Soccer Coach Finds Recruit’s Words Cruel

Certain comments can be made to a coach, and other things are best left unsaid.

Marwan Ass’ad, Cal State Northridge soccer coach, was discussing the importance of dedication and team unity the other day when he recalled a statement made by a freshman recruit during spring practice.

Ass’ad was stunned when one of his newcomers remarked that he would rather be studying because practice wasn’t “fun.”

Remember, Ass’ad is the same coach who slept in his car while applying for the CSUN position some nine years ago. The reason: He wanted to be near the campus at all times to let administrators know how much he wanted the job.

“That statement hurt me so much,” Ass’ad said. “I’m a coach. I’ve lived in my camper, in my car. I lived on thirty dollars a week (while trying to land the CSUN job.). Then a young (kid) says that. That was the biggest shock to me.”

Rushing to Recuperate

Tony Simmons, a running back who gained 589 yards at Antelope Valley College last season, was shot in the leg during a drive-by shooting in St. Petersburg, Fla., earlier this summer.

Simmons is recuperating in Florida and plans to resume his playing career in 1992, Marauder Coach Brent Carder said.

Simmons, who rushed for 5.2 yards per carry and eight touchdowns as a freshman, will remain at his Florida home this semester before returning to Antelope Valley in January.

“I talked to him and his mother and the prognosis is excellent,” Carder said. “There was no serious damage to the ligaments or arteries.”

Carder said Simmons was at a hamburger stand with his girlfriend when the shooting occurred.

Northridge Can Dig It

The Northridge women’s volleyball team set a school record during a grueling five-game match against UC Irvine on Saturday in the inaugural Northridge Invitational.

The mark: Most digs. The Matadors had 161, breaking the mark of 159 set against Central Missouri State in 1987.

This is not necessarily a good sign, since digs are made only when an opponent is taking a lot of shots. It’s kind of like a football team setting a record for tackles.

The length of the match was also a factor. So even were the teams--two games went to the 17-point scoring cap--that most points were earned by long rallies in a match that was 2 hours 45 minutes long.

“They were a very good defensive team and we out-dug them,” CSUN Coach Walt Ker said.

Nancy Nicholls, a junior middle blocker, set a personal record and led Northridge with 40 digs--just two shy of the school record.

Tracked Down

Don Strametz, Northridge’s track and field coach, finally got his man.

Two years after unsuccessfully recruiting Troy Collins out of Hemet High, Collins has transferred to Northridge from Southern Methodist.

“He was the one I wanted the most two years ago,” Strametz said. “It’s nice to finally have him.”

An 800-meter runner with a high school best of 1 minute 52.53 seconds, Collins ran 1:51.8 in the 800 for SMU last year. He has two years of eligibility remaining but will redshirt this cross-country season and next track season.

“The obvious hope next (track) season is to make the Olympic Trials,” Strametz said. “Some things are going to have to be changed dramatically for that to happen, but it is possible.”

The automatic qualifying standard for the men’s 800 at the trials is 1:47.65. The provisional qualifying standard is 1:49.10. Provisional qualifiers will be allowed to compete in the trials if the number of automatic qualifiers in an event is below the desired number.

New Crew Review

The silver lining of Northridge’s 20-13 season-opening football loss to Eastern Washington was that two newcomers and a player from the past made an immediate impact. So much so that they were given the coaches’ awards as the top Matador players in the game.

Tremelle Barnes, a transfer from Nevada Reno and Pasadena City College, was defensive player of the game. Playing in his first game in two years, the senior cornerback made nine tackles, including one that prevented a touchdown. He also deflected a pass deep in Northridge territory.

“He’s a tremendous athlete,” CSUN Coach Bob Burt said. “And his effort, you can’t measure.”

O.J. Ojomoh, the special teams’ player of the game, drew similar reviews.

“That’s for his hustle,” Burt said. “He came back after getting clipped--which they didn’t call. . . . He got up and chased the (punt returner) down.”

Ojomoh, a 6-foot-1, 218-pound junior from Redlands, also started at linebacker and made 10 tackles--five solo--including a hit on the goal line that prevented the Eagles from scoring. Ojomoh, who transferred to Northridge in August, played two seasons at nose guard and linebacker for Riverside College.

So much for the newcomers. Wide receiver Cornell Ward, the offensive player of the game, returned from a redshirt year in striking fashion.

“That’s as good as we’ve seen a wide receiver block since Tony Young,” Burt said of Ward. Young was CSUN’s co-inspirational player of the year in 1989.

Ward (5-9, 165) also contributed a 31-yard pass reception, the longest of the game for the Matadors.

Ward, a 27-year-old senior, has been around. From 1984-87 he was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Los Angeles High. In 1983 and ‘88, he played at Compton College. In 1989, playing for Northridge, he had six catches for 45 yards.

“When guys are away from it they miss it,” Burt said. “And if they are new they want to establish themselves. Those guys played with a lot of effort. It is really gratifying to see new guys do that.”

Calling All Pushovers

A note of possible interest to those who will set the 1993 Northridge football schedule:

Stay away from Division I schools for the opener. Since 1984, the Matadors have lost all six openers against Division I-A or I-AA opponents.

It’s too late for next season. Already slated for Sept. 5, 1992, is Cal State Fullerton of the Division I-A Big West Conference.

Chucking and Ducking

He probably has a right to complain, but he doesn’t.

All Todd Studer does is stand in the pocket and take aim, risking life and limb as some of the nation’s best defenses charge in at him.

Studer, a senior, is in his second season as starting quarterback for Cal State Long Beach. Because of traditionally low attendance and an athletic budget deficit, the 49ers are forced to play many more road games than home games.

Long Beach annually faces at least one of the nation’s highest-ranked teams just to get a lucrative guarantee in an effort to balance its books. This year’s schedule includes eight road games, among them an Oct. 19 visit to Miami. The 49ers opened last season with a 59-0 loss at Clemson. Colorado’s 64-3 win over Kansas State was the only Division I-A game decided by a wider margin in 1990.

Still, Studer, a former Simi Valley High and Valley College standout, finds a bright side.

“I enjoy going to places like that,” he said. “I tend to think I can play at the level of all those guys. One of the main reasons I came here is that UCLA, Miami and Hawaii were on the schedule. I think we’re really lucky to have a chance to go there and beat them.”

Studer, 22, completed 21 of 43 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns and threw two interceptions Sunday in Long Beach’s season-opening 49-13 nonconference loss to San Diego State.

“I definitely could have played better,” Studer said. “Our defense was playing really well at the beginning and giving us the ball inside the 20, and we were having some drives go to the 20. It’s my job to get us in the end zone and I missed a couple of key passes.”

Studer (6-3, 185) had not played a down in Division I-A at the start of last season. He ended the year as an honorable mention All-Big West Conference selection after completing 175 of 366 passes for 2,618 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Willie Brown, a Hall of Fame defensive back who is in his first year as coach of the 49ers, says Studer possesses an attribute that should serve him well--toughness.

“Last year he got the hell beat of out him a lot of times and was ready to go again the next Saturday,” Brown said.

Ron Twersky, Wendy Witherspoon and staff writers John Ortega, Theresa Munoz and Steven Herbert contributed to this notebook.