Ngo Receives Passes, Credit in CSUN’s 22-6 Victory

It is entirely possible that every time Cal State Northridge receiver Duc Ngo--pronounced Duck No --runs a pass pattern, a teammate barks out his first name, and the startled defender does .

Otherwise, it would be hard to explain why the small (5-foot-8, 155 pounds) and slow (he has been timed in quite a while in the 40-yard dash) has consistently found himself virtually uncovered as footballs float his way.

Last week he caught eight passes for 77 yards and a touchdown in a win over UC Davis.

And Saturday night he spent the evening as alone as Jimmy Hoffa’s dog, catching four passes from Marty Fisher for 94 yards in the first half and then resting as Northridge cruised to a 22-6 victory over San Francisco State at North Campus Stadium.

Ngo, the leading receiver in each of CSUN’s three games, would have had much higher numbers had Fisher not badly underthrown him on one long play and tailback Jess Garner not underthrown him even more badly on a long option pass, both in the first half.

On both plays, Ngo shook a defender with routine-looking moves and found himself running free, perhaps surprising even Fisher and Garner.

“I just go out and run the route. I find myself open,” Ngo said. “I don’t even think about speed or size. I just run. And I keep finding myself alone.”

There is, he admits, more than good luck involved.

“The key might be that we spend hours and hours watching films of our opponents all week,” he said. “I learn the tendencies of the defensive backs and then use what I’ve learned.”

Fisher finished with 194 yards passing, completing 11 of 21 with no interceptions before giving way to backup Coley Kyman at the start of the fourth quarter. Fisher also appreciates Ngo.

“He runs to the right area every time,” Fisher said of Ngo. “It seems like it’s always the right play at the right time. Tonight we were sucking the defensive backs up with fakes and then Duc got by them.

“I’m not real sure how he does it, but I am getting real used to seeing him open. He’s so smart. That’s more important than raw speed.”

The Matador defense overwhelmed the Gators (1-2), whose only win came last week over a touring amateur club team from Holland. San Francisco State quarterback Tres Sullivan passed for 101 yards, completing only seven of 21 passes, and star running back Richard Parker carried 17 times for 76 yards.

Northridge allowed only a meaningless touchdown with 7 minutes 24 seconds to play on a one-yard dive by Derrick Duren and then blocked the conversion attempt.

San Francisco State split end Chad Zeigler, a former standout at Canyon High and Pierce College, caught three passes for 36 yards. Zeigler was the MVP at Pierce in the 1987 and 1988 seasons.

Last year, as a junior at San Francisco State, he caught 34 passes for 724 yards and his six touchdowns were the most in a season by a Gator since 1975.

But against a tough Northridge secondary led by Gerald Ponder, Kevin Carmichael, Vincent Johnson and Ralph Henderson, his efforts were in vain.

Fisher’s only touchdown pass was a 30-yard strike to Troy Strange early in the game. Strange danced along the back line of the end zone and made an outstanding catch.

The other Northridge touchdown came on a one-yard run by Garner late in the first quarter. Joe Jezulin added field goals of 27, 45 and 32 yards.

Northridge tailback Robert Trice, who started last week in place of the injured Jamal Farmer, saw limited practice time last week because of a hamstring injury and did not start, leaving the Matadors without their top two runners. But Trice entered the game early and showed no effects from the injury that he sustained in last week’s win, rushing for 108 yards in 20 carries.