A Duel in the Dusk : Quarterback Candidates Brown, Flowers Gun for Top Job as Matadors Prepare for Opener

As they inevitably say on all the good medical shows, just when doctors come out of the operating room and pull off their masks, “Now, all we can do is wait.”

Those waiting most anxiously in this case are Derek Brown and Aaron Flowers, the top two candidates to earn the starting quarterback job at Cal State Northridge.

Coach Dave Baldwin and his staff will fully digest the films of Saturday night’s scrimmage played before about 300 fans at North Campus Stadium, then render their decision, either today or Monday.

“It’s going to be a tough evaluation,” Baldwin said after the offense beat the defense, 17-12--with the defense getting points for turnovers, sacks, big hits and so forth--in the final dress rehearsal for the Sept. 7 season opener at Utah State.

The more important numbers are these:

Brown completed four of seven passes for 42 yards with no interceptions, though he led a 60-yard drive that was capped by Chad Marsalek’s 32-yard scoring run.

Flowers completed six of 11 passes for 59 yards with one interception, on a deflected pass three yards from the end zone.

Brown’s self-analysis: “I feel good. I think I played well, moved the team well. We scored. I feel real confident.

Flowers: “I felt good about it, except for turning the ball over inside the 20. Whether it’s tipped or not, you can’t do that.”

Although Brown, a junior who was the backup last season, came out of spring football as the No. 1 quarterback, most felt he would have a tough time in the fall holding off Flowers, who missed spring football because he was finishing classes at Valley College.

But Brown wasn’t shaken.

“I think the pressure was on [Flowers],” Brown said. “I came in as the No. 1 in the spring and he had to beat me out. I just tried to look straight ahead and not worry about it.”

Flowers, a record-setting passer at Valley, said he’s trying not to worry about the coach’s decision until he hears it.

“I’m going to try not to think about it because it will probably rule my world, and I don’t want to do that,” he said. “I feel like I’ve progressed and gotten better every day.”

The other three quarterbacks--Josh Fiske, Ryan Smith and Scott Swartz--each had about the same number of snaps in the scrimmage as Brown and Flowers. Swartz threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Jerome Henry, a transfer from Iowa State.

A battle similar to that at quarterback is being fought between incumbent Marsalek and newcomer Norman Clarke.

Marsalek ran for 62 yards in four carries in the scrimmage, with Clarke gaining just 17 in three carries.

The star of the receiving corps was David Romines, who led the Matadors in receiving in 1994 but missed last season with a shoulder injury. Romines caught nine passes for 79 yards.

Defensively, linebacker Marc Goodson was impressive and Scott Moorhouse intercepted two passes, returning one 97 yards for an apparent touchdown that was called back because of an illegal block on the return.

Overall, Baldwin was pleased.

“We are 100% ahead of this time last year,” he said. “Is it enough? I don’t know.”