A Nose for the Goal Line : Northridge Lineman Sila Savors 33-Yard Touchdown Return

Heaven hath no joy like a lineman who has scored a touchdown, which is one reason why Alo Sila stood near midfield last Saturday at Southern Utah State’s Coliseum with a smile that seemed to span the distance between goal posts.

Cal State Northridge had just defeated Southern Utah State to assume first place in the Western Football Conference and Sila had produced the Matadors’ most pivotal points.

With the score tied, 17-17, early in the fourth quarter, Sila intercepted a pass by Southern Utah State’s Brad Matthews and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown.

The play triggered Northridge’s 34-24 victory and helped stretch the Matadors’ win streak to a school-record five games heading into today’s 7 p.m. WFC matchup with Cal State Sacramento at North Campus Stadium.

For Sila, a 6-foot-1, 265-pound nose tackle, scoring a touchdown on an interception is like a pitcher hitting a game-winning grand slam.

Make that an American League pitcher. In the World Series.

When Sila reached the end zone, was anybody in the stadium happier?

“Yeah,” CSUN Coach Bob Burt said. “The coach.”

It wasn’t only that Sila scored. It was how he had scored.

The pass had been drilled right at him, but he made a clean catch and reacted with the instincts of a running back. He tucked the ball under his arm and high-tailed it into the end zone, scoring untouched.

“He went, “ said an obviously impressed Kenny Vaughn, a Matador linebacker. “He was movin.’ ”

From a few who witnessed Sila’s runback, Burt has heard lighthearted suggestions that he play the stocky junior from San Jose at fullback in certain situations. Said Burt: “We kind of like him where he is.”

With good reason. Sila (pronounced SEE-la) is among the team leaders with 23 tackles, including nine for losses.

Besides, one position change in a season is enough.

At San Jose City College, Sila was an outside linebacker. His specialty was the same as it is now--rushing the quarterback. Sila is second among Northridge players with four sacks.

“We recruited him knowing nose tackle was going to be his position and that it was going to be just a matter of him learning to play there,” Burt said.

Sila was happy just to be playing at all. He played in fewer than half of San Jose’s games last season because he quit the team after a series of disagreements with an assistant coach.

Northridge, based in part on the recommendation of linebacker Terrell Taylor, Sila’s former teammate at San Jose, offered him a scholarship anyway.

“They told me on my (recruiting) trip that they wanted me to be a lineman,” Sila said. “That was OK with me. I felt I could play any position, really. I was confident, but it felt different going from standing to a three-point or four-point stance.”

Sila has bench-pressed 455 pounds and has all the necessary physical attributes to wreak havoc from his new position.

Northridge’s basic defense consists of three down linemen and four linebackers. “If you’re going to play that defense, you’ve got to have a good nose tackle,” Burt said.

Taylor and Vaughn, the team’s inside linebackers, lead the team in tackles and are quick to credit the play of Sila and tackles Tom Berry and Eric Ahola.

“With our front line, there aren’t too many times (blockers) get back there to us,” Vaughn said. “When they double- or triple-team Alo, that just frees us up to make the tackles.”

Indeed, Sila was triple-teamed on the play in which he made the interception against Southern Utah State. He bounced from center to guard to guard before he saw fullback Scott Firestone release out of the backfield.

Reacting like the former linebacker he is, Sila slipped off a block right into Matthews’ passing lane.

“Good players do that,” Burt said. “They take it upon themselves to make the big play when you need it most.”

It was the first touchdown of Sila’s football career.

“What could be any sweeter?” Sila was asked.

Sila shook his head and shrugged. An answer came to him.

“A championship,” he said.