FOOTBALL ’91 : THE COLLEGES: CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE / CAL LUTHERAN : Matadors’ Road to a Title Leads Through San Luis Obispo : CSUN: Last year’s losses to Mustangs remain fresh in minds of Northridge players, but a schedule full of travel comes first.

It will not take the Cal State Northridge football team long to determine if it has what it takes to return to the NCAA Division II playoffs.

The 15th-ranked Matadors will open with three consecutive road games--including one against a Division I-A opponent and another against a 1-AA foe.

In all, seven of CSUN’s 10 games are away from North Campus Stadium.

Although the Matadors might not miss their dilapidated, trash-strewn home field, the team did attract a school-record crowd of 7,127 for the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo game last season.

San Luis Obispo, ranked No. 9 in this year’s coaches’ preseason poll, ended the Matadors’ seven-game winning streak with a 6-3 triumph that enabled the Mustangs to share the Western Football Conference title with CSUN.

Two weeks later at Mustang Stadium, San Luis Obispo prevailed, 14-7, in CSUN’s inaugural Division II playoff appearance.

This year’s Oct. 26 rematch at San Luis Obispo is prominently displayed on T-shirts worn by Matador players.

“In the back of our minds is Cal Poly, but we have to take it one game at a time,” CSUN linebacker Ken Vaughn said. “When Cal Poly comes we’ll deal with it.”

Six offensive starters and five defensive starters, including Vaughn, return from a CSUN squad that went 7-4 and finished with a No. 13 ranking.

Along with the losses to San Luis Obispo, CSUN was defeated by Northern Arizona, a Division I-AA team; and Cal State Long Beach, a Division I-A team.

This season, the Matadors will play Division I Cal State Fullerton on Sept. 21, and Division I-AA Eastern Washington in Saturday’s opener.

The starters at quarterback and tailback probably will not be determined until close to game time.

At quarterback, junior Marty Fisher, transfer Damone Scott and volleyball All-American Coley Kyman are vying to replace Sherdrick Bonner, the starter the past two years.

Fisher, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound junior from Covina, completed 27 passes in 49 attempts for 315 yards and threw three interceptions last season.

Scott (6-2, 215), of Long Beach, played one season at Compton College and another at Western Michigan.

Kyman, a 6-6, 210-pound sophomore from Reseda High, came off the bench as the fourth-string quarterback last season and guided Northridge to a 24-17 victory over Eastern New Mexico.

The tailback position, which has been vacated by Albert Fann, the school’s all-time rushing leader, is expected to become more of a position by committee. Victor DeVaughn, who gained an unexpected final year of eligibility, and Harbor College transfer Bill Harris are the front-runners.

Former Oak Park High standout Jess Garner, freshman walk-on Akil Mahasin and freshman Jonathon Campbell, formerly of Poly High, are other running backs in the stable. Junior fullback Anthony Nicholson is expected to recover from an ankle sprain in time for the opener. Redshirt freshman Aaron Brumfield is Nicholson’s backup.

Most of the offensive line, an inexperienced unit last season, was expected to return, but right guard Matt Nicolo suffered a season-ending knee injury and left tackle John Chase is academically ineligible.

Returning starters Don Goodman, a 6-8, 300-pound right tackle, and center Ed Allum will team with left guard Art Espino, right guard Anthony McLellan and left tackle Jack Montes, a 6-4, 265-pound transfer from Mt. San Antonio College.

Speedy wide receiver Paul Peters will help offset the loss of Joe Rice and Anthony Harris, whose eligibility expired.

Peters broke a clavicle early last season, underwent surgery on both shoulders for a chronic dislocation problem and was declared a medical redshirt.

Peters, a 6-1, 195-pound junior from Santa Ana, also will return punts and kickoffs.

Billy Nealy, Adam McKinney and Cornell Ward also will play wide receiver and George Fua and Don Martin are the tight ends.

On defense, the Matadors will attempt to replace four all-conference players: linebackers Ken Wallace and Terrell Taylor, defensive lineman Tom Berry and cornerback Baron Atkinson.

Vaughn, of Toledo, Ohio, and Joseph Ojomoh of Riverside College are the starting inside linebackers. Playing outside linebacker are two local products, former Glendale College standout Doug Bledsoe and former Cleveland High standout Mario Hull.

Hull’s value was underscored by the three losses CSUN suffered last year after he injured a knee.

“Mario’s experience alone is worth its weight in gold,” Coach Bob Burt said. “He’s a tremendous athlete. At 6-4 he can jump and run and he catches the ball.”

Hull tied for the team lead in interceptions last year with four.

Preseason All-American Alo Sila is the strength of a defensive line that might be the strength of the team. Sila (6-1, 265) was an All-WFC selection in 1990 after making 48 tackles and six sacks. He also returned an interception 33 yards for a touchdown.

Sila is doing his best not to live off his laurels.

“I have to start all over,” he said.

In terms of positions, his point is literal--Sila moved to right tackle to make room for newcomer Carlos Adley, a 6-2, 285-pound nose guard.

“Carlos is an interesting young man,” Burt said. “You put him in for six plays and he can make tackles on five of them. He’s about as intense as any player I’ve coached, but he’s got to prove himself here to this team.”

Adley played at Cal State Fullerton in 1984 and ’85 when Burt was the Titans’ defensive coordinator.

Although Adley has not played since 1987, his last season at Fullerton, he is eligible for Division II athletics because he has not been enrolled in school for 10 semesters.

Ken Jackson, a 6-4, 260-pound senior from Stockton, is the other starter in the three-man front. Ron McKinney (6-5, 260) from Pasadena City College will back him up.

“Knock on wood,” Burt said. “If they stay healthy we’ll be in good shape there.”

Three of the four starters in the secondary exhausted their eligibility and projected starter Eric Barnes is academically ineligible, leaving strong safety Eric Treibatch as the only experienced starter.

Treibatch, who earned second team all-conference honors last season, is a junior from Montclair Prep.

Gerald Ponder, a transfer from Riverside College, is expected to start at free safety.

Nevada Reno transfer Tremelle Barnes and redshirt freshman Vincent Johnson, formerly of Cleveland High, are projected as the starting cornerbacks.

Last season, CSUN’s rushing defense allowed only 96.3 yards per game, seventh-stingiest in Division II.

“I think our defense is even stronger than last year,” Sila said.

After the kicking game misfired on 11 of 30 field-goal attempts last year, including five misses against Santa Clara and two blocked kicks in the first Cal Poly SLO loss, Burt brought in a trio of transfers: Michael Wade, Dan Eastman and Joe Jezulin.

Wade is out of contention because of a season-ending leg injury, and Eastman and Jezulin are battling down to the wire.

Eastman transferred from nemesis San Luis Obispo, for which he kicked 13 field goals in 1988. Jezulin is from Cal State Long Beach.

The punter is sophomore Albert Razo, who averaged 41.4 yards a punt after winning the starting role midway through last season.