Going Under Didn’t Go Over Too Well With Matadors

So how does it feel to be record-breakers?

Linebacker Lewis Blanton of Northridge stared at the scoreboard for a brief moment after Northridge’s 64-61 Big Sky Conference loss to Cal State Sacramento and summed up his teammates’ feelings.

“I don’t like that,” he said.

Like it or not, Northridge is in the record books--albeit for dubious reasons.

The Matadors’ 61 points set an NCAA Division I record for the most points scored by a losing team. The 125 points set a Division I record.

It also was the highest scoring game involving Sacramento.

“Do you believe that one?” receiver Gil Rodriguez said.

Coach Jeff Kearin was surprised by the record. Several Northridge players said word began to trickle along the sidelines as the clock began to tick down.

“I was sure of it,” linebacker Cos Abercrombie said. “They were talking about it on the sidelines.”

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Charles Roberts passed four backs on the career NCAA rushing list for all divisions, moving into fifth place with 6,364 yards.

Roberts passed each on consecutive second-half drives, moving ahead of Ricky Williams of Texas (6,279 yards), Richard Huntley of Winston-Salem (6,286), Johnny Bailey of Texas A&M-Kingsville; and Damian Beane of Shepherd (6,346).

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Before Saturday, the highest-scoring games in NCAA history by division were as follows--Division I-A: Oklahoma 82, Colorado 42 (1980); I-AA: Weber State 63, Eastern Washington 59 (1991); Division II: North Park 104, North Central 32 (1968).

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Julien Sells not only leads the Big Sky Conference in kick returns, he leads the nation.

Sells entered against Sacramento State averaging 34.4 yards a return, ahead of Richard Holland of Virginia Military Institute, who averages 34.3.

Against Sacramento, Sells had four returns for 64 yards, including a 26-yard return in the first quarter.

Sells’ skills as a running back are being called upon, too. Sells, a junior transfer from Fresno State, rushed for 2,019 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior in 1995 while leading Castle Park High to a San Diego Section championship.

Sells rushed for 24 yards in seven carries against Sacramento.

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Roberts isn’t the only Sacramento player on the record-breaking path. Receivers Lamont Webb and Scott Towne are locked in a battle to become the Hornets’ career leader in receiving yards.

Webb entered Saturday with 1,591 yards. Towne, who leads Sacramento with 38 receptions, had 1,516.

Webb tied a school career record with his 15th touchdown reception, a 25-yard scoring pass from Ricky Ray late in the first half.