Glendale Win Answered the Question

Was Glendale College’s 41-16 rout of Bakersfield, previously ranked fourth in the state, really an upset?

Glendale Coach John Cicuto isn’t sure.

“We watched film and the first time we watched it I didn’t even know if we’d stay within 30 points of them they were so dominant,” Cicuto said. “But, then, after you keep watching for hours and hours you get a feel for what they’re doing and learn to look at their opponents.

“One of the questions we had was, ‘How good were the teams they played?’ ”

Perhaps not so good. Bakersfield’s previous opponents--Taft, Ventura and Santa Barbara City--are a combined 4-8.

HOLDING THE LINE

Albert Kawaoka might be the only defensive lineman from Glendale who is big, strong and fast enough to have a future playing at a moderately successful Division I school.

“We don’t have any big-time stars on our defensive line, but up to this point it might be our best team ever in terms of playing hard and helping each other out,” Cicuto said.

Kawaoka, who can squat-lift more than 500 pounds and bench-presses almost as much, is 6-feet, 255 pounds. Fellow lineman Greg Garrison is 6-0, 250, but the other half of the Vaquero front four is undersized. Richard Pacheco is 5-9, 230 and Eric Steinlight is 6-1, 200.

Yet Bakersfield, which had been averaging more than 400 yards a game, gained only 289 against Glendale.

According to Cicuto, the line’s performance can be best judged by who made the most tackles. The leaders were Scott Blade (eight unassisted, one assisted, one pass deflected) and Pat Kennelly (six unassisted, one assisted). Both are inside linebackers.

“When your inside linebackers are making tackles, you know your line is doing the job,” Cicuto said.

A RECORD RAMPAGE

Bret Washington, The Times’ Valley-area back of the year in 1990, made the most of his first start at tailback for Santa Monica City on Saturday.

Washington, from Granada Hills High, rushed for a school-record 276 yards and a touchdown in 28 carries to lead the Corsairs to a 49-35 win over Santa Barbara City.

The performance earned the 6-foot, 240-pound sophomore recognition as one of four Western State Conference players of the week. Washington, who had 116 yards in 19 carries in Santa Monica’s three previous games, broke the 34-year-old school record of 262 yards held by Lloyd Winston.

REMATCH, ANYONE?

Harbor College, undefeated and lacking respect, is becoming the Rodney Dangerfield of junior college football.

The Seahawks are 4-0 after defeating previously unbeaten Valley, 34-32, last Saturday, yet they are ranked only 12th among Southland teams and are not in the state’s top 20.

“They’re finding a way to win,” Valley Coach Jim Fenwick said. “They have a lot of heart.”

Fenwick blames his players, himself and his coaching staff for the loss rather than crediting Harbor, and he might have a point.

The Seahawks had passed for a total of 54 yards in three games before Saturday. They gained 186 yards and scored two touchdowns through the air against the Monarchs.

“I guess we didn’t give them credit for being explosive,” Fenwick said. “I still don’t think they are. In fact, I’d like to play them again.”

REST FOR THE WEARY

A little rest appears to have proved beneficial to Dawn Krenik, a 5-foot-7 senior on the Cal State Northridge women’s volleyball team.

Hampered by nagging injuries Krenik, from Agoura High, struggled to a .121 hitting percentage during the first 14 matches, but she has hit at a .308 clip since playing in only one game of a match against North Texas in the University of San Diego tournament.

“I’m not sure if (sitting out most of that match) was directly responsible for the way she’s played lately, but she has improved in her hitting since then,” Northridge Coach Walt Ker said. “You’ve got to remember that she had knee surgery (three) years ago, and she had some problems with her hamstrings during the first part of the season.”

GETTING THE MESSAGE

The team seems to be improving with each match, and not by accident, according to Ker. Since being swept by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the opener, Ker has driven players in workouts.

“I really lit a fire under the girls after that match,” Ker said. “We had had some of our best two-a-days ever leading up to that, and yet we totally fell apart in that match both fundamentally and competitively. I promised myself that that was never going to happen to this team again after that match.”

HITTING THE ROAD

Northridge’s chances of qualifying for the NCAA soccer playoffs could be determined over the next two weeks when the Matadors (8-4) play matches on the road against Nevada Las Vegas, 20th-ranked New Mexico and third-ranked UCLA.

Northridge, 0-3 on the road, must finish among the top two teams in the Pacific Division of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation to qualify for the conference’s postseason tournament.

The top two teams from the Mountain and Pacific divisions qualify, with the winner gaining an automatic berth in the NCAA playoffs.

Northridge (2-1) is tied for third with UCLA (which lost to New Mexico) in the Pacific Division standings behind New Mexico and Cal State Fullerton.

STATWATCH

Volleyball: Jennifer Marzahl of Westmont College, a junior from El Camino Real High, leads NAIA District 3 players in hitting percentage with a .374 average. Marzahl is averaging 2.8 kills a game for the Warriors (20-3).

Krenik has moved into third place on the all-time Northridge digs list with 938. Teammates Nancy Nicholls and Patty Fitzsimmons are tied for fourth with 873.

Soccer: Danny Daniels ranks fourth on the all-time Northridge scoring list with 74 points. Daniels, a senior forward, has 28 goals and 18 assists.

Staff writers Mike Hiserman, Theresa Munoz and John Ortega contributed to this notebook.