Bullish Marauder Rumbles On

Kasey Young plays fullback for Antelope Valley College. And he is a “full” back.

“He’s not exactly what you would expect,” said Brent Carder, Antelope Valley’s coach.

He’s more.

Young, a freshman from Mojave High, is 5 feet 10 and 256 pounds. Among a handful of Bull Elephant backs for the Marauders, Young has emerged as the team’s top ballcarrier.

Young’s 158 rushing yards in a 41-14 victory at San Diego Mesa last week earned him Foothill Conference player-of-the-week honors. Young ranks fifth among conference rushers with 290 yards and has scored three touchdowns.

“He has a surprisingly quick move at the hole,” Carder said. “Then he starts rumbling downfield.”

Young has the longest gain this season for Antelope Valley, a 58-yard run against Mesa in which two defensive backs struggled to bring down the big back, finally resorting to tripping him.

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Carder, who became head coach at Antelope Valley in 1970, ranks third in the nation among active junior college coaches in victories and continuous years of service.

Carder’s 160 victories entering the season ranked him behind John Eliasik of William Rainey Harper (180) in Palatine, Ill., and David Bolstorff of Waldorff (167) in Forest City, Iowa.

Carder’s 29 seasons at Antelope Valley ranks him behind Bolstorff (31st season) and Pepper Lysaker of Mesabi (30th).

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Glendale’s Darrell Durham moved to third on the school career rushing list with a 165-yard performance last week against Ventura. Durham, a sophomore, has 2,195 yards.

Pathon Rucker (1992-93) is the Vaqueros’ career rushing leader with 2,900 yards. Bill Renison (1961-62) is second with 2,260 yards.

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Don’t expect to watch on television the game between host Cal State Northridge and Montana State on Oct. 24, a matchup with potential Big Sky Conference title ramifications.

Fox Sports Network, which is broadcasting five conference games this season through Fox Sports Northwest, is not planning to carry the Northridge game.

“We would let them cherry pick it, you bet,” said Doug Fullerton, Big Sky commissioner. “Northwest kind of hesitates to go down to L.A. and do games. They prefer to do games in their region because that’s what they’re familiar with.”

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Former Agoura High tight end Marcus Helfman, a freshman who transferred last summer from California to Moorpark College, said he intends to return to Cal in January.

Helfman is sharing duties with freshman Byron Burnett from Moorpark High.

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As it has all season, the Cal Lutheran football team relied on defense last Saturday in a 10-6 victory over Chapman. The Kingsmen allowed a season low in points and only 174 yards.

“Our defense is awesome,” Cal Lutheran quarterback Zack Hernandez said. “It’s a good feeling to know that you can score 10 points and still come away with the win.”

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Ryan Geisler provided the margin of victory for Cal Lutheran against Chapman.

After missing eight consecutive field goals in the Kingsmen’s first three games and losing his job to punter Mark Kevern, Geisler capitalized on another chance.

With Kevern bothered by a foot injury, Geisler converted a 37-yard field goal and also made his only point-after try.

“It was great to see him come through like that,” Cal Lutheran Coach Scott Squires said.

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Staff writers Vince Kowalick, Fernando Dominguez and correspondent Lauren Peterson contributed to this notebook.