. Mike Pringle was the all-around star for the Titans (1-2-1).

Pringle rushed 25 times for 158 yards and two touchdowns and caught six passes for 34 yards and one touchdown. He also returned three kickoffs for 110 yards.

“The numbers are hollow because they are not backed up with a win,” Pringle said. “I’m not really happy with (the tie). We played San Diego State better than they played us.”

It seemed Pringle did everything but kick. That he wisely left to Nevin.

The Aztecs did their best to give the game away, committing five turnovers. They fell behind, 20-7, early in the second quarter and trailed, 23-21, at the half.

“It was despicable,” SDSU Coach Al Luginbill said. “I don’t even have the words to explain that performance. I will do everything in my power not to allow it to happen again.”

During one stretch covering the end of the first half and beginning of the second, the Aztecs turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions -- on a fumble by running back Ron Slack and two interceptions thrown by quarterback Dan McGwire.

But when the Titans did not convert any of those scoring chances, it left an opening for the Aztecs.

SDSU took the lead when McGwire pushed over from the one-yard line with 3:59 left in the third quarter to give the Aztecs a 27-23 advantage.

The Aztecs added to that on their next possession when McGwire completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to flanker Dennis Arey, a junior from Fountain Valley High School. The touchdown gave the Aztecs a 34-23 lead with 14:45 left to play.

Fullerton did finally take advantage of the Aztec turnovers when it eventually converted a fumbled snap from center by McGwire early in the fourth quarter into a 10-yard touchdown pass to Pringle from quarterback Dan Speltz.

Speltz then passed to wide receiver Rocky Palamara for the two-point conversion to draw the Titans within, 34-31, with 7:52 left.

The Titans didn’t have to wait long for the next gift. On the Aztecs next play from scrimmage, running back Wagner fumbled and the ball was recovered by linebacker Shawn Forristall at the Aztec 20.

On the next play, Pringle, now wearing the No. 30 jersey of teammate Dan Briones because his was ripped on the previous touchdown, ran 20 yards for the touchdown and a 38-34 lead.

The fumble could have ruined what was an otherwise strong game from Wagner.

But he made amends on the next series when he rushed six yards for the second touchdown with 2:34 to play.

The tie left the Aztecs with their worst three game start since the 1960 team started 0-3 on the way to a 1-6-1 season that paved the way for Don Coryell to take over as coach.

After playing UCLA down to the wire the week before in a 28-25 loss, the Aztecs entered the game with hopes of taking out the frustration of their 0-2 start on a Fullerton team whose only victory in its first three games was over Cal State Northridge, a National Collegiate Athletic Assn. Division II team.

The Aztecs opened in a two-tight end formation in a show of power designed to run the ball against the smaller Titan defensive line. But Fullerton would not yield, and the Aztecs managed only nine yards on their first five carries and finished the half with 62 yards on 20 attempts.

Instead, it was the Titans who started as if they would do the overpowering.

Their thrust was three-fold--the running of tailback Mike Pringle, the passing of quarterback Dan Speltz and the kicking of Phil Nevin.

Fullerton took leads of 10-0 and 20-7 in the first half before the Aztecs came back to take a 21-20 lead midway through the second quarter. But Fullerton went ahead, 23-21, on Nevin’s third field goal of the half--a 42-yarder with 21 seconds left.

Earlier, Nevin connected on field goals of 25 and 24 yards.

Pringle in the first half showed why he leads NCAA Division I-A in all-purpose yardage, averaging 219.7 per game. He gained 115 yards on 16 carries and added another 85 yards on two kickoff returns in the first half alone.

His 55-yard return of the opening kickoff set up Fullerton’s first touchdown--an 18-yard pass to tight end Bill Brennan from Speltz. And his 40-yard touchdown run that gave the Titans a 20-7 lead with 13:21 left in the first half.

Stung by the Fullerton start, the Aztecs rallied to go ahead, 21-20, with 5:59 to play in the half. The first touchdown came on a 30-yard pass to wide receiver Monty Gilbreath from quarterback Dan McGwire and the second on a one-yard dive by running back Ron Slack.

The Titans came back on their next series, driving for a first-and-goal at the SDSU 7. But the Titans lost 17 yards on the next play, the result of a two-yard loss by Pringle and a subsequent 15-yard personal foul penalty, and had to settle for Nevin’s 42-yard for their 23-21 halftime lead.

It was a strange first half in which every play seemed to be either a long pass or a draw. That is when there wasn’t a penalty being called.

The teams combined for 10 penalties for 99 yards in the first half. Many of them came at crucial times and hurt both teams, though it was the Aztecs who were more often the culprits.

They were charged with seven of the penalties for 64 yards. One led to the ejection of safety Morey Paul late in the first quarter on a drive that ended with Nevin’s 24-yard field goal.

Two other penalties hurt the Titans. One was a clip that wiped out an 83-yard punt return for a touchdown by Rocky Pendelton. The other was a roughing the passer call that gave SDSU a first-and-goal at the Fullerton 8. Two plays later, Wagner carried over from the one for the Aztecs’ first touchdown.

Aztec Notes

San Diego State cornerback Marlon Andrews returned to the starting lineup for the first time since he sprained an ankle in the first quarter of the opener at Air Force Sept. 2. . . . Split end Jimmy Raye, who sprained his right foot in practice Wednesday, was able to start. . . . The Aztecs resume Western Athletic Conference play Saturday night at Utah. Cal State Fullerton opens Big West Conference play Saturday against Nevada Las Vegas in Santa Ana Stadium.