Titans Pull Together, Beat Southwestern Louisiana

Cal State Fullerton was a team without any fourth-quarter timeouts and little hope here Saturday night.

Then in a span of five minutes, the Titans turned adversity into ecstasy.

Fullerton defeated Southwestern Louisiana, 14-10, at Cajun Field when quarterback Trendell Williams connected with Steve Danzy on a 27-yard touchdown pass with 53 seconds remaining.

The Titans (2-5) trailed Southwestern Louisiana (2-5), 10-0, at halftime. But in the final two quarters, Fullerton limited the Ragin’ Cajuns’ offense to 85 yards; the Titans moved the ball 196.

The Titans’ victory broke a string of 19 road game losses dating back to 1990; they lost all nine road games in 1990, seven in 1991 and three in 1992. The victory also ended an 0-15-1 streak against Division I-A nonconference opponents. Fullerton’s last such victory was Oct. 24, 1987, when it defeated Northern Illinois, 21-20.

“I hate to use the word adversity, but we overcame a lot of adversity this week,” Titan Coach Gene Murphy said.

“This is a big win for everyone who made this trip. There were a lot of folks who didn’t expect this to happen, maybe even some who made the trip.”

This was a game some Titan players briefly considered not playing as they searched for answers on the future of the program and the status of their scholarships if football were downgraded by the university or dropped altogether.

After meeting Monday with university officials--and being assured their scholarships would be honored while they still retained football eligibility--the players returned to practice Tuesday. And the work they did for the rest of the week paid off.

The Titans made the score 10-7 with 8:54 remaining in the third quarter when Danny Pasquil ended an 88-yard, 10-play drive with a one-yard touchdown run. That ended a string of 18 quarters without a touchdown.

Then, after taking possession with 3:15 left in the game, the Titans drove 57 yards in six plays despite having no timeouts left.

Williams and Arthur Davis shared duties in driving to the Cajun 27. With Fullerton facing a third and six, Southwestern Louisiana called a defensive timeout.

“Their timeout gave us a chance to get everyone composed and calm everyone down in the huddle,” Williams said.

Southwestern Louisiana Coach Nelson Stokley said the timeout was called to give an injured Cajun time to get off the field and regroup the rest of the defense.

But when the ball was snapped, Williams found Danzy behind the Cajun defense, and the ball fell into Danzy’s hands in the corner of the end zone.

“It was a wheel route,” Danzy said. “The pattern was a combination with the flanker. He runs a post, and I run a wheel, rounding out to the sideline and then down the sideline.

“Trendell threw a perfect ball, and credit the offensive line for giving him the time to throw it. I think it was man coverage, and I beat the cornerback.”

The touchdown was one of only three completed passes by the Titans and Williams’ only attempt. Jamal Smith completed two of three for 51 yards.

Williams rushed for 41 yards in 18 carries, and fullback Eric Gamble went 46 yards in seven. The option attack gained 187 yards in 63 carries as the Titans held the football for 32 minutes. Fumbles were again a problem: The Titans lost three of seven, giving them 52 for the season.

Murphy said the play of the defense helped compensate for that.

“I can’t remember when the defense has played as hard as they did, with such tenacity. It was a super effort,” he said.

Said linebacker Mike Gullo: “The offense was moving the ball in the first half, so we knew we could come back and score on them. We just had to keep (the Cajuns) from scoring.”

Southwestern Louisiana outgained Fullerton, 143 yards to 69, in the first half. The Cajuns scored with 11:15 left in the second quarter on a 40-yard Richie Cunningham field goal.

In the second quarter, a punt snap sailed through the hands of kicker Noel Prefontaine, and Southwestern Louisiana’s Rocky Guidry recovered on the Titan 32.

Quarterback Reggie Hayes completed a six-play drive by running seven yards with 16 seconds left in the half to make it 10-0. But that didn’t stand up in the second half.

“This is just a bunch of guys that want to play football,” Murphy said. “We have only 33 scholarships, so these guys out here are wanting to play.”