CSUN Offense Sputters in Season-Opening Loss, 20-13 : College football: Quarterback shuttle leads to dead-end against Eastern Washington.

It won’t go down in the books next to Colorado’s win over Missouri last year. But the five downs Eastern Washington used to score its final touchdown marked the turning point in Cal State Northridge’s 20-13 season-opening loss before 3,028 Saturday at Woodward Stadium.

After a first-down gain that put the ball at the CSUN one-yard line with a little more than 10 minutes to play, the Matadors kept Eastern Washington tailback Tim Mitchell out of the end zone on three consecutive plays.

But the third of those efforts was wiped out by a controversial offside penalty.

Given the extra down, Mark Tenneson scored on a quarterback sneak for a 20-7 advantage with 10:13 to play.

“There was nobody offside,” CSUN linebacker Mario Hull said. “That is my job to look.”

“(We) put it to them, did a great job and all of a sudden mysterious things happen,” CSUN Coach Bob Burt said. “Five downs are a lot easier to score on than four.”

CSUN, a Division II school, kept the Eagles out of the end zone on two earlier drives, forcing Division I-AA Eastern Washington to settle for field goals.

The Matadors also came through with four interceptions--two by junior strong safety Eric Treibatch of Encino and one each by Hull and Vincent Johnson, both of whom are from Cleveland High.

CSUN’s only glaring defensive mistake resulted in Eastern Washington’s first touchdown, a 38-yard catch by Tony Brooks, who beat free safety Troy Thomas with 3:49 left in the first quarter.

From the outset, the Northridge defense was tested when Harbor College transfer Bill Harris fumbled the opening kickoff on the CSUN 24. Thanks to Ken Jackson’s sack and Alo Sila’s tackle for a three-yard loss, the Eagles were limited to a field goal.

As strong as Northridge’s defense was, it still needed help from the offense. And none was forthcoming.

In a worrisome carry-over from 1990 when the offense averaged just 16.2 points a game, CSUN was limited to one touchdown until the last three minutes.

Marty Fisher started and finished the game at quarterback, but backup Damone Scott played in four of CSUN’s 13 possessions. Fisher threw above, behind, beyond and low to his receivers, and two of his passes were dropped.

Finally, on CSUN’s final possession, Fisher made a breakthrough. He found Adam McKinney over the middle for completions of 18 and 16 yards. Then, he connected with Cornell Ward on a 31-yard pass play and found Paul Peters in the end zone on a 15-yard touchdown pass with 36 seconds to play.

“We let them off the hook,” Eastern Washington Coach Dick Zornes said.

Fisher finished 14 of 24 for 151 yards. He was sacked three times and had one pass batted down. He attributed his early accuracy problems to rushing his passes.

“For the first game it wasn’t bad,” said Fisher, a junior from Covina. “I’m not concerned about (the offense). We’ll be all right.”

Although he said that alternating with Scott had an undesirable effect, he did not blame his mistakes on the rotation system.

Scott, a transfer from Western Michigan, overthrew and underthrew his receivers, was victimized by one dropped pass and managed to complete just two of eight for 23 yards.

“What happens when you change quarterbacks is that the offensive line has to readjust,” Scott said. “The execution wasn’t there off the bat and a couple passes I overthrew. I was pressing.”

The post-Albert Fann era began with a scramble. Victor DeVaughn, the leading candidate to replace the team’s all-time leading rusher, dropped a pass and was limited to 14 yards in five carries. Harris managed just nine yards in five carries and lost his kickoff-return job to Peters after his fumble.

Sophomore Jess Garner, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound third-string tailback from Oak Park High, fared better. He ran for 34 yards in 12 carries and caught four passes for 31 yards.

Aside from the last drive, CSUN’s only sustained offensive possession was a 16-play, 77-yard second-quarter effort highlighted by two fourth-down conversions--a three-yard run by hobbling fullback Anthony Nicholson and a four-year burst by DeVaughn.

The touchdown was set up by Garner, who caught a screen pass and cut inside for a 15-yard gain. On the next play, Nicholson used a shoulder fake to break free up the middle on a 10-yard touchdown run.

Quarterback and tailback weren’t the only positions by committee--reserves Scott Norman, Kevin Bess and Jose Casillas were on the offensive line throughout the drive.

Burt defended quarterback coach Pat Degnan’s decision to insert Scott after CSUN’s best ball movement under Fisher.

“We want to find out this early if we have depth,” Burt said. “We have to build depth. We gotta find out if we have it.”

The defensive play for CSUN was turned in by left cornerback Tremelle Barnes, who got the angle on Mitchell, ending a 57-yard run at the CSUN 10. Barnes finished with nine tackles, five of them unassisted.

Matador Notes

Nose guard Carlos Adley missed the game because of an 11th-hour eligibility problem that Burt hopes to clear up by Wednesday.

Without the 285-pound Adley--who weighs 55 pounds more than his replacement, Damien Jenkins--in CSUN’s lineup, the Eagles were able to double team Sila. Sila was limited to one tackle. Jenkins, a junior from Saugus High, played well considering he has missed several practices because of a sore knee.

In his CSUN debut, Riverside College transfer O.J. Ojomoh called the defensive signals and led the team in tackles with 10.