The Colleges : Oates Does a Bang-Up Job as Quarterback at CS Long Beach

Paul Oates, a former Alemany High standout, is struggling through a season he waited three long years to play. Oates, a senior who had been an understudy throughout his college career, is the starter at quarterback for a bruised and battered Cal State Long Beach team.

Oates, who has completed 56 of 130 passes for 800 yards and six touchdowns with six interceptions this season, is a bit banged up himself. He sustained ligament damage to his left knee in a 52-0 loss to Fresno State two weeks ago.

Oates was listed as doubtful for the 49ers’ game last Saturday against Pacific, but he managed to go the distance, completing 10 of 24 passes for 140 yards and three touchdowns. Long Beach, missing more than a half-dozen starters because of injury, lost, 26-25.

Taking sides: In last Saturday’s Western Athletic Conference game between New Mexico and Hawaii, two former teammates on Granada Hills’ 1987 City Section 4-A Division championship team were on opposite sides.

Jeremy Leach, who won New Mexico’s starting quarterback job as a freshman last season, completed 13 of 28 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown with one interception. Jamal Farmer, Hawaii’s starting fullback, rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown in 14 carries as the Rainbows won, 60-14.

Hit and miss: Top-ranked UC Riverside is next up Friday for Northridge’s women’s volleyball team, but the Lady Matadors’ California Collegiate Athletic Assn. opener Tuesday at Cal State Bakersfield didn’t provide much momentum for that match.

CSUN, ranked fourth in Division II, was swept by Bakersfield, 15-11, 17-15, 16-14.

Northridge, which this decade has never finished worse than third nationally, had a team hitting percentage of .017 compared to Bakersfield’s .268. Three CSUN players--Alissa Evans, Keira Middleton and Connie Noe--had negative hitting percentages.

Lights out: The bright spot that the Cal Lutheran women’s volleyball team saw at the end of the tunnel was not a glimmer of hope.

It was, instead, a golden spike.

The Regals’ hopes climbed when they won their first game of the season Saturday against Whittier. Unfortunately for CLU that victory came in the midst of a four-game loss, 15-5, 15-3, 12-15, 15-2.

“We tried not to get overexcited and go back down to where we were, but we did,” said CLU’s freshman setter, Debbie Wolfe, who had 13 assists. “We all want to win, but it can get frustrating, and that’s the hardest part.”

The Regals (0-12) should have known that the going would be rough: Four players reported to the first practice--two of whom quit.

Curtain call: Kudos to Frank Hall, Don Blumkin and an unidentified fan who volunteered to officiate Saturday’s soccer match between CSUN and San Luis Obispo.

The trio was forced into action when the scheduled referees failed to show for the 7:30 p.m. start.

Hall and Blumkin, the father of Northridge players Jim Hall and Jeff Blumkin, did an admirable job in an extremely physical match.

“They may have missed one or two calls, but that is nothing,” CSUN soccer Coach Marwan Ass’ad said. “They were under a lot of pressure, but they didn’t let the match get out of control.”

CSUN won in overtime, 2-1.

Irish rocket: Try as he might, Cassidy O’Sullivan will never break Cal Lutheran’s school record for longest kickoff return. His 96-yard effort against UC Santa Barbara was still four yards shy of Reggie Vavasseur’s return against Cal Poly Pomona in 1972.

Vavasseur’s record can, at best, be matched. Even if a CLU player catches the ball nine yards deep in the end zone and brings it all the way back for a touchdown, college football rules--in both the NAIA and NCAA--say that he still would get credit for an even 100. O’Sullivan, a freshman, has 3 1/2 more seasons in which to try.

Welcome back: Since homecoming festivities already surrounded Glendale’s game against Pierce last Saturday, Coach John Cicuto decided to put the alumni to work.

Cicuto selected a few of the more than four dozen former Glendale players in attendance to deliver a pregame address. The subject: Continuous intensity.

“All the guys that talked played on those championship teams that didn’t care what the score was. They always played hard regardless of how far ahead they were,” Cicuto said.

“When we were ahead, 21-0, at halftime, our team continued to play hard. The intensity level wasn’t too much different from the first half.” Glendale (1-1-1) went on to win, 43-15. It was Cicuto’s first win as coach at Glendale.

Unbeaten Brahmas: The Pierce College women’s volleyball team finished 10-8 last season and not one player would be eligible to return, so Coach Rick Gazzaniga could only hope for the best when the season started three weeks ago.

He got what he hoped for. Pierce enters play tonight at Cuesta 7-0 overall and 6-0 and tied for first place with Cuesta in the Western State Conference. “Everyone has just done a great job,” Gazzaniga said.

Gary Klein and staff writers Mike Hiserman, John Ortega and Brendan Healey contributed to this notebook.