Teammates Offer Best Competition as CSUN Breezes

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. — What happened in wine country Saturday afternoon was a perfect example of one-upmanship, and it had nothing to do with who could hold the most vino.

The competition, a friendly sort, was waged between Cal State Northridge quarterbacks Rob Huffman and Sherdrick Bonner and running backs Albert Fann and Lance Harper.

It was a kind of “Can You Top This?” within a nonconference football game between Northridge and Sonoma State. All four players--and the Matador team--were winners.

Northridge’s shutout string was stopped at two games, but the Matadors continued to be impressive in the 31-6 win over Sonoma.

Northridge (3-0), ranked ninth in Division II, has outscored its opponents, 96-6, and has yet to yield a touchdown.

Sonoma opened the scoring with two first-quarter field goals by Harry Konstantinopoulos. But Northridge led at halftime, 10-6, and by the close of the third period, the only suspense left centered on members of CSUN’s offensive backfield.

Huffman completed only 1 of 5 passes in the first half but finished 8 of 14 for 137 yards, including touchdowns of 16 yards to Harper and 43 to tight end Richard Ane.

Bonner entered the game midway through the second period--with CSUN clinging to a 7-6 lead--and engineered a 61-yard drive that culminated in a 40-yard field goal by Abo Velasco.

Bonner completed 7 of 15 passes for 136 yards in a little more than a quarter of play.

Fann, who started slowly, led all rushers with 76 yards in 11 carries. He gained only five yards in his first three carries before giving way to Harper.

Harper had an immediate impact, gaining 23 yards in his first six carries, then pulling in a nifty little swing pass from Huffman and turning it into a 16-yard scoring play by vaulting the final three yards over two defenders. Fann returned for the next series. First carry: an 11-yard gain during which he ran over a linebacker and a safety.

One floats like a butterfly, the other hits with the force of a runaway cement truck.

“When I came in things started to open up a little,” Harper said.

The constant in all of this offense--437 yards’ worth--was the strong play of the linemen: center Dean Allman, guards Barry Voorhees and Greg Little and tackles Scott Kain and James Matthews.

There were also several timely downfield blocks by receivers Tony Young, Robert Guillen and Bryan Kellen.

Sonoma gambled on defense, blitzing on almost every play. Last season, in a 13-6 win over the Cossacks, CSUN had problems keeping defenders out of its backfield before a handoff or pass could take place.

There was no such rush this time. “When people blitz like that they give up certain things,” CSUN Coach Bob Burt said. “They’ll get a few sacks, but hopefully you’re going to pop a couple, too.”

Among CSUN’s scoring plays were a 42-yard run by Fann and the 43-yard pass to Ane.

There was also a 30-yard scramble by Huffman that set up the Matadors’ first touchdown and a swing pass from Bonner to fullback Cedric Johnson that went for 55 yards and set up a one-yard dive by Harper for the last touchdown.

In all, Northridge registered eight gains of 15 or more yards, which helped offset 120 yards in penalties.

“We struggled a little until the half,” Huffman said, “but I could feel we were going to explode.”

They did not, however, win via shutout because of the range of Konstantinopoulos. The former Valley College standout had one field goal of 50 yards that cleared the upright by more than 10 yards.