COLLEGE NOTEBOOK : Pierce Calls Audible to Avoid Pac-10 Clash

Pierce College will play a rare Friday night football game this week against Bakersfield. Asked why, Brahma Coach Bob Enger gives a seven-letter answer: USC-UCLA.

The Trojan-Bruin rivalry, which will be renewed at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Rose Bowl, has caused Enger much grief over the years.

“Because the ‘SC-UCLA game is usually on during the day, junior college players are never focused for their games later that night,” Enger said. “I don’t want to compete with that. Therefore, I’ve tried for years to schedule our games for Friday. That way, the players are focused.”

Enger came to his conclusion in the mid-1960s when he was coach at East Los Angeles College. The Huskies were expected to crush Rio Hondo one year but were nearly upset.

“It was bad,” Enger recalled. “The ‘SC-UCLA game started late, and the kids were on the bus on the way to the game listening to it on radios. . . . We turned what should have been a blowout into a very close game.”

Victory showers: Of the handful of Valley-area coaches who received celebratory dousings after important victories last weekend, credit Enger with extra credit for style points.

It took Pierce players two tries to drench Enger, who avoided the first attempt with a nifty sprint down the sideline that he punctuated with a somersault onto the field in the final minutes of the Brahmas’ 35-14 decision over archrival Valley.

“They didn’t get me the first time,” Enger crowed. “I was too quick for them. But they came back five minutes later when I was watching the game.

“I thought you had one attempt to get the coach and that was it. But they were playing by a different set of rules.”

Glendale football Coach John Cicuto and Master’s soccer Coach Mark Schubert weren’t as nimble-footed or nimble-minded. They both got doused on the first try.

But neither complained: Glendale upset Moorpark, 45-21 and Master’s defeated Westmont, 3-2, in overtime to win the NAIA District 3 soccer championship.

Mired in obscurity: Like Rodney Dangerfield, the Cal State Northridge men’s basketball program gets little respect. So little that two of the nation’s leading college basketball magazines are unaware that the Matadors now play at the NCAA Division I level.

CSUN is not listed with the other Division I independents in either Street & Smith’s College/Prep Basketball magazine or The Sporting News College Basketball Yearbook.

Fortunately, Basketball Times is aware of the Matadors.

Its comment: “Welcome aboard.”

Quotebook: Northridge basketball Coach Pete Cassidy on Todd Bowser, the Matadors’ 6-foot-7 center who has steadily been taking weight off his 300-pound frame: “It is hard to see the weight in Todd. It is like throwing a deck chair off an ocean liner.”

Pirates’ U-turn: After losing its first six games, Ventura has turned its season around with three consecutive victories and will, believe it or not, be playing for a possible bowl berth when it meets heavily favored Moorpark on Saturday.

A victory would give Ventura a 4-1 record in the Western State Conference Northern Division, good for second place behind Glendale. If Glendale chose to go to another bowl, Ventura would receive the Northern Division’s berth in the WSC Bowl.

“As crazy as that sounds, I suppose that’s possible,” Ventura Coach Dick James said.

James attributes the turnaround to several factors, among them a decision five weeks ago to delete the option from the offense.

Also, two key Ventura offensive players have increased their production. In the past three games running back Tony Williams has rushed for 470 yards--36 more than he gained in the first six games. Quarterback Tim Albrent, meanwhile, has completed 32 of 58 passes for 415 yards after completing 56 of 102 for 737 in his first six outings.

In addition, wide receiver Chris Thomas has caught 11 passes for 93 yards after grabbing 17 for 214 in the first six games. Thomas had more than 200 all-purpose yards last week in a 29-26 win over Harbor.

Three’s a crowd: Three teams--Pierce, Ventura and Cuesta--have tied for the Western State Conference women’s volleyball championship with 16-2 conference records. But because only two WSC teams automatically qualify for the state tournament, the tie will have to be broken.

Pierce will play Ventura tonight at 6 at Moorpark College, and the winner will play Cuesta on Friday at 6 p.m. at Santa Barbara City College.

The winner of the Pierce-Ventura match will qualify for state, as will Cuesta. The Friday match will be held for seeding purposes.

All is not lost for the Pierce-Ventura loser, however. The third-place team also usually receives a bid.

Statwatch: The two teams that have defeated Moorpark in football have a combined record of 16-2; the seven teams Moorpark has defeated have a cumulative record of 24-39. . . .

Freddie Bradley had only 90 rushing yards against Glendale, marking the first time since last season’s Orange County Classic that Bradley failed to gain 100 yards. In that game, Rancho Santiago held him to 68 yards. . . .

Antelope Valley intercepted five passes against Mt. San Jacinto. That gave the Marauders 20 interceptions this season, five shy of the school record set in 1974. . . .

Tailback Bobby Webster of Glendale has set school single-season records for touchdowns (19) and rushing touchdowns (19) this season. He is also closing in on the rushing mark of 1,343 yards, set by Henry Longoria in 1975. Webster, who has rushed for more than 100 yards in seven consecutive games, has gained 1,235 yards this season. . . .

Going the distance: Marcial Beltran expected a change in the academic atmosphere after transferring to Occidental College from Fullerton College. What he didn’t expect was a change in his cross-country running tactics.

Beltran is undefeated against NCAA Division III competition this season, but he says racing five miles--a mile more than he did in junior college--was a learning experience.

At the Fresno Invitational in September, Beltran bolted to the lead midway through the race before fading to eighth place. But at both the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships two weeks ago and the Division III Far West regional last Saturday, Beltran held back until the later stages before breaking away and setting course records.

“I’m starting to get used to racing five miles,” said Beltran, the national junior college record-holder in the marathon at 2 hours 17 minutes 26 seconds. “You have to think about your strategy and when to make your move. The extra mile makes a big difference.”

The Occidental men and women will compete Saturday in the Division III national meet in Grinnell, Iowa.

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

ONE-MAN GANG When it comes to touchdowns via the rush or on special teams, Moorpark College turns to Freddie Bradley. In two seasons, Bradley has scored 49 of the 70 touchdowns the Raiders have scored in the aforementioned manner.

1989 Regular Season

Rushing Returns Total Bradley 21 2 23 Others 10 0 46*

1990 Regular Season

Rush Return Total Bradley 24 2 26 Others 10 1 43*

*Includes passing touchdowns and

touchdowns scored by the defense

RUSHING TOUCHDOWNSWith one regular-season game left, Bradley already has rushed for more regular-season touchdowns than any other junior college player in history.

Player School, Years TDs Freddie Bradley Moorpark, ‘89-90 45 O.J. Simpson S.F. City, ‘65-66 43 Tommy Reamon Ft.Scott,Kan.,’70-71 43 Robert Hardy McRae, N.C., ‘87-88 43