COLLEGE NOTEBOOK : Mauldin Prefers Run to the Shoot

Joe Mauldin has put the run back in the run-and-shoot.

In the past two games, Valley’s sophomore quarterback has rushed for 455 yards and four touchdowns in 34 carries.

About one-third of those runs have been planned quarterback draws. On the others he improvised and, as a result, gained more yardage running than passing (390).

“He’s never wrong for running because he’s such a special guy back there with the ball,” Valley Coach Jim Fenwick said. “I don’t know if it’s good or not but it’s working, so it’s hard to say not to do it.”

VALLEY’S CATCH-22

Valley has the Western State Conference’s top offense, but defensively the Monarchs are reeling.

In losses to Santa Monica and Bakersfield, the front-runners in the WSC Southern Division, Valley allowed 99 points and 1,074 yards.

The Monarch defense has been beset by injuries but Fenwick is trying not to use that as an excuse.

“I don’t know if injuries are the reason for the way we’re playing,” the Valley coach said. “We’re kind of in a state of confusion. We’re just not organized very well, and we’ve lost a lot of confidence.”

One reason Valley might seem disorganized is the Monarchs have several defenders playing new positions. Linebackers have moved to the line and defensive backs have been made linebackers and ends.

“We have people switching around, so we’ve tried to be more basic,” Fenwick said. “But you have to be strong to play straight up with the better teams, and we don’t have the big, physical kids on defense.”

PARRA FOR THE COURSE

Cesar Parra did not need to run up big numbers in Pierce’s 21-7 win over L.A. Southwest last week to earn the praise of Brahma Coach Bill Norton.

“Cesar had a real good game,” Norton said of his quarterback. “Basically, we asked him to do two things: Audibilize, and when you throw, don’t throw it to (the opposing team).”

Parra completed five of 11 passes for 54 yards, but more important, he did not commit a turnover.

“(Southwest) scores by making big plays on defense,” Norton said. “They have to cause turnovers, that’s how they win. We knew they weren’t going to score on our defense. We just wanted to make sure they weren’t going to score on our offense, either.

“When we got up, 14-0, we started running out the clock.”

FINE LINE

Justin Fix made eight tackles (including four unassisted and two for losses), had 1 1/2 sacks, caused a fumble, made two fumble recoveries, forced three passes and deflected another, but the most impressive component of his effort against L.A. Southwest involved what he didn’t do: He didn’t get penalized.

Fix, Pierce’s fiery freshman nose guard, earned a reputation for over-aggressiveness early this season.

He was called for personal fouls in each of Pierce’s first five games--often more than once, and occasionally at inopportune times.

But the past two games he has performed flag-free.

“Justin is learning to live right on the edge,” Norton said. “There’s a line of aggressiveness where you want to be. He was playing over that line for a while, but I think now he’s learned just how far he can push things without going over.”

BREAKDOWN

In a 49-20 loss last Saturday to Southern Utah, the Cal State Northridge defense had something in common for the first time with the 1991 team that surrendered an average of 44.3 points in its last four games.

The ’92 Matadors were victimized by a series of big plays:

--A 28-yard touchdown run by Zed Robinson.

--A 49-yard touchdown catch by tight end Ryan Moynier, who beat free safety Gerald Ponder in single coverage.

--A 24-yard reception by Robinson on third and 17. After Northridge pulled within 21-7, Southern Utah quarterback Rick Robins beat a blitz with a screen pass to Robinson, who turned upfield, splitting two defenders. On another third-down play later in the drive, cornerback Vinnie Johnson was beaten to the end zone by Mike Key for an 11-yard touchdown.

--A 71-yard reception by Key. Although the Matadors had drawn within two touchdowns (28-14) with plenty of time left (11:36 remaining in the third quarter), their backs were broken when Key fooled cornerback Mike Brown (who had replaced Johnson).

“We didn’t have a player that played in the secondary today that had a good game,” Northridge Coach Bob Burt said.

HIGH ON THE HOGS

Arkansas sophomore Deena Drossin, from Agoura High, won her second consecutive women’s Southeastern Conference cross-country title Monday when she timed 18 minutes 6.8 seconds over a muddy, rain-soaked 5,000-meter course at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.

Drossin’s win helped the No. 2-ranked Razorbacks to their second consecutive team title and marked the first time that a woman has won consecutive SEC cross-country titles.

ALUMNI WATCH

Three former standouts from the region placed among the top 10 in their respective events at the Pacific 10 Conference cross-country championships Saturday at the Stanford Golf Course.

Arizona senior Jaime Galindo, formerly of Ventura College, placed fifth in the men’s race to help the Wildcats to a second-place finish behind Oregon in the team standings. UCLA, led by junior Creighton Harris in 10th place, finished third. Harris is a 1990 graduate of Hoover High.

Wildcat junior Jean Harvey placed ninth in the women’s race to pace Arizona to a third-place finish behind Oregon and Washington. Harvey won the state junior college cross-country title for Antelope Valley last year.

OH, CLEMENTS’ TIME

Northridge’s Missy Clements, a sophomore outside hitter, could get increased playing time after her performance in last week’s Northridge Invitational.

After starting most of her freshman season, the 5-foot-11 Clements has had to adapt to a reserve role this year. But with sophomore outside hitter Ana Kristich nursing a sore shoulder, Clements was used frequently during the Matadors’ 4-0 run through the tournament.

Clements, who had 40 kills and a .437 hitting percentage during the tournament, was instrumental in the Matadors’ 15-8, 10-15, 15-11, 15-5 title-clinching victory over Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. She had 10 kills in the last two games after replacing Kristich, her former teammate at La Habra High.

SOUNDS OF SPRING

When Northridge started fall baseball drills Monday, a familiar figure could be seen pitching in the bullpen at Matador Field.

Steven Morales has recovered physically--though not completely mentally--from a fractured bone in his right (throwing) forearm incurred last spring in a game against Nevada.

His arm was in a cast for two months. It wasn’t until July that he started tossing a ball--very softly--to his 10-year-old brother, Erick.

However, that is no longer the case.

Northridge catcher Mike Sims says Morales “is back--all the way back.” And perhaps even stronger. “If anything, I think my velocity actually has increased,” Morales said.

He threw 40 pitches on Oct. 4. Two days later, he made 60. By the end of the week, Morales felt strong enough to face batters during an informal workout.

“I aired it out, all fastballs, 48 pitches,” he said. “There were a lot of hugs and handshakes that day. I actually wanted to cry it felt so good.”

In the last two weeks, Morales has been throwing a slider, a pitch he concedes he is not comfortable with.

“My slider puts the most stress on my arm,” he said. “I’m a little scared to let it go.”

Morales is confident any lingering fears will subside as he regains his competitive form. Among others, he credits Dr. Lester Cohn, the Northridge team orthopedist, for helping him toward a healthy return.

In researching the injury, Cohn found documentation of 17 similar cases, Morales said. Two were baseball players--the others were javelin throwers.

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