Idaho State Falls Short of CSUN

It would have been too cruel to deny the Cal State Northridge football team a winning season. Not after what happened in the final minutes of a 42-40 victory over Idaho State on Saturday night at Holt Arena before a crowd of 6,006.

Playing without wide receiver David Romines and running back Norman Clarke, both sidelined by injuries, the Matadors saw a nine-point fourth quarter lead almost evaporate in surreal fashion in the Big Sky Conference game.

Northridge (6-4, 3-3) wasn’t assured victory and its first winning season since 1990 until James Ferrell’s 57-yard field-goal attempt fell a few yards short with 32 seconds remaining.

Earlier, the Matadors helped the Bengals drive down the field by committing three personal foul penalties. Then freshman quarterback Shane Griggs was about to be sacked by Herman Santiago on a third-and-goal play.

But Griggs somehow escaped and raced 11 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 42-40 with 3 1/2 minutes left.

The Matadors appeared to clinch the victory with a long pass from Aaron Flowers to Cameron Perry. But Perry was stripped of the ball by Jarmaine Johns. After a long discussion, officials ruled neither team gained possession as the ball rolled into the end zone.

Idaho State was awarded the ball at its 18, the spot where Perry fumbled, with 3:08 left.

The Bengals drove to the Northridge 31 but Marc Goodson sacked Griggs for a nine-yard loss, forcing Ferrell’s desperation kick.

“I just came in untouched,” Goodson said. “I only blitzed twice that game and I got him.”

It was the last of Goodson’s 15 tackles, setting a Northridge season record of 135.

Still, the 57-yarder was no longshot. Earlier Ferrell made a 51-yarder with yards to spare.

“When games come down to one play, it’s part of football, but it also comes down to character,” said Flowers, who completed 17 of 28 passes for 431 yards and two touchdowns. “No one can question our character.”

“We’re winners, it doesn’t matter how it happened,” Baldwin said.

“We were able to do it in a year and a half when nobody outside of Northridge thought we could.”

Character came in several different ways for the Matadors. Third-string running back Jeramie Thomas gained 95 yards in 11 carries in barely over a quarter, highlighted by a 38-yard touchdown run on which he broke three tackles.

The Matadors slowed Craig Joseph, who gained 174 yards in 41 carries.

Flowers set a Northridge season record with 3,040 passing yards.

Perry stepped in for Romines, catching five passes for 160 yards.

And Northridge survived missed field goals of 45 and 46 yards by Manny Marquez in the fourth quarter.

“They weren’t chip-shots, but we should have got one of those,” Baldwin said.

All of Northridge’s offense came in the final three quarters. The opening quarter was a disaster. Northridge ran just six offensive plays and had minus 22 yards.

After holding the Bengals (3-6, 1-5) to a 10-0 lead, Northridge got into the game when Flowers hit Romines on a 90-yard touchdown pass play.

On Idaho State’s next offensive play, Griggs dropped the snap then bobbled the ball into the end zone, where is was recovered by Northridge safety Steve Standifer, and Northridge, led 14-10.

Flowers completed eight of 11 passes for 270 yards in a 35-point second quarter and the Matadors went to halftime with a 35-26 lead.

Clarke gained 83 yards in 16 carries before he was hit hard on a third-quarter fumble and left the game for good.