Making Amends for Drop a Hands-On Task for Nealy

Bill Nealy was wide open when the football bounced off his fingers and harmlessly to the ground, crushing his spirits. Not only did his drop of a pass in the end zone represent the last chance for Cal State Northridge to overtake UC Davis two weeks ago, it marked the first time Nealy had ever dropped a pass that was a sure touchdown.

“Yeah, that hurt me,” Nealy said, wincing at the memory. “I, personally, didn’t think I could drop a touchdown pass.”

About seven plays before he dropped the ball thrown by quarterback Marty Fisher, a 31-yard pass late in the third quarter, Nealy suffered a bruised left calf when he was knocked into the kicking net after a making a leaping sideline catch.

“I let the injury take over the game,” Nealy said. “I was concentrating on it. Usually, I get all the way under the ball but I went for the fingertip catch and tried to pull it in.”

The dropped pass, and CSUN’s 29-17 loss, made for a rough eight-hour bus ride back to Northridge the next day.

“I was upset,” Nealy said. “I didn’t have much to say.”

In a team meeting the next day, Nealy found his voice. He stood and told his teammates that he owed them.

Initially, it did not appear as though he would be able to pay them back.

“I had a bad week of practice,” Nealy said. “I wasn’t concentrating and my leg was still bothering me.”

Several times Nealy “put it on the ground,” the expression he and his fellow receivers use for a dropped ball. One of the drops in practice--also in the end zone--was on a pass thrown by receiver Cornell Ward on a reverse option play.

“I was going nonchalantly,” Nealy said. “So Cornell said, ‘It has to be on the money for him.’ Then we did it again Friday and I caught it and I said to Cornell, ‘It doesn’t have to be on the money.’ ”

Twenty-four hours later, while warming up to play Santa Clara at North Campus Stadium, Nealy had a throbbing headache and a fear of failure. “I had to relax and try to block it out,” Nealy said. “I kept telling myself to stay focused and stay in the game.”

Late in the first quarter, he was given his chance to pay his teammates back. The reverse option was called.

After a sequence of handoffs from Fisher to tailback Jonathan Campbell to Ward, a pass was lofted in Nealy’s direction. It was short. Nealy had to wait--forever, it seemed--as the ball hung in the air.

“When Cornell threw that pass I couldn’t see him.” Nealy said. “He put so much arch on it all I could see was the ball coming out of the sky. I knew the (defensive back) was up. The question was who would get there first? The defensive back or the ball? I was concentrating so hard on catching the ball, but I didn’t want to concentrate too much because then you drop it.”

Nealy didn’t drop it, but he didn’t score initially, either. Sheepishly, he backed into the end zone when he realized he was standing on the one-yard line. “That’s probably why I wasn’t in the end zone,” Nealy said. “I was concentrating so hard on catching the ball.”

The 34-yard pass play gave Northridge a 14-7 lead.

Early in the third quarter, Nealy streaked across the middle of the end zone for a nine-yard touchdown reception that made it 38-14 en route to a 45-27 victory.

Fisher threw hard, but Nealy held on tightly. “It wasn’t going anywhere,” Nealy said of the ball.

Nealy, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior from Alta Loma High in San Bernardino County, played one year at Pasadena City College before transferring to Northridge.

In 2 1/2 seasons he has 32 receptions for 502 yards and six touchdowns. Nealy is averaging 23.2 yards a catch this season and 15.6 in his CSUN career.

With four games remaining, including tonight’s Western Football Conference game at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, he needs two touchdown catches to move into a tie for 10th on the Matadors’ all-time list.

After the Santa Clara Redemption, “Chill Bill,” as he is called by teammates, was able to don his favorite hat with pride.

The hat, with “Quick 6” sewn on the bill in red lettering, reflects his speed, his jersey number and, more importantly, Nealy’s intentions.

* HOMECOMING: CSUN kicker Dan Eastman set two Cal Poly San Luis Obispo records before leaving the school for personal reasons. C16