THE COLLEGES : WFC Coaches Judged Fann on More Than Numbers in Bestowing Honor

Western Football Conference coaches don’t play by the numbers. How else to explain their selection of Cal State Northridge tailback Albert Fann as the conference’s offensive player of the year?

Fann was not the leading rusher in the WSC. He wasn’t second or third, either. His season statistics show 918 yards rushing in 10 games and a modest average of 4.1 yards a carry.

Good statistics but nothing Fann-tabulous. Most people expected better. Most people expected too much.

Fann is, after all, a celebrity among the masses playing Division II football. His picture made national magazines, his story was told on television, his name was penned high on the lists of professional scouts.

The attention made him a marked man from the opening kickoff against Northern Arizona. “Take that Mr. Harlon Hill,” linebackers muttered as they raked cleats over Fann’s limbs after a tackle.

How easy it is to forget that Fann runs behind a line with only one player who had four-year college experience before this season, or that Northridge lacks a consistent passing threat, or that opponents often stack 10 defenders within five yards of scrimmage to stop the run.

Since the second game of the season, Fann has played on a torn left hamstring muscle. Small wonder that his longest run of the season is a mere 32 yards.

Then, three weeks ago, while rushing for 134 yards in 26 carries against Santa Clara, Fann’s right ankle was injured. He tried to play the following week in the WFC championship game against San Luis Obispo but was “held” to 34 yards in 11 carries and the Matadors lost, 6-3.

Fann credited a tough Mustang defense and. . . . oh, never mind.

“I’m playing with injuries, but that’s no excuse because it’s part of the game,” Fann said after a practice this week. “I’ve learned I can play with certain injuries and still be effective. Then there are other times you’ve just got to say no.”

Like last week against Cal State Long Beach. Fann suited up but only to return kickoffs. He took back three kicks for 58 yards, giving him 7,032 all-purpose yards in his career--more than Tony Dorsett had. Fann became only the fifth player in NCAA history to surpass the 7,000-yard milestone.

Now that’s a stat.

“Everybody thinks stats tell who’s the best player, but stats doesn’t have anything to do with it,” Fann said. “I help my team win. That’s what’s most important.”

Opposing coaches agreed. They made Fann the WFC’s first four-time, first-team all-conference selection and two-time offensive player of the year.

Fann’s numbers don’t jibe with the award but the coaches saw past that. In CSUN’s five most important games, he rushed for more than 125 yards in all but one, the showdown against San Luis Obispo.

And that is the statistic of which Fann is most aware.

He says his hamstring injury has healed somewhat and that his ankle is “almost 100%.” CSUN and San Luis Obispo will meet today in the first round of the Division II playoffs.

“Hopefully I can show them what the real Albert Fann looks like,” he said. “It should be a lot different game from my standpoint.”

If so, the result should be different for Northridge. When Fann has rushed for 100 or more yards this season, the Matadors are 5-0. The other times, they are 2-3.

Second helping: In Division II football, familiarity has bred contempt--for the NCAA.

Trying to cut down on transportation costs, the NCAA regionalized the Division II football playoffs. But in doing so it all but ruined the postseason experience for most teams.

Northridge and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, co-champions of the Western Football Conference, will meet today for the second time in 15 days. “I felt the committee would try to keep one of us out,” said Lyle Setencich, San Luis Obispo’s coach. “This way they eliminate at least one from the West.”

Such bitterness was echoed around the nation. Seems that the Matadors and the Mustangs aren’t the only ones who were forced into a first-round rematch.

Squaring off in the South region are North Alabama and Jacksonville (Ala.) State of the Gulf South Conference; in the Midwest, Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rivals Pittsburg (Kan.) State and Northeast Missouri will meet again; and on the other side of the West bracket, North Dakota State and Northern Colorado of the North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will play for the second time.

Two thumbs up: Travis Peterson had an average game last Saturday. It was the players who surround him on the Glendale College offensive line who turned in superlative performances.

In a 45-21 upset of Moorpark, Vaquero running backs rushed for 366 yards. This against what was the state’s top-rated junior college defense against the run. In eight previous games, the Raiders had allowed only 496 yards on the ground.

“It was an incredible film,” Coach John Cicuto said after watching reruns of the game. “I was surprised we handled them so easily. I’ve never seen the line block so well.”

Maybe not as a whole. However, for Peterson, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound guard, the outing was typical. “From a guy who never played at all last year, he has developed into a phenomenal player,” Cicuto said.

Briefly: Why did Moorpark Coach Jim Bittner panic last week when the Raiders fell behind against Glendale? After the Vaqueros jumped to an early lead, Bittner fell away from what Moorpark does best--hand the ball to Freddie Bradley, and instead relied heavily on the passing game. . . .

Speaking of panicking, what was CSUN Coach Bob Burt thinking last week when he asked Abo Velasco to attempt a 65-yard field goal with 13 seconds remaining in the Matadors’ 25-24 loss to Cal State Long Beach? The longest kick of Velasco’s career is 50 yards.

The ball was on target but landed at the three-yard line, about 20 yards short. “We had the wind with us. You roll the dice,” Burt said. “He was kicking them that far in practice.” A few days later, Burt had a different explanation. “I blew it,” he said.