Myles’ Loss Also Could Be Northridge’s

Victor Myles, a senior defensive tackle for Cal State Northridge, has a strained Achilles’ tendon and a sprained ankle but his injuries are not expected to keep him out of the Matadors’ lineup in their homecoming game Saturday night against Chico State.

However, a funeral might.

Myles’ father, Encell Rodgers, died last Friday of cancer, one day before Cal State Northridge played a game against UC Davis. Myles was not told until the team returned home Sunday.

Myles, a senior defensive tackle, is tied for eighth on the team with 37 tackles, but his absence would be far more reaching than the muscle he provides. He is the Matadors’ defensive captain and one of the team’s spiritual leaders.

“It’s a big loss as far as leadership goes,” nose tackle Tim Gardner said. “He’s a very emotional player. He helps us all get excited on the field.”

Added quarterback J.J. O’Laughlin: “He’s one of the guys who has helped hold this team together.”

Chris Smith probably will start in Myles’ place. Smith, a 6-foot-4, 238-pound freshman from Auburn, Calif., capably filled in against Davis after Myles was injured on the fourth play of the game.

However, Smith can’t be expected to fill Myles’ shoes.

“Having (Myles) in there boosts the confidence of the whole defense,” cornerback Vincent Johnson said.

CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE: Win Tops His Wish List

Saadite Green doesn’t know what to wish for.

Green, a senior wide receiver who transferred to Northridge when Cal State Fullerton disbanded its football program, scored his first collegiate touchdown two weeks ago against Cal State Sacramento with a pass reception. Later in the game, he added a touchdown by scooping up a blocked punt and taking it into the end zone.

Yet the Matadors lost, 31-30.

Last week, Green added two more touchdowns, on pass plays that covered 65 and 31 yards.

Yet Northridge lost to UC Davis, 48-38.

After that game, it was apparent that Green was beginning to feel jinxed.

“Every time I do good it seems like we don’t win,” he said. “Maybe if I don’t score, we’ll win again.”

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Ozan Korkut, a 6-3 guard on the Matador basketball team, comes to Northridge from Istanbul, Turkey.

He has handled many of the adjustments to his new surroundings without missing a beat. He speaks fluent English and reports no problems in the classroom.

But when the Matadors dressed in uniform for picture day last week, it was apparent some things still will take him by surprise.

His new shorts, for instance.

As style dictates, Northridge’s team shorts are long and baggy. Korkut kept trying to pull his up.

“That was kind of strange,” Korkut said. “I still have to get used to that.”

Practice doesn’t start until Saturday, but team members who have seen Korkut play in pickup games report he is a good shooter who needs work on defense.

They also say he tends to be a fancy passer and ballhandler.

“He tends to go through his legs and around his back a lot when it’s really not needed,” one teammate said. “From a fundamental standpoint, he still has some things to learn. He does things you just don’t do here in the States.”

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Matador soccer Coach Marwan Ass’ad is enjoying October again.

“This is the first year (since the move to NCAA Division I in 1990) that we didn’t lose our season in September,” Ass’ad said. “We used to have three, four big games in September and we’d lose them all and be out of playoffs.

“I used to have a great, special time in October in Division II, but in Division I it has been a bore in the past.”

Not this year.

After recent victories over Nevada Las Vegas and New Mexico, Northridge will advance to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation playoffs if it can defeat UC Santa Barbara on Saturday in its conference finale.

A victory over the Gauchos would give Northridge second place behind UCLA in the MPSF’s eight-team Pacific Division. The top two teams from both the Pacific and Mountain divisions are invited to the four-team playoff that determines the overall champion.

The MPSF champion receives an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

Despite the prospect of a possible NCAA tournament berth, Ass’ad said, his team can’t afford to look past Santa Barbara because of its 1-5 MPSF record.

“They beat us, 4-3, in a scrimmage (on Aug. 28),” Ass’ad said. “By no means should it be considered that we’re in.”

JUNIOR COLLEGES: Black Chases Rucker

Running back Michael Black, a former Camp Kilpatrick standout, is quickly stamping a name for himself in his freshman season at West L.A. College.

