AZTEC NOTEBOOK/ DANA HADDAD : Injured Heinz Relegated to Role of Cheerleader

SAN DIEGO â€”  Joe Heinz remembers Nov. 7 with perhaps as much horror as his Halloween-day nightmare a week earlier--when Marshall Faulk rammed the San Diego State senior guard from behind and Heinz’s left ankle snapped.

A week after his injury, the 6-foot-3, 280-pound senior lay in bed watching TV, his fractured ankle elevated and held in place by a metal plate and several screws.

Heinz ached, he screamed, he moaned, but it wasn’t a horror movie or some tragic drama he was watching. It was his Aztecs, on the verge of Holiday Bowl extinction, getting beaten by Wyoming, 17-6.

It was there, in the bedroom of his Chula Vista home, that Heinz was hitting bottom and flashing back to last summer when he and SDSU tackle Louie Zumstein--a fellow Chula Vista High alum--were running twice a day to get into shape.

“It was so hard for Lou, because he just got his knee worked on,� said Heinz. “He was just bummed out. He was at the lowest point of his career.

“And here I am now, in the awkward position of being the bummed-out, low-life guy, with nothing to look forward to--except that bowl game.�

With his heart thumping and the Aztecs barely breathing, Heinz grabbed his crutches and his handicapped parking permit and lumbered into one of those Nov. 9 team meetings that inspired the Aztecs’ turnaround against Hawaii. The meeting was called by the seniors, and Heinz offered an injured-warrior’s perspective.

“I was somewhat vocal,� said Heinz, whose only chance at playing again would be in the Holiday Bowl game. “I was kind of like an outsider looking in. But I was really angry, because I knew that wasn’t our team.

“We were capable of blowing those guys out. I feel when our team is playing at its level, nobody in the WAC can play with us.�

If the Aztecs win Saturday against Fresno State, Heinz would be eager to begin rehabilitating his ankle.

“If we get a ‘W’ Saturday, I’m going to be in there Sunday going crazy,� Heinz said. “I’m going to say, ‘OK, Brian (Barry, SDSU’s trainer). Let’s go.’

“I miss being around the guys.�

Air Force, Colorado State and Hawaii have run the “fumblerooski� play against the Aztecs three of the past four weeks for an average of 25.3 yards per play.

So will SDSU defensive coordinator Barry Lamb be surprised with Fresno State follows suit? No.

“We’re going to do what we’ve done the past few weeks--practice it,� said Lamb, who expects the Bulldogs--the nation’s No. 1 scoring offense (39.8 points per game)--to come at the Aztecs with double passes, reverses, naked bootlegs and flea-flickers.

The physical and facial resemblance between receivers Darnay Scott and DeAndre Maxwell is so strong, Aztec coaches more than once have yelled “Hey Darnay� at Maxwell.

To which Maxwell replies, “Darnay’s over there.�

The two receivers are built the same. Scott is 6-3, Maxwell 6-2. If not for the gold cap shaped into a “D� on Scott’s right front tooth, the two would be easily confused.

Add the 36- and 47-yard touchdown receptions against Hawaii, and Maxwell has started to show the big-play aptitude of Scott. Maxwell has caught seven passes, four for touchdowns. He leads the team in yards per catch at 24.4.

Switch their jersey numbers in a game and some opponents might not catch on. One opponent that won’t be fooled, however, is Fresno State. Bulldog Coach Jim Sweeney recruited Maxwell out of Fresno Bullard High--although not too seriously.

Maxwell said first Sweeney liked him as a strong safety then liked him as a basketball player. The Aztecs like him at H-back.

“I heard I wasn’t fast enough,� said Maxwell. “But I have something to prove to (Sweeney) and my home town. A couple players came down for our game last weekend, and we had a nice discussion.

“I’m trying to get tickets from everywhere. I may have to buy some. I’m juiced. It’s just a big game. A big game.�

Aztec Notes

Running back Marshall Faulk was named first-team All-American by the Football News, a publication based in Detroit. Fellow Heisman Trophy candidates Gino Torretta (Miami quarterback) and Garrison Hearst (Georgia running back) were also selected, as was Morse High product Lincoln Kennedy of the University of Washