THE COLLEGES / MIKE HISERMAN : Bonner Wears Many Hats at Northridge

Three sports down and one to go for Sherdrick Bonner, Cal State Northridge’s resident quarterback/swingman/blocker/high jumper.

Now that the Matadors’ volleyball season is over, Bonner is down to the mere-mortal pace of concentrating on one sport and only one sport. What a bore.

This presents quite a change of pace for a fellow who was the football team’s starting quarterback two seasons, a reserve swingman on the basketball team for one, a reserve middle blocker in volleyball this season and a part-time--in his spare time, he would say--high jumper for the Northridge track and field team.

The public-address announcer at Northridge has taken to introducing Bonner as “America’s most versatile athlete.” Bonner has started for three major sports (yes, at Northridge volleyball counts!) and, in the opinion of track Coach Don Strametz, could be among the nation’s best high jumpers should he ever pause long enough to concentrate on the event.

Recently, between matches in the Western Intercollegiate Volleyball Assn. tournament, Bonner confided that he had even considered trying out for baseball as a freshman at his father’s request.

Come to think of it, isn’t baseball Coach Bill Kernen looking for a fourth starting pitcher?

Northridge probably won’t see another like Sherdrick Bonner pass through for a while, which is unfortunate for reasons beyond the obvious. Bonner, whose eligibility ends this spring, got the maximum out of five years of college athletics. He never made so much as an all-conference team, but he had one helluva good time.

His lone season with the volleyball team was a perfect example. Asked why he tried out, having never before played the sport, he said, “I just wanted to see what I could do. I didn’t plan on making the team. I just wanted to try. I figured it was my last go-around, so why not try?”

Why not, indeed. John Price, coach of Northridge’s successful volleyball program, said that given another year Bonner likely would have cracked the starting lineup.

“He could have been an impact player in this league, which is saying something,” Price said.

Bonner played sparingly this season, usually as a front-row blocking specialist. His contributions to Northridge’s 22-7 finish were mostly behind the scenes.

“Everybody knows and respects him,” said Price, who includes team stars Neil Coffman and Coley Kyman. “He was really an enforcer in terms of attitude. He was willing to get in Neil and Coley’s face when no one else would.”

Bonner shrugs at such compliments. “I knew most of the guys already,” he said. “We get along great.”

If Bonner has a regret about his athletic career, it is that he didn’t have the senior season in football that he had hoped for.

“I was pretty lackluster some of the time,” he said, “but it wasn’t because I didn’t play hard.”

In terms of physical attributes, Matador football Coach Bob Burt has compared Bonner to Randall Cunningham, the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback.

Again, Bonner shrugs. “I don’t know,” he said. “I just do the best I can.”

For the better part of five years, his best has been plenty.

Double dribble: Expect Northridge to announce the signings of junior college transfers Kerrie Marshall and Jill Stephens to play women’s basketball. Marshall, from Moorpark College, led her team in scoring and rebounding. Stephens from Bakersfield College, plays point guard.

Briefly: Scott Sharts was considered the ace of the Northridge pitching staff early this season, but he has relinquished that claim to Craig Clayton, who has a 10-3 record and a 1.57 earned-run average.

Wonder where that leaves Ken Kendrena? All the junior right-hander has done is win eight in a row on the way to a 10-1 record. . . .

John Bushart, a sophomore left-hander from Thousand Oaks, was the starting pitcher in Northridge’s third game of the season. Because of tendinitis in his shoulder, he has not pitched in a game since. . . .

UCLA did not hurt the Northridge baseball team’s playoff chances by rebounding from a 15-1 loss to the Matadors with a three-game sweep of sixth-ranked Stanford last weekend. . . .