At Least the Matadors Didn’t Trip on Field

Cal State Northridge’s trip here wasn’t exactly memorable.

The Matadors left Los Angeles for Kansas City about 10 a.m. Friday and bused 3 1/2 hours to Springfield, arriving at about 8 p.m.

And almost without a trainer’s trunk carrying medical supplies.

“It was checked in as luggage instead of cargo [at LAX],” assistant coach Jeff Kearin said.

The team finally located the trunk but not before one of the two buses was held back to retrieve it.

Northridge held a walk-through practice at Southwest Missouri State’s Plaster Field at about 9 p.m. and some players said they couldn’t fall asleep until 1 or 2 a.m.

They didn’t get much of a break on the way back, either.

The Matadors were scheduled to leave Springfield for Kansas City at 4 a.m. to take an 8:30 a.m. flight to Los Angeles.

Who was their travel agent, the Marquis de Sade?

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Junior linebacker Brennen Swanson’s clutch sack of Derek Jensen on Southwest Missouri State’s final drive increased his total to 14 1/2, tying him with Ken Wallace for most in a season (1996) by a Matador.

End Dan Lazarovits leads Northridge in career sacks with 20 from 1994-97 and Swanson is second with 18. Wallace, a linebacker, is third with 17 1/2.

“I just keep putting on the pressure,” Swanson said. “Eventually, [the sacks] have to happen.”

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Ethan Beck handled all of the kicking for the Matadors because Manny Marquez stayed home nursing a strained quadriceps.

Beck, a sophomore, kicked six extra points and averaged 37.0 yards on four punts.

Josh Fiske, a backup quarterback, was next in line if Beck went down.

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Sophomore Jeremy Golden returned at free safety after a one-game suspension for violating team rules and finished with 12 tackles against the Bears.

Golden, 6 feet and 180 pounds but one of the hardest-hitting Matadors, was forced to bring down 205-pound Maurice Daniels several times. Daniels rushed for 248 yards in 30 carries.

“My neck is trashed,” Golden said. “I took a good shot in the second quarter [tackling Daniels].”

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Daniels is the most-productive running back against the Matadors this season.

Charles Roberts of Cal State Sacramento held the top spot with 231 yards in the Hornets’ 35-21 victory over Northridge on Oct. 17.

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Freshman Marcus Brady, in passing for 466 yards, produced the third-highest single-game total in Northridge history behind Aaron Flowers’ 500 yards against Eastern Washington in 1996 and 469 against Cal State Sacramento last year.