CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE : Matadors Retool After a Disappointing Season : Football: Facing a softer schedule, Burt looks ahead with optimism.

NORTHRIDGE —  A half-dozen handymen, oblivious to a Cal State Northridge scrimmage being conducted nearby, whipped out the power saws and nail guns and began rebuilding the North Campus Stadium press box.

The facility was trashed in the well-known event that seems forever intertwined with all things Northridge. Hint: It rhymes with ache, shake and break, all aftereffects of the temblor.

As the carpentry began, work of another sort was under way on the grass below, where the Northridge football team was being reconstructed. There was some hammerin’ and nailin’ taking place on the field, too. The players also showed some tools.

The Matadors, who open Saturday at Boise State, are set to begin their second year at the NCAA Division I-AA level, and things might just get better. Matters should definitely be easier.

In 1993, Northridge finished 4-6 while playing the toughest schedule in school history. The Matadors, armed with all of 17 scholarships, opened last season at San Diego State and played four of their first five games on the road.

Before the year was complete, Northridge lost two starting quarterbacks, weathered divisive internal problems, blew a couple of second-half leads . . . yet was left to wonder, what if?

“We weren’t that far from being 7-3 or so,” Coach Bob Burt said. “I don’t think it was so bad, considering everything that happened.”

Consider that it started so well--for a few moments, anyway. The Matadors jumped ahead of San Diego State and Marshall Faulk before falling, 34-17. In the defeat, Northridge lost quarterback Coley Kyman to injury, then lost in consecutive weeks at Weber State and Northern Arizona.

The opposition isn’t as daunting this time around--which qualifies as good news on a couple of fronts.

“The schedule’s not quite as brutal,” Burt said. “But I don’t know if we’re as good a football team in terms of ability.

“Time will tell. I think we have a chance to be a good team.”

Burt’s preseason catch phrase, in terms of his personal outlook, has been “cautiously optimistic.” As opposed to irrepressible.

He’s closer to the latter when discussing the potential of senior quarterback J.J. O’Laughlin, whom Burt last month called “the best quarterback in Southern California other than (USC’s) Rob Johnson.”

This probably will not endear the coach to fans of UCLA’s Wayne Cook, who led the Bruins to the Rose Bowl last season.

Much of the offensive load will fall on the shoulders O’Laughlin. Rather, the shoulder of O’Laughlin, the best quarterback in Burt’s nine-year tenure.

O’Laughlin, a preseason Division I-AA All-American by College Football Preview magazine, passed for 1,181 yards in parts of seven games after transferring from Illinois. He suffered a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder Oct. 30 against Chico State, had surgery Dec. 14, didn’t receive full medical clearance until July 1 and has been brought along slowly.

O’Laughlin estimates his arm strength at 85%, though tight end Travis Hall has evidence to prove otherwise.

Last month, Hall suffered a compound fracture of his right index finger when O’Laughlin (6-foot-3, 200 pounds) rifled home a pass during practice. There seemed to be plenty of snap, crackle and pop in the toss. The pop was Hall’s hand.

“He seems OK to me,” Hall said.

O’Laughlin, a team captain, turns 23 the day the season opens.

“There are quarterbacks and there are guys who can take it to the next level,” said Burt, whose teams are 46-39 in eight seasons at Northridge. “He can make things happen.”

As a complement to O’Laughlin, Northridge has some talent at receiver. Senior Duc Ngo, who was born in Vietnam, has led the team in receptions over the past two seasons. Junior David Romines (Simi Valley High) and freshman Marquis Jones should give O’Laughlin the opportunity to go deep.

The backfield is experienced, though not necessarily at their designated positions. Mark Harper, who rushed for 281 yards at fullback last fall, moves to tailback. Harper’s backup in 1993, senior Shaun Coleman, starts at fullback. The pair combined for 441 yards and two touchdowns.

Harper, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior, replaces Robert Trice, one of the most-explosive ballcarriers in school history. Trice rushed for 1,443 yards and set a CSUN single-game record with 278 yards in a 24-14 midseason upset of Nevada Las Vegas, unquestionably the year’s high-water mark.

“Harper deserves a chance at tailback,” Burt said. “A lot of what (Trice) accomplished was because Harper did the blocking dirty work.”

In the down-and-dirty department, the Matadors have the bulk on the lines to move some bodies around. Offensively, Edvin Babayova, a 6-4, 275-pound senior captain from Van Nuys High, starts at left tackle. Senior right guard Jonathan Beauregard (5-11, 275) also returns.

Bolstering the defensive line is Oscar Wilson, another preseason All-American pick by College Football Preview magazine. Wilson, a 6-3, 285-pound senior left tackle, recorded eight sacks in 1993, the second-best mark in school history. Senior Tim Gardner (6-1, 230) moves from nose guard to right tackle.

In the secondary, a pair of area City Section graduates again will start. Cleveland High’s Vincent Johnson (5-8, 170) returns at cornerback and San Fernando’s James Woods (6-1, 200) starts at safety. Johnson is a senior, Woods a sophomore.

The bridge between the defensive line and the secondary is tenuous. Three starting linebackers graduated, leaving only senior John Herrera (6-1, 215) at inside linebacker.

All told, the Matadors must replace 12 starters, six each on offense and defense.

Northridge will compete for the second time in the American West Conference, a four-team conference now that UC Davis has left. After facing tough pre-conference competition last fall, Northridge ran out of gas in AWC play and finished tied for fourth at 1-3. Tied for last, in other words.

In a preseason show of hands, conference coaches picked Northridge to finish fourth again this season.

“I don’t put much stock in that stuff, never have,” Burt said. “I thought we had the best team in the league last year, but we didn’t win it.”

All part of the disappointing picture in ’93. This year, Burt may not have the best team, so maybe things will even out.