“He is potentially the best running back I’ve ever coached in my 15 years as an assistant coach or head coach,” Oiler Coach Rob Hager said. “I think the most impressive thing is he has not become complacent with his success.”

Black (6-1, 195) was named offensive co-player of the week in the Western State Conference after rushing 37 times for 263 yards and two touchdowns in a 21-9 victory over L.A. Southwest last Saturday.

The output gave him a strong hold on second place among conference rushers with 819 yards, behind Glendale’s Pathon Rucker (1,122 yards). Black, who has scored five touchdowns, also trails Rucker in all-purpose rushing--1,163 to 977 yards.

Coincidentally, the two finished first and second among area Southern Section rushers in 1990, but in reverse. Black, then a junior, had 2,028 yards in 210 carries and 25 touchdowns; Rucker, then a junior at Glendale High, had 1,878 yards in 229 carries and 29 touchdowns.

CAL LUTHERAN: He’s No Second Banana

It’s not exactly a quarterback controversy at Cal Lutheran, but backup signal-caller Ryan Huisenga is showing he too is capable of running the Kingsmen offense.

The 5-11, 170-pound freshman from Moorpark High has completed 13 of 23 passes for 144 yards. That isn’t all in mop-up duty, either.

When Huisenga entered Saturday’s game at Pomona-Pitzer in place of Adam Hacker, Cal Lutheran was nursing a 19-13 lead with 9 minutes 7 seconds to play. Huisenga directed the Kingsmen on a 14-play, 71-yard touchdown drive, completing two of four passes for 20 yards along the way.

“We just like to give the other guy (Huisenga) some playing time,” Cal Lutheran Coach Joe Harper said. “The interesting thing is, every time he’s come into a ballgame he’s taken the team down to score.”

After being shut out in the first half, the Kingsmen scored 19 points in the third quarter against Pomona. Hacker threw for 75 of his 143 yards in the period, including a 32-yard touchdown pass to Tim Hilton.

Around the Campuses . . .

* Glendale’s Pathon Rucker is the leading rusher in the state with 1,122 yards. Last week, Rucker gained 217 yards to set a school rushing record of 2,338 yards, breaking the mark of 2,260 yards set by Bill Renison in 1961-62. Rucker, a sophomore from Glendale High, needs 385 yards to surpass Bobby Webster’s single-season record of 1,506 yards set in 1990. Glendale has four regular-season games remaining.

* Unbeaten Valley is again ranked seventh in the state in football. Moorpark and Antelope Valley, ranked 17th and 19th, broke into the top 20.

* Cornerback Marlan Bacon intercepted two passes in Antelope Valley’s 32-10 Foothill Conference victory over Victor Valley to tie Tony Upshaw for the team lead with four. Bacon, a sophomore from Mojave High, had one interception last season.

* Robert Trice needs 35 yards against Chico State on Saturday to become the third Cal State Northridge running back to gain 1,000 yards on the ground in a season. Trice’s 965 yards (in 153 attempts) is fifth best in Northridge history. Mike Kane rushed for a school-record 1,565 yards in 1986. Albert Fann stands second, third and fourth on the season list with 1,377 yards in 1989, 998 in ’90 and 973 in ’88. Trice has 1,393 yards in his career, 105 behind Mike Vogel, who is fourth on the school’s all-time list. Fann holds the record with 4,170 yards.

* Yvette Alvarez of Glendale leads WSC volleyball players in kill percentage at 38.9%. Teammate Claudia Henry leads in solo blocks with 30, one more than Alvarez. Judi Gamboa of Ventura leads conference players with 379 assists.

* Senior forward Armando Valdivia of Northridge set a school record for assists with 19 after tallying four in Sunday’s 6-1 victory over New Mexico. Mike McAndrew had 18 in 1985. Valdivia leads the nation in assists and is ranked fourth in points with 51. He leads the Far West region in points, assists and goals (16).

* Northridge sophomore Matt Davis scored three goals against New Mexico, his second hat trick in three matches. He was named the MPSF Pacific Division player of the week.

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Kennedy Cosgrove, Jon Weisman and staff writers Fernando Dominguez, Mike Hiserman and John Ortega contributed to this notebook.