SOUTHLAND ROUNDUP : Northridge Comes Back, Surprises Portland State

Bill Nealy caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Sherdrick Bonner with 41 seconds left, and Albert Fann became Cal State Northridge’s all-time rushing leader in the Matadors’ 19-18 Western Football Conference victory over Portland State Saturday night at Northridge.

Nealy’s reception capped an 11-play, 64-yard drive by Northridge, ranked 18th in NCAA Division II. The Matadors improved to 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the WFC.

Portland State, ranked 11th, is 3-2 and 1-2.

Fann, a senior, rushed for 127 yards in 31 carries giving him 3,605 in his career. Fann broke the mark of 3,572 set by Mike Kane in 1983-86.

Northridge, which had a 10-7 halftime lead, went ahead, 13-10 in the third quarter on a 33-yard field goal by Abo Velasco.

In other games, Mike Curtius completed 33 of 45 passes for 339 yards and five touchdowns as UC Santa Barbara defeated Cal State Hayward, 37-19, at Hayward. . . . Tailback Aron Wise rushed for 118 yards in 18 carries to lead Santa Clara (4-2) over Cal Lutheran (0-5), 34-13, in a nonconference game at Thousand Oaks.

Mark Collinsworth kicked a 35-yard field goal with 12:07 left, breaking a 10-10 tie and sending Occidental on its way to a 22-10 nonconference victory over Trinity (Tex.) at Occidental. Occidental is 3-2. Trinity is 0-5. . . . John Eck gained 77 yards in 12 carries as the University of San Diego (4-1) beat Pomona-Pitzer (3-1), 21-17, at Pomona. . . . Schon Branum rushed for 143 yards in 20 carries as Claremont beat La Verne, 24-7, in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at Claremont. Claremont is 1-3 and 1-1 in the SCIAC. La Verne is 0-4, 0-3.