CLU Football Coach Calls Dorm His Home

They say you can’t go home again, but Joe Harper would sure like to do so. Harper, the Cal Lutheran football coach, has moved into a Thompson Hall dorm room on campus rather than try to sandwich the commute to his Arcadia home around his 15-hour work days.

Harper has been attempting to sell his Arcadia home and move to Thousand Oaks, but he finds himself, at 54 years old, sharing a double with “roomie” Steve Spencer, an assistant basketball coach.

So far, Harper hasn’t thrown a water balloon or short-sheeted Spencer, and no one has had to tell either coach to turn down his stereo.

“Weekends get a little noisy, but that’s no big deal,” said Harper, who never lived in a dorm while he attended UCLA. “It’s been a real different experience for me, but I’m enjoying it.”

Thompson Hall houses numerous transfers, and coincidentally, Harper ended up next door to his daughter Kerri, a senior transfer from Northern Arizona.

“She’s a big help to me,” Harper said. “She does my laundry and stuff like that.”

Now, Harper is constantly available to his players, and he says “I have a greater appreciation for some of the things they do.”

Rapid recoveries: Two weeks ago at the Moorpark Cross-Country Invitational, Glendale’s Hugo Allan Garcia took a wrong turn while leading and went 75 meters off the course. However, Garcia recovered to win and set a course record.

On Friday at the Mira Costa Invitational, while leading with less than 200 meters remaining, Garcia went 40 meters astray--and again held on for the victory.

“It was real confusing at the finish line last week, even the women’s leader went the wrong way,” Glendale Coach Ed Lopez said. “We’re going to make sure he knows the way this week. We can’t afford for him to get lost again.”

Glendale will compete Friday at Arroyo Verde Park in Ventura in the first of three Western State Conference meets that will be used to determine the WSC standings.

Making good: Washington State quarterback Brad Gossen, formerly of Westlake High, rebounded from a poor performance against Wyoming to pass for 323 yards in a 50-36 loss to Brigham Young. Gossen completed 25 of 42 passes, including touchdowns of 49 and seven yards. . .

Sean Burwell, formerly of Cleveland High, rushed for 126 yards in 22 carries in Oregon’s 55-23 victory over Idaho. . .

Russell White did some damage in California’s 52-24 loss to Miami before he left the game with 12 minutes remaining in the first half because of a thigh injury. White returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. The former Crespi High standout is expected to start Saturday against Washington State. . . .

Cal’s Cornell Collier, a linebacker from Taft High, recovered two fumbles in the game and linebacker David Wilson, formerly of Reseda High, recovered a fumble and made five tackles.

Long-distance serve: CSUN setter Beth Welch is not afraid to try new things. No wonder she volunteered when assistant coach Angela Brinton-Collins suggested that one player serve from 20 feet behind the service line to give opponents a different angle from which to handle a serve.

Little did Welch know what she bargained for. Often, she is backed up against a wall or a water fountain. And fans have unwittingly cut across the court in front of her just as she was about to serve.

The early returns have surpassed expectations, however. Welch has served up a team-high 37 aces, including seven against 15th-ranked USC on Tuesday.

Between the lines: Against Occidental on Saturday night, Whittier had more offensive snaps, 70-57; more first downs, 15-12; rushing yards, 109-96; and net yards, 212-211; . . . and 25 fewer points.

Occidental won, 38-13.

Bruin power: Eliazar Herrera and Richard Erbes, probably the top two high school distance runners from Glendale in the past five years, helped UCLA finish third in the Fresno Cross-Country Invitational on Saturday at Woodward Park.

Herrera, who graduated from Hoover High in June, was the Bruins’ No. 1 man, finishing fifth with a time of 25 minutes 20.1 seconds over the five-mile course. Erbes, a 1987 graduate of Glendale High, was UCLA’s No. 4 runner, placing 29th in 25:57.6.

Heads up: Soccer goals can be as rare as total eclipses, but in a 12-0 victory over La Verne on Monday, it was all Coach George Kuntz could do to keep his Cal Lutheran women from scoring more goals.

He limited the number of times his players could touch the ball with their feet before they passed or kicked it, but Cal Lutheran nonetheless led, 8-0, at halftime. By the second half, the players could only touch the ball once. If they touched it and didn’t shoot or pass it, they simply had to give up the ball.

The margin climbed, and when the score reached 12-0, Kuntz told his players they could only head the ball into the goal. At one point, Rachel Wackerman dribbled the ball away from the front of the goal and tried to pass it to a teammate for a header.

It was the second consecutive blowout victory for a team in only its second year.

“Our program is headed in the right direction,” Kuntz said.

Staff writers Theresa Munoz, John Ortega, Brendan Healey and Kirby Lee contributed to this notebook.

WSC VS. THE LONE STAR

The Western Football and Lone Star are considered among the top Division II football conferences in the nation. Last season, the conferences split six games in head-to-head competition. But this season, the WFC has taken a big upper hand, winning all five contests. Cal State Northridge, which travels to Central (Okla.) State for a game on Saturday, will try to keep that record perfect.

1989

WFC Lone Star Portland St. 12 Texas A&I; 31 So. Utah 23 Angelo St. 34 Sacramento 35 W. Texas St. 22 Cal Poly SLO 31 W. Texas St. 10 Cal Poly SLO 20 Angelo St. 45 Northridge 31 Central St. 28

1990

WFC Lone Star Sacramento 22 W. Texas St. 9 Portland St. 14 Texas A&I; 9 Cal Poly SLO 48 W. Texas St. 13 Northridge 24 E. New Mexico 13 So. Utah 35 Central St. 0