College Football’s Great Impostor Had Them Fooled at Pierce

Pierce College football Coach Bill Norton was among the many people whose jaws dropped when the story of Ron McKelvey, the Texas impostor player, over the weekend.

“I was hoping that somehow there was a mistake,” Norton said. “I was really shocked. . . . My first reaction was, he was such a nice kid, he couldn’t have done that.”

McKelvey, whose real name apparently is Ron Weaver, was an All-State cornerback at Pierce in 1993 and ’94. He played at Texas this season but left the team before Sunday’s Sugar Bowl loss to Virginia Tech amid allegations he was using an assumed identity.

Norton said he never suspected McKelvey was anything but on the level. He even talked to McKelvey on the phone a few times during the season.

“We had a good relationship,” Norton said. “This is a tragedy for Texas, for football, for us [Pierce] and for Ron.”

Jim Rose, who lived with McKelvey while the two were playing at Pierce, said he had no clue about the double identity.

“It was a major shock,” said Rose, who this fall played his senior season at Cal State Northridge. “Things we did, you are not going to think the guy is 30 years old. He was just like one of us.”

Add McKelvey: In his profile in the Texas media guide, McKelvey/Weaver said he pretended as a kid he was Drew Pearson, the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver.

Apparently, he just kept on pretending he was someone else.

Last add McKelvey: Imagine the problem Cowboy owner Jerry Jones would have faced if McKelvey had been available in the NFL draft?

Which one to pick, McKelvey or Weaver?

The answer: Both.

Not coming to America: Just when you thought the federal government shutdown was the farthest thing from the minds of coaches at Cal State Northridge, men’s volleyball Coach John Price said he had hoped to have players from Germany and Finland join the Matadors in time for this season.

But they can’t get visas because of the closed government offices.

“It just kind of cracks me up,” Price said. “It’s funny how you get hit by stuff you don’t expect.”

Quotebook

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“If I would have known this was the day of the big bowl, I wouldn’t have done it. We are not much competition for that.”

--Cal State Northridge basketball Coach Pete Cassidy, on scheduling a game Tuesday night, the same night as the Fiesta Bowl.

Honor Roll

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Junior guard Mike Penberthy, junior center Leo Gorauskas and senior forward James Mosley of The Master’s College were named to the Cal State Chico all-tournament team after the Mustangs defeated the host Wildcats, 84-79, in the championship game Saturday night.

Penberthy, who scored a career-high 42 points in the final, averaged 26 points during the tournament and was selected most valuable player.

Gorauskas averaged 14.7 points and 6.7 rebounds and shot 81.8% (18 of 22) from the field, and Mosley averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

Cal Lutheran guards Dave Ulloa and Mark Heerema were named to the all-tournament team at last week’s Lutheran Brotherhood Classic at Cal Lutheran.

Ulloa, a junior, was the tournament’s most valuable player. He averaged 14 points and 4.5 assists as the Kingsmen (8-2) posted a 2-0 record.

Heerema, a senior, averaged 18.5 points and shot 50% from the field.

Cal State Northridge senior Scia Maumausolo has been picked to the College Sports magazine preseason All-American softball team.

Arizona’s Jenny Dalton, a Glendale High graduate, and Michigan’s Sara Griffin of Simi Valley also were picked.

Northridge was ranked eighth in the preseason top 20.

Things to Do

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The Master’s College men’s basketball team (10-3) will attempt to extend its five-game winning streak when it plays host to Olivet (Ill.) Nazarene 7:30 tonight.

Contributing: Fernando Dominguez, Jeff Fletcher, John Ortega.