End Zone Remains Out of Titans’ Reach : Football: Fullerton fails to score a touchdown for second consecutive game. Utah State (1-5) wins, 26-3.

Coaches call the area inside an opponent’s 20-yard line the Red Zone, a space that, for the good teams, usually serves as a prelude to the end zone.

But for Cal State Fullerton, it has turned into the Dead Zone, an area where the Titan offense flutters and sputters and, like a tired old engine, simply conks out.

Fullerton failed to reach the end zone for the second consecutive game and lost to Utah State, 26-3, Saturday in front of 8,957 in Romney Stadium.

The Titans (1-6, 0-3 in the Big West Conference) have not scored a touchdown since the fourth quarter of a 56-28 loss to University of the Pacific Oct. 5. Fullerton managed one field goal, last week in a 25-3 loss to Nevada Las Vegas.

They might as well post a sign at the 20-yard line: “Not a Through Street.”

“Three points in two games is ridiculous,” Titan center David Porter said. “We drive pretty well inside the 30-yard lines, but once we’re in the red zone we can’t score. As an offensive line, we’re upset. We’re taking this real hard.”

The Titans had 228 yards in total offense Saturday, and quarterback Chad May had a decent game, completing 15 of 28 passes for 128 yards. But Fullerton drove to the Aggie 22-, 34- and six-yard lines and came up with only three points, Phil Nevin’s 40-yard field goal that gave the Titans a 3-0 lead in the first quarter.

Epitomizing Fullerton’s futility was a fourth-quarter drive in which the previously erratic May completed five consecutive passes for 64 yards, marching the Titans from their 29 to the Utah State six.

But the Aggies blitzed on four consecutive plays, stopping May once for no gain, sacking him twice and forcing one incomplete pass. On fourth and goal from the 11, May was sacked by tackle Joe Jacobs, who finished with 12 tackles, including six for losses, two sacks and one interception.

The Aggies, especially inside linebacker Del Lyles, seemed to blitz at the right times. Utah State recorded four sacks and 10 tackles for losses. Three times, Aggie linemen batted down May passes, and one was deflected into Jacobs’ hands for an interception in the second quarter.

Utah State limited potent Fullerton running backs Reggie Yarbrough (46 yards, 16 carries) and Arthur Davis (74 yards, 11 carries) to 120 yards.

“They brought their linebackers and slipped through one gap every time,” May said. “It was nothing we couldn’t pick up. He (Lyles) just slid through and caught us off guard.”

Nothing the Aggie offense did caught the Titans off guard, but Fullerton was caught guarding the Aggies a little too closely. Two Titan pass-interference penalties aided Utah State touchdown drives in the second quarter.

The first came on a second-and-10 play from the Fullerton 12-yard line and gave the Aggies a first and goal at the six. Two plays later, Roger Grant, who rushed for 114 yards in 25 carries, scored on a three-yard run to give Utah State a 9-3 lead with 10:57 left in the first half.

Fullerton coaches questioned the second penalty. On second and goal from the Titan 13, quarterback Ron Lopez attempted to hit Rod Moore in the end zone. Fullerton cornerback B.B. Hudson was guarding Moore closely and was facing the receiver when the pass hit Hudson in the rear end.

A referee flagged Hudson for interference, giving Utah State a first down on the two-yard line, and three plays later, Lopez scored from a yard to make it 16-3 with 2:07 left in the half.

Afterward, Hudson said one official told him he was face-guarding Moore, which is grounds for a penalty. Hudson said his hands were at his side when he was hit by the ball. Titan Coach Gene Murphy said another official told him Hudson had bumped Moore, creating conflicting evidence.

“He got hit in the ass with the ball,” Murphy said, rolling his eyes. “He was ass-guarding.”

The Titans got a boost early in the third quarter when Hudson and Chad Lindsay stopped Grant on a fourth-and-one play from the Fullerton seven-yard line. But a Jacobs sack and a Steve Neeleman deflected pass helped thwart the Titans’ ensuing drive.

The Aggies broke the game open on the first play of the fourth quarter, when Lopez hit Moore with a perfectly thrown pass that resulted in a 63-yard touchdown play. From his 37, Moore streaked up the left sideline, and Fullerton cornerback Leonard Hudson stayed with Moore stride for stride.

But Hudson failed to turn in time to deflect Lopez’s pass, which went through his arms and into Moore’s hands at the Titan 30. Moore continued down the sideline for the score, which made it 23-3.

Doug Beach, who kicked a 29-yard field goal in the first quarter, added a 39-yarder in the fourth to complete the Aggies’ scoring.

Lopez, a former Los Angeles Franklin High School standout, completed 16 of 26 passes for 248 yards to pace Utah State (1-5, 1-1). Tracey Jenkins caught six of those passes for 96 yards, and Moore had three receptions for 94 yards.

“I didn’t think we were electrifying today,” Utah State Coach Chuck Shelton said. “I just thought we were methodical--physical and methodical.”

It was a bittersweet day for Fullerton. The Titans lost another game, but although the score was almost identical to last week’s loss, it didn’t seem nearly as bad. The passing game improved, and the Titan defense allowed only one big play.

“Last week we had a lot of problems--this week a couple of isolated things stopped us,” Porter said. “We got better this week, which we didn’t last week. We were close to doing a lot of good things, but we didn’t.”

But for May, close is no longer good enough.

“We’re just sick of losing and making excuses,” May said. “We need to win a game.”

Notes

Titan receivers Steve Danzy and Frank Davis did not make the trip to Logan, Danzy because he was sick with the flu and Davis because of disciplinary reasons. . . . The thin air in Logan was good for Fullerton punter Phil Nevin, who averaged 49.4 yards in five punts. His longest of the day was a 60-yarder in the second quarter. . . . The Titans had a good chance to take the lead in the second quarter, but Pat Lynch came up about a foot short of a first down on a fake field goal attempt. Nevin was lined up for a 51-yarder, but Lynch, the holder, took the snap and ran four yards around right end to the 30-yard line. . . . Of Fullerton’s 13 first downs, three were by penalty.