CSUN Exploits Davis Mistakes : Matadors Coast to 52-13 Win That Leaves Aggies Reeling

Defensive back Joseph Vaughn of Cal State Northridge is getting pretty good at this interception business.

Hang around in the secondary for a few plays, wait for the opposition quarterback to unload a knuckleball over the middle, then catch it and bolt untouched for a touchdown.

Simple.

Easy as Saturday night’s 52-13 nonconference blitz of UC Davis before 4,518 at North Campus Stadium, in fact.

Vaughn, a senior, has returned two interceptions for touchdowns in as many weeks. Saturday, the free safety from Sylmar High cruised 81 yards for a third-quarter touchdown, his second interception of the night and third of the season.

Let’s see, that would be 10 touchdowns in as many games at this pace, right, Joe?

“I’ve got to do a little more work,” said Vaughn, who also recovered a fumbled punt. “I had a couple more that I should have caught.”

Catch this: Vaughn’s touchdown irrefutably underscored the ease in which Northridge (1-1) strafed Davis, which isn’t used to being treated so rudely.

The game was a rare laugher at the expense of the Aggies. A cakewalk? Depends on who was doing the talking, it seems.

“It wasn’t easy,” Coach Bob Burt said. “I’ve never been in an easy game as a coach or a player.”

The Matador offense, led by quarterback J.J. O’Laughlin’s three scoring passes, rolled up 366 yards, most of it in the first three quarters. O’Laughlin completed 13 of 21 passes for 246 yards and also scored on a one-yard keeper before he was relieved.

“Last year, we put up big stats and didn’t win,” said O’Laughlin, who threw for 337 yards and five touchdowns in a 48-38 loss to Davis in 1993. “I’m much happier with this.”

The last time Northridge scored more points was in a 56-20 victory over University of San Diego in 1977.

The rout was among the worst in the history of Davis, whose track record in NCAA Division II is storied. Only three times had Davis surrendered more points in a game.

“It’s the toughest loss I can remember,” said second-year Coach Bob Biggs. “They got the momentum early and we couldn’t establish our offense. It was downhill from there.”

It marked the most points allowed by Davis since a 54-0 loss to Cal in 1934, when most of the players’ parents weren’t even born. It was Davis’ worst loss in point differential since a 41-0 defeat by Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 1987.

All this carnage against a team that was 10-2 in 1993 and had beaten Northridge in nine of the past 11 meetings. Shoot, Northridge hadn’t scored more than 20 points in 16 previous meetings with Davis until last season.

At one point in the third quarter, Northridge led, 42-0, by which time the Matadors had intercepted four Mark Grieb passes. Grieb, a sophomore who was making his first start, completed 17 of 30 for 151 yards.

“Obviously we’re not settled at quarterback,” Biggs said.

Just about everybody wearing Northridge red and black had a hand in the blowout. The Matadors put away the Aggies in a flash--in 16 seconds, in fact. The same thing happened in reverse a week earlier in a 40-19 Northridge loss to Boise State.

With the Matadors holding a 14-0 lead, Davis drove to the Northridge 27-yard line, but freshman Jeremy Wilgus missed a 45-yard field-goal attempt. A heartbeat later, the issue was all but over.

On the next play from scrimmage, O’Laughlin hit David Romines down the left sideline. Romines faked defensive back Bobby Bluford, who fell down, allowing Romines to scoot 73 yards for a 21-0 lead with five seconds remaining in the first quarter.

It made for another trivia footnote: It was the longest Northridge touchdown pass since Albert Fann scored from 75 yards in 1988.

The defense essentially iced things two plays later, on the first play of the second quarter. After an incomplete pass, Vaughn’s backfield mate, safety James (Scoody) Woods, intercepted a toss over the middle by Grieb. Woods cruised untouched into the end zone from 32 yards for a 28-0 lead.

Davis misfired in every way, turning the ball over three times in the first half--with two leading to touchdowns.

Davis running back Rusty Stivers set the tone when he dropped a handoff on the third play of the game. Freshman nose guard Dan Lazarovits recovered at the Davis 19-yard line. Four plays later, the Matadors were up, 7-0, after a nine-yard run by tailback Mark Harper.

At the half, by which time Northridge held a 35-0 lead, Davis had managed only five rushing yards.