Santa Clara Slips Past CS Northridge, 21-20

There were 21 seconds left and Cal State Northridge, which had just scored a touchdown, trailed Santa Clara by a point.

Surprisingly, Abo Velasco of CSUN lined up to kick the extra point.

Not so surprisingly, his foot never touched the ball.

Instead, Marty Fisher, Northridge’s holder and backup quarterback, spun to his right to set up for a pass.

A pass that never left his hand. Fisher slipped and the Matadors’ chances of sharing the Western Football Conference championship went sliding away, 21-20.

It seemed a curious call; lining up for a conversion that was obviously a fake and putting the game--and possibly the season--in the hands of Fisher, a freshman.

But Bob Burt, Northridge’s coach, said that he had his reasons.

“We had a two on one on that side. We practiced it all week,” Burt said. “We fake it, roll out, and hit whichever one is open. The kid slipped and fell. What are you going to do?”

It was Northridge’s third consecutive loss after four wins in a row.

But it was more than that.

Santa Clara dealt the Matadors their first home loss of this season, before a homecoming crowd of 4,316 at North Campus Stadium.

The Broncos also shattered any chance CSUN had of gaining a tie for first place in the WFC.

Worse yet, the Matadors got mugged by a kid from their own neighborhood.

Santa Clara’s Travis Bargeman, from Alemany High, did maximum damage in a minimum of opportunities.

The 5-9, 160-pound senior caught two passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns.

Bargeman was shut out in the second half, but by that time the damage had been done.

Geoff Cook, the Broncos’ tight end, caught the game-winning pass--a 17-yard strike from John St. Jacques with 3:25 to play.

Northridge, taking the ball at its own 12 with 3:16 remaining, drove the length of the field behind the passing of Sherdrick Bonner to make it painfully close at the end.

Bonner, who had one touchdown pass and seven interceptions in CSUN’s previous four games, saved his best for the Matadors’ last-ditch drive.

He completed seven of nine passes on the march, including four for 54 yards to Anthony Harris.

Northridge’s touchdown came on a Bonner pass to Billy Nealy, who made a leaping grab at the goal line between defenders Dan O’Neil and Dave St. Clair.

Then came the fateful banana-peel fake.

Northridge blew two other fourth-quarter scoring opportunities inside the Bronco 20.

Bonner was involved in both. Early in the quarter, he fumbled the exchange from center and Mike Williams recovered for Santa Clara at the Bronco 15.

Four minutes later, he was stopped cold on a fourth-down sneak at the Santa Clara 15. Instead of gaining the few inches needed, the chains showed more than a foot was lost.

“If you can’t gain three inches, you don’t deserve to win,” Burt said.

Northridge trailed at the half, 14-7--a good sign for Matador fans. In CSUN’s previous four wins, it had trailed at the half.

Albert Fann’s two-yard run early in the third quarter tied the score. Fann finished with 150 yards in 29 carries, marking the fifth time this season he has exceeded 100 yards.

Northridge outgained Santa Clara, 413-346 in total yardage. All but 16 of the Broncos’ yards came through the air.

Defense dominated the first half, although there was almost 400 yards in total offense. A good chunk of that came on the three scoring plays.

Santa Clara scored on its opening possession when Northridge blew a switch in the secondary and left Bargeman alone over the middle. After gathering in a 10-yard throw, Bargeman simply sprinted toward the end zone to complete the 63-yard play.

On the ensuing possession, Fann swept 38 yards to tie the score, 7-7.