Northridge Offense Bogs Down in Loss to San Luis Obispo

SAN LUIS OBISPO —  An offense that came to life with such verve just one week ago was buried Saturday night on a muddy Mustang Stadium field. Except for a 75-yard run by Bill Harris, Cal State Northridge sputtered in a 28-16 loss to archrival Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

The battle of co-defending Western Football Conference champions followed a different script than last season’s two dramatic scrapes, but the result was the same--a Northridge loss, and it dropped the Matadors to 3-4, 1-1 in the WFC.

CSUN remained alive in the conference race because only one team, Portland State, is undefeated.

Last week, Northridge rolled up 45 points and 519 yards against Santa Clara and celebrated the long-awaited ripening of its offensive potential.

This week, San Luis Obispo stopped that momentum by forcing four turnovers and beating the WFC’s best defense with a series of big plays.

Not only was CSUN snakebit by turnovers, the Matadors were minus the services of starting quarterback Marty Fisher, who left early in the second quarter because of flu.

“It hurts worse than being out there and losing,” said Fisher, who was weak for practice but felt stronger Friday and before the game.

“I did what I could in the first quarter but then my legs got wobbly and the ball wasn’t going where I wanted it to,” Fisher said.

Northridge Coach Bob Burt said: “The difference was not having Marty Fisher. . . . Secondly, it was the play of our special teams.”

The special teams allowed a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by former Ventura High standout Chris Thomas and failed to convert on a fake punt.

San Luis Obispo (3-4, 1-1) led just, 6-0, at halftime, but the game changed considerably when Damone Scott replaced Fisher.

“It was kind of a tough situation,” Scott said. “Maybe because I wasn’t here last year I didn’t understand the magnitude of this game. When I got out there, I could feel it. It was a game within a game.”

It could have been worse in the first half, but Northridge escaped disaster with a pair of strong goal-line stands.

The first followed a high snap that gave San Luis Obispo the ball on the CSUN 25.

On three plays inside the five-yard line, the CSUN defense was stingy and on fourth down, kicker Tom McCook missed on a 20-yard field-goal attempt.

Unfortunately, the Northridge defense did not have long to celebrate its goal-line stand.

Three plays later, Fisher’s pass was intercepted by Steve Lombardi and the Mustangs took over on their 38-yard line.

In just three plays, San Luis Obispo did what it could not do moments earlier--it crossed the goal line on Daryl McChristian’s 26-yard run for a 6-0 lead with 6 minutes 25 seconds left in the first half.

Northridge responded by turning the ball over for the third consecutive time.

On Scott’s first play, the snap was fumbled and San Luis Obispo’s Eric Alexander recovered on the CSUN 10.

“It just wasn’t a clean exchange,” Scott said.

Fortunately for him, the CSUN defense held again. After a nine-yard first-down run by McChristian, the Mustangs were stopped three times on the one-yard line. David Lafferty was denied on a second down quarterback sneak, Ken Jackson tripped McChristian on third down and Alo Sila snuffed McChristian on fourth down.

On the second-half kickoff, Northridge encountered more misfortune. Kickoff returner Tremelle Barnes was hit from behind by Lombardi who knocked the ball into the air and into the hands of Mustang kicker McCook at the CSUN 34.

Three plays later, fullback Baldomar Cortez broke out of the grasp of Eric Treibatch and Mario Hull and bulled his way to the goal line where he carried CSUN’s Troy Thomas and Barnes with him into the end zone.

The conversion pass failed, leaving San Luis Obispo with a 12-0 advantage with 14:16 left in the third quarter.

Sparked by a 39-yard kickoff return by Barnes, Northridge responded with its first score of the night--a 32-yard field goal by Dan Eastman with 11:14 left in the third quarter.

The Matadors maintained the momentum when Sila ripped the ball out of Lafferty’s hands on the Mustangs’ ensuing possession. The ball rolled free and Hull dived to beat the Mustangs for the fumble recovery.

“We just wanted to come back so bad and try to win,” said Sila, who was covered with mud. “It is such a disappointment for the guys who played last year and for the seniors.”

On the very next play, Harris gave CSUN a chance with a 75-yard touchdown--CSUN’s longest running play of the season. Eastman’s kick made it 12-10 with 8:26 left in the third quarter.

CSUN’s celebration was short-lived. Just 15 seconds later, Thomas returned the ensuing kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, pushing the Mustangs’ advantage to 19-10.

“I guess I sparked us and his (Thomas) return threw water on the fire,” Harris said.

A trick play that could have kept the Matadors within striking distance failed on Northridge’s next possession.

On fourth and five from the Northridge 47, punter Albert Razo passed to wide-open reserve defensive back Kevin Carmichael, who was unable to make the catch despite a diving attempt.

Burt was critical of Razo, the team’s third-string quarterback because he tried too hard to make the perfect pass instead of lofting the ball.

The Mustangs added a touchdown and a field goal and Northridge scored with 46 seconds left on a 66-yard pass from wide receiver Cornell Ward to Paul Peters. It was Ward’s third touchdown pass of the season.