The Colleges : Cal Lutheran's Move to SCIAC May Mean Step Up in Standings

L.A. Times Archives

Sept. 30, 1989 12 AM PT

If Cal Lutheran’s 44-9 blowout against La Verne last week is a reliable indication, the Kingsmen may be making a winning move in joining the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Cal Lutheran struggled to a 2-21 record during a four-year stint in the Western Football Conference of the NCAA Division II, and is in the midst of a three-year transition down to the nonscholarship, Division III SCIAC.

Roland Ortmayer, who has been the La Verne coach for 41 years, agreed to play Cal Lutheran in 1962 when the program began, and this season he helped the Kingsmen out of a jam when they needed opponents after dropping to associate-member status in the WFC. “They didn’t have to play us,” Cal Lutheran Coach Bob Shoup said. “This was a typical Ort gentlemanly gesture.”

Breakdown: Beating the Bakersfield football team at Bakersfield is always difficult, but most of the problems--large and talented Bakersfield players and partisan crowds of 10,000--aren’t encountered until a visiting team reaches the stadium.

Glendale College, however, faced rough going almost from the time the team departed at 3 p.m. for its 7:30 game last Saturday against the defending national champion Renegades.

The problem--an overheating bus engine.

“We were preaching adversity all week and we had it five minutes after we got on the bus,” Glendale Coach John Cicuto said.

No spare buses were available, so the Vaqueros stayed aboard and endured a slow ride up the Grapevine.

Glendale arrived in Bakersfield at 7 and played the Renegades to a 19-19 tie.

Still searching: It wasn’t a victory, but Glendale’s tie with Bakersfield left Cicuto pleased.

“We’re not elated with the tie, but we’re happy with the performance of our kids in terms of not quitting,” said Cicuto, whose team overcame a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

Glendale lost to Pasadena in its opener two weeks ago, so Cicuto isn’t worried about his team becoming overconfident after playing the defending national champion to a draw.

“I don’t see how they can get satisfied,” Cicuto said. “We haven’t won a game yet.”

The Vaqueros (0-1-1) will meet Pierce tonight at Glendale High.

Add Glendale: When the Vaqueros play host to Pierce, they figure to see much of themselves in the Brahmas. That’s because Bill Norton, a former assistant coach at Glendale, is now the offensive coordinator at Pierce.

The Brahmas, who finished 1-9 last season, have defeated East Los Angeles and lost to Santa Barbara. They are averaging 30 points a game.

Norton scouted for Glendale in 1987 and coached the Vaquero running backs in 1988 before joining Bob Enger’s staff at Pierce.

“I think he is the main reason their program has turned around,” Cicuto said of Norton.

Good timing: It might have been a nonconference game, but Bob Burt, CSUN’s football coach, said that last week’s 31-28 victory over Central (Okla.) State was a big one for two reasons.

First, it means Northridge enters Western Football Conference action tonight at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo coming off two consecutive victories. Secondly, the Matadors have shown they can come from behind--under the most trying of circumstances.

After losing the lead with 1:25 to play, CSUN drove 59 yards in 10 plays for the game-winning score, quarterback Sherdrick Bonner hitting Anthony Harris with a 17-yard touchdown pass with 11 seconds remaining.

“I was really proud of our kids,” Burt said. “A lot of teams would have folded their tent, but our kids refused to do that. That will hold us in good stead down the road.”

Bonner’s leadership in the last-minute march was especially impressive. Bonner ran or passed for 53 yards in the drive, including a 29-yard completion to Tony Young on a third-and-19 play and a two-yard run on a fourth-and-two situation.

“He’s been better each week,” Burt said. “Sherdrick is getting more confident with every game and that’s all he’s ever needed. He’s always had the ability.”

Holding pattern: Ken Sollom might have had higher hopes when he decided to accept a football scholarship to play for Michigan, but the former Canyon High quarterback is making do in his current situation.

Even after injuries and ineligibility took turns reducing the Wolverines’ depth at the quarterback position, Sollom is still only third string. And, worse yet, he is behind a redshirt freshman, Elvis Grbac.

Sollom, who passed for 2,884 yards as a senior at Canyon in 1986, is a redshirt sophomore. In the past two seasons, he has attempted a total of only three passes, completing two.

His most memorable moment in college football: holding for J. D. Carlson as he kicked a 24-yard field goal with one second left to defeat UCLA last week at the Rose Bowl.

“Coming into your hometown and winning in the last second is a great feeling,” Sollom said. “It’s always a kicker’s and holder’s dream to win in the last second.”

Of his understudy role, Sollom said: “I only started one year in high school, so I’m used to sitting and waiting my turn. I just have to keep working hard in practice, and hopefully things will go my way.”

Crossed signals: Chuck Ferrero, football coach at Valley College, expressed surprise early this week when asked if Trendell Williams would start at quarterback tonight against L. A. Southwest.

But after all, Williams had been replaced by Brent Spurlin in the second half of the Monarchs’ 23-0 loss to Moorpark. And the change was made after Williams threw an interception that led to a Raider touchdown.

“I just wanted to give Brent a chance to play, that’s all,” Ferrero said. “He works his butt off in practice and deserved a chance to get into the game. I didn’t pull Trendell, I gave Brent a chance to play.”

Williams completed 10 of 18 passes for 82 yards but was hurried often and was sacked four times.

Given the opportunity, Spurlin also struggled. He completed only two of eight passes for 26 yards and threw an interception. He also was sacked twice and lost 13 yards in six rushing attempts.

Both quarterbacks will have better days, Ferrero predicted. “We’re a very young, inexperienced team, especially on the offensive front,” the coach said “We’re still making mistakes, but we’ll be much better when division play starts.”

Import restrictions: Don Green, the Cal Lutheran men’s cross-country coach, received an unexpected bonus when a pair of unrecruited but talented freshmen came out for the team.

Ivan Gunderson and Lars Holm, members of the large Norwegian contingent at Cal Lutheran, unfortunately, are ineligible. As foreign students they had taken the Test of English as a Foreign Language but not the Scholastic Aptitude Test, which has kept them from establishing eligibility.

“I never heard of these guys until they showed up here,” Green said. “They could be helpful because they’re good athletes, but we’re not destitute.”

The majority of the top runners from the Kingsmen’s 1988 squad return. CLU won the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics District 3 title last year and may challenge again this season.

“I never try to get a team in shape too soon,” said Green, whose 14-runner squad didn’t begin practice until Sept. 6. “Last year, they were in about the same shape as they are now.”

Gary Klein and staff writers Mike Hiserman, Brendan Healey, Steven Herbert, and John Ortega contributed to this notebook.