San Jose State Irritates Murphy in Titans’ Loss

Cal State Fullerton Coach Gene Murphy sent the white flag up with 9 1/2 minutes left in Saturday night’s game against San Jose State, but the battle had been lost long before that.

Murphy, waving his handkerchief on the sideline of Spartan Stadium, was showing his disgust for San Jose State Coach Terry Shea’s decision to have Donald Lindsey throw a 51-yard halfback pass with a 28-point lead.

The play didn’t lead to a touchdown--just some hard feelings--but it’s not as if San Jose State needed a score at the time. The Spartans were already well on their way to a 35-7 victory in front of 10,112.

The halfback option probably stirred memories of Murphy’s last trip to San Jose, when the Spartans attempted a two-point conversion after a touchdown that gave them a 37-0 lead in the first half of a 44-6 victory last season.

But Murphy wasn’t about to stir it up afterward. Asked if he thought the play was a bit excessive, Murphy said, “That’s not for me to say.”

San Jose State made a strong statement, though, clinching at least a share of the Big West Conference championship. Many thought the Spartans (6-3, 6-0 conference) wouldn’t be good enough to repeat as champions, but they’ll be playing Fresno State Nov. 23 for a California Raisin Bowl berth.

And Shea will have one tough decision: Who to start at quarterback?

Sophomore Jeff Garcia, making his second consecutive start in place of injured senior Matt Veatch, completed 15 of 23 passes for 233 yards and rushed for 72 yards and two touchdowns. Garcia threw five touchdown passes in last week’s 55-12 win over Nevada Las Vegas.

“He’s a pretty good backup quarterback, isn’t he?” Murphy said. “I knew after watching them play Vegas that he’s a very capable quarterback. (Shea) is gonna have a heck of a decision to make.”

Shon Ellerbe, making his first major-college start at tailback, added 89 yards rushing and a touchdown, and Maceo Barbosa had 78 yards rushing and two touchdowns for San Jose State.

The Spartans, who had seven sacks against UNLV, got to Titan quarterback Chad May seven times for a loss of 64 yards. Former Fountain Valley High School and Golden West College standout Jeff Greeney, a Spartan linebacker, had two sacks and two tackles for losses.

San Jose State, which had 670 total yards in last year’s victory over Fullerton, racked up 515 yards Saturday night, compared to the Titans’ 241.

The Spartans converted three fourth-down plays on three touchdown drives.

But it was the Titans who scored first. A pair of fluke plays helped give Fullerton a 7-0 lead with 3:51 left in the first quarter.

First, Phil Nevin’s short punt glanced off San Jose State safety Troy Jensen’s leg and was recovered by the Titans’ Keary Johns at the Spartan 10-yard line.

On the next play, May scrambled to his left and fired to Kerry Reed, who was streaking across the end zone. The pass caromed off Reed’s shoulder pads and into the hands of tight end Robert Bedford, who caught it at the three and carried several defenders into the end zone for a touchdown, the first scoring pass of May’s career.

The lead was short-lived. San Jose State went 74 yards in three plays, including Ellerbe’s 58-yard touchdown run on a draw, to make it 7-7 with 2:27 remaining in the quarter.

The Spartans added two more touchdowns in the second quarter, the first on Barbosa’s 20-yard run and the second on Garcia’s one-yard run, and the rout was on.

Garcia set up Barbosa’s touchdown by running 19 yards on a fourth-and-one play, and he set up his own score by passing 34 yards to Gary Charlton to reach Fullerton’s one-yard line.

The first half featured two big hits, the first of which sent Titan receiver Anthony Pack to the locker room and the second of which sent the Spartans well on their way to their third touchdown.

On the fourth play of the game, Pack ran a quick in-pattern, dropped a pass and was flattened by San Jose State safety Hesh Colar. Pack wobbled as he got up, then fell back to the ground. He suffered a concussion and shoulder injury and was unable to return.

Late in the second quarter, Colar, the Spartan’s punt returner, let a Nevin punt bounce by him. Colar, not one to let an opportunity to hit an opponent slip by, blocked two Titans as the ball was still rolling.

Fullerton’s Dan Godfrey, perhaps hoping to avenge Colar’s hit on Pack, nailed Colar from the side, but just as the ball was ruled dead. Godfrey received a 15-yard personal-foul penalty, which gave San Jose State a first down on the Fullerton 45. Three plays and 20 seconds later, the Spartans scored for a 21-7 lead.

The Titans also lost leading rusher Reggie Yarbrough, who sprained his left ankle midway through the second quarter and was unable to return. By the fourth quarter, he was on crutches wearing street clothes.

San Jose State added a third-quarter touchdown on Barbosa’s three-yard run and a fourth-quarter touchdown on Garcia’s six-yard run.