Northridge Uses Kane to Run Past Sonoma St., 35-17

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. —  Of the several hundred teams Bob Burt could have been matched against in his debut as Cal State Northridge football coach, he drew Sonoma State.

Now that’s what you call beginner’s luck.

This is the seventh year Sonoma State has had a football team and the Cossacks are still looking for their first winning season. If their performance in a 35-17 loss to Northridge on Saturday in Sonoma is any indication, it may be another dry year here in wine country.

Cossacks, in case you were wondering, were Russian warriors back in the 17th and 18th centuries. They were fearsome and almost invincible in their battles.

Sonoma’s Cossacks aren’t so rough and tough. If fact, their loss to Northridge can be directly attributed to one 5-10, 185-pound running back named Mike Kane.

Kane all but disappeared from the Matador attack last season when former coach Tom Keele instituted a pass-happy run-and-shoot offense.

Under Burt, however, Northridge seems very content with a much more simplistic strategy. The Matadors line up Kane and four other talented backs behind a line that averages 260 pounds and they play a little bash mouth. And these modern-day Cossacks came away bloodied.

Northridge rushed for 227 yards against Sonoma--122 by Kane, whose last game over 100 was against the Cossacks last season. Tailbacks Richard Brown and Lance Harper, along with fullbacks LeVelle Brown and Duane Lawlor, also ran the ball effectively, combining for 133 yards. “Our offense doesn’t give the other team a rest,” Kane said. “If I’m not coming at them, Brown or our fullbacks are. We can all run it.”

It’s a good thing that it doesn’t appear to matter which runner carries the ball. Burt will have enough trouble deciding who should be handing it off.

Teams with record-setting passers returning aren’t supposed to have quarterback quandaries. But that is exactly what has developed at Northridge. The incumbent, Chris Parker, started Saturday’s game slowly and eventually had to leave in the first half because of a shoulder strain. The Matadors trailed, 7-0, at the time of his departure. When he returned in the fourth quarter, Northridge was leading, 28-14.

Danny Fernandez, who was the team’s starter for the first three games of last season before Parker beat him out, took over at the beginning of the second quarter to lead the Matadors to three scoring drives in their next four possessions. His presence seemed to settle down the Northridge offensive line, which was having trouble with a Sonoma defense that was blitzing from just about every possible angle.

“Maybe I calmed them down, or maybe it was just a coincidence,” Fernandez said, “because as soon as I got out on the field, everything really started coming together.”

That was in direct contrast to the way things were midway through the first period when Northridge seemed to be falling apart.

The biggest boo-boo was a fake punt Northridge tried. After the team lined up in punt formation, the ball was snapped to Kane, the blocking back. He was stopped a yard short of the first down.

Normally, such a try is applauded as gutsy. Except this one was on a fourth-and-eight situation from Northridge’s own seven-yard line.

A rookie coaching mistake? “No,” Burt said. “Just a terrible call.” A call that setup Sonoma’s first touchdown. Two plays later, Cossack quarterback Don Mefferd connected with tight end Jerry Morrison on a 16-yard touchdown.

Burt was philosophical about his blunder after the game. “Once they see this film, you can bet teams will be thinking twice about going after a blocked punt. No matter where we are,” he said.

Northridge tied the score at 7-7 on the second series of downs that Fernandez was in the game.

The Matadors drove 77 yards in 11 plays, the key being a holding call against Sonoma on a punt play. The penalty gave Northridge an automatic first down at its own 35.

From there, a 36-yard burst by Kane over right tackle helped move the Matadors into scoring position. Three plays after that run, Kane bolted over from nine yards out for the first of his three touchdowns.

Northridge took a 21-7 advantage at the half by also scoring on its next two possessions. Fernandez hit Richard Brown with a six-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-7 and Kane added a one-yard scoring run with 1:10 left in the half.

Kane’s last score came on a 10-yard run midway through the third period. The matadors wrapped up the scoring on a six-yard pass play from Parker to Chris Van Duin in the fourth quarter.

Parker, who threw for 2,658 yards last season, completed seven of 12 passes for 76 yards. Fernandez threw for 51 yards and connected on six of nine attempts.

Burt will take a look at the film of the game before deciding who the starter will be against Cal State Hayward next week. “I think we can with either one of them,” he said.

As for the quarterbacks themselves, both refused to take part in the start of any controversy.

“I really don’t know what will happen,” Fernandez said. “Chris did a great job last season. He’s a great quarterback. I think the competition makes us both better.”

Said Parker: “Danny did a super job today. He got us going. I feel comfortable with either one of us out there. If Danny can help us win, I’d be happy to see him out there. If I can do it, I’d be even happier to see me out there.”

Sonoma’s final touchdown came its first possession of the second half when Mefferd hit Darren Decker with a 39-yard pass at the Matador 35, and, with CSUN’s Daniel Jordan draped all over him, Decker lateraled to Darrin Phillips, who ran it in from there.

The Cossacks added a 27-yard field goal by Dennis Hochman with 1:37 left in the game to round out the scoring.

Notes

Reggie Wauls, a linebacker who led Northridge with 126 tackles last season, sprained his ankle near the end of the first quarter and sat out the rest of he game. Burt said he expects Wauls to be ready for the Hayward game.