Defense Steals Spotlight as Northridge Stops Davis
Following a script that has become oh-so-familiar of late, Cal State Northridge won a football game with defense on Saturday night. In what was expected to be a matchup of two of Division II’s top offensive threats, the Matadors stole the show on the other side of the ball, posting a 14-10 victory over UC Davis before 3,806 at North Campus Stadium.
Jeff Bridewell, the UC Davis quarterback, and Albert Fann, Northridge’s All-American tailback, might have been the marquee names going into what was a key nonconference match, but the ones coming out belonged to CSUN defenders Ken Wallace, Alo Sila and Baron Atkinson.
It was Atkinson’s interception of a Bridewell pass intended for Craig Jones with 51 seconds left that finally cemented the Matadors’ first victory over 19th-ranked Davis since 1981.
Atkinson said that Northridge was in a man-to-man defense and he was sitting back to prevent a long pass. When it came, he was ready.
“He (Bridewell) stared his receiver down the whole time,” said Atkinson, who also had a team-high nine tackles. “I got a good break on the ball. The only thing on my mind was to catch it.”
It wasn’t until after he was tackled that the significance sunk in.
“Then I thought, ‘We finally beat Davis,’ ” Atkinson said.
Bob Foster, Davis’ coach, wasn’t in the mood for sentiment. “Everybody we play feels that way,” he said. “If you had asked me before how many times we’ve beaten them, I couldn’t have told you. It probably means a lot more to them than it does to us.”
No doubt. Especially if the Matadors and Aggies end up as playoff contenders.
Northridge had lost eight in a row to Davis--by an average of more than 20 points. CSUN Coach Bob Burt had seen his team lose in its last four games against Davis, which made his 30th career win at Northridge extra sweet.
Davis came in averaging 442.7 yards a game in total offense, eighth best in the nation. But the Aggies gained only 217 yards against a Northridge defense led by nose tackle Sila and linebacker Wallace.
As for Bridewell and Fann? Strictly mediocre stuff.
Bridewell, a senior, completed 15 of 35 passes for 161 yards and was sacked five times. He came in averaging 280 yards passing a game.
Fann, also a senior, gained 88 yards in 22 carries--but 65 yards came in seven first-half carries.
“After our first two games (both victories) we just kind of expected things to go well the whole season,” Bridewell said. “I was OK, but it just kind of wore on me later.”
Such is life with 260 pounds of tackle and 240 pounds of linebacker alternately draped all over you.
Davis, which dropped a 16-12 decision to Cal State Sacramento last week, lost its second consecutive game for the first time since 1981.
Fann summed up the victory, and the Northridge defense, in a word: “Awesome,” he said. “Chalk one up for the defense. Again. They keep us in every week. Thank God for that.”
Northridge came in ranked eighth in the nation against the rush, allowing only 71 yards a game. The Matadors were better than that against the Aggies, allowing only 69. Northridge also blocked two field-goal attempts--LaVelle Parker breaking through the Davis line in the second quarter and Eric Ahola in the fourth.
The Davis defense wasn’t bad either. Northridge gained only 193 yards and Sherdrick Bonner, the Matadors’ quarterback, seemed as shaken as Bridewell.
After completing his first six passes, Bonner finished 10 of 26 for 63 yards. He threw one interception.
“Our defense just played their . . . . off,” Foster said, “and our offense couldn’t make a play.”
The same could have been said of Northridge--with a few exceptions in the first half.
Wallace had seven tackles for the Matadors, including 2 1/2 sacks for minus-30 yards. Sila had five tackles, including one sack and two others for losses totaling 15 yards.
“We just did what we had to do,” Sila said with a shrug.
“We know we’re the heart of the team,” Wallace said. “We wanted this one real bad. We wanted to knock them out of the playoffs.”
Davis has been to the Division II playoffs in seven of the past eight seasons.
Other than a 33-yard field goal by Davis’ Mark Rovetti in the third quarter, all the scoring came in the first half--a half that was dominated by the Matadors.
Northridge scored on its first possession, on an 18-yard run by Fann. The Matadors made it 14-0 midway through the second period on Fann’s fourth touchdown of the season, which was set up by an interception and 28-yard return by Clayton Bamberg.
On the next play, Fann swept down the same sideline for the score.
Davis scored its touchdown with 17 seconds left in the half when Eric Smith rushed in from the three, capping an 11-play, 72-yard drive.
UC Davis finished the half with three yards rushing to its credit, largely because Bridewell was sacked four times for losses totaling 36 yards.
