Valley-area College Football : Cal Lutheran Finally Mounts An Offensive

After breaking its school-record 10-game losing streak in smashing fashion with a 44-9 victory over La Verne, Cal Lutheran had to dust off the record books to find a similar offensive explosion.

The Kingsmen’s 44 points is the highest total since a 45-23 win over Azusa Pacific in 1986 and it marked only the fifth time Cal Lutheran has exceeded 40 points in the 1980s. Cary Grant, who rushed for 130 yards in the same Azusa Pacific game, was the last Cal Lutheran back to cross the 100-yard barrier until Dean Henderson rushed for 120 yards Saturday.

Cal Lutheran’s 35-point winning margin was its largest since a 52-0 decision over Redlands in 1982.

Breathless: Cal Lutheran’s game at La Verne was played under a suffocating blanket of smog. The air was so bad that by the end of the game the Cal Lutheran bench sounded like a Dale Carnegie class because so many players were clearing their throats. “Hey guys, chew before you swallow,” one sideline comic remarked to his gagging teammates.

The best of news: Terry West, the Central (Okla.) State tight end who suffered a broken neck in Saturday’s game against Northridge, is expected to make a full recovery.

West sustained a fractured sixth cervical vertebra in a third-quarter collision with CSUN’s Clayton Bamberg. Both players were going after a pass by Central State quarterback Ben Morrison.

West, taken to Northridge Medical Center by ambulance, had no feeling in his left side until Sunday morning.

Since then, West has regained movement in all his limbs. “There appears to be no permanent damage,” said Mike Kirk, Central State’s sports information director. “Terry should be home in two or three days.”

West, a 6-2, 185-pound senior from Lawton, Okla., quickly turned his thoughts back to football upon learning he would completely recover. “I was told he asked the trainer what his chances were of getting a hardship waiver,” Kirk said.

Saving face: Western Football Conference teams lost two of three games against Lone Star Conference opponents Saturday.

Texas A&I;, which lost to Portland State in the Division II semifinals last season, downed the two-time defending WFC champions, 31-12. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, another top team from the West, fell to Angelo State, 45-20.

Northridge, 2-4 in the WFC last season, came away with the only victory. But the Matadors had to drive 59 yards for a touchdown in the final 1:25 to defeat Central State, 31-28.

Zero hour: Until Moorpark College did the trick, 23-0, on Saturday, Valley College hadn’t been shut out since losing to Pierce, 17-0, in the last game of the 1985 season. Valley had scored at least six points in 30 consecutive games.

Hungry defense: There was more than pride at stake when Moorpark shut out Valley.

There were steaks at stake, too.

Continuing a tradition, the team was treated to a free steak barbecue Monday as reward for its shutout.

Moorpark hasn’t allowed a touchdown in 104 minutes, 40 seconds--more than six quarters of play.

Little big man: Gary Little’s debut Saturday as Occidental’s starting tailback evoked memories of former Tiger Vance Mueller, now with the Los Angeles Raiders.

Little, a 5-9, 171-pound freshman from San Francisco, gained 215 yards in 24 carries and scored two touchdowns as Occidental won its Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener, 24-14.

Little looked impressive on a 49-yard touchdown run with 2:17 left, sealing the victory. On the play, Little appeared to be stopped after gaining about 10 yards, but he rolled off Pomona tacklers and outran his pursuers to the end zone.

“We haven’t had a back with juice like that since Mueller,” Occidental Coach Dale Widolff said of Little’s speed. “I knew we would see speed, but I didn’t know if he would be a guy who could knock the pile back a little bit or could break tackles.

“He’s got some natural strength that maybe you don’t see in the weight room.”

Familiarity breeds . . . : Pomona gained 43 yards in the third quarter on a trick pass play Occidental knew was coming but still failed to defend.

Quarterback Gregg Silver took the snap, passed left--a few yards behind the line of scrimmage--to Dwayne Hawthorne, who unloaded a spiral downfield to wide receiver Todd Tuney.

The play was designed by Sagehens offensive coordinator James Barker, a former offensive coordinator at Occidental.

“We were going to have a pool about which quarter they were going to throw it,” Widolff said. “That was (Barker’s) play when he was with us. We used to call it the Oxy Pass. Now it’s the Pomona Pass.

“You can know about it, but it can still surprise you.”

Updates from elsewhere: J. J. Lasley, making his first start in the Stanford backfield, carried five times for 36 yards and caught a four-yard pass in the first quarter against Oregon State.

It was an impressive debut. Unfortunately, he’ll have to wait a few weeks before an encore.

Lasley, a redshirt freshman from Crespi High, sustained a strained medial collateral ligament in his right knee. He will be out for two to four weeks.

Also at Stanford, Ron Redell, who found himself buried deep in the Cardinal depth chart at quarterback, has switched to free safety. He was one of nine freshmen to make the traveling squad two weeks ago for a game at Oregon State.

John Carpenter, a sophomore, started the first two games at right tackle for Stanford but was relegated to second string before last Saturday’s 18-17 upset of Oregon.

Michael Pringle, a former Kennedy High standout, accounted for 302 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns for Cal State Fullerton as the Titans tied San Diego State, 41-41.

Pringle rushed 25 times for 158 yards and two touchdowns, caught six passes for 34 yards and a touchdown and returned three kickoffs for 110 yards. “The numbers are hollow because they are not backed up with a win,” he said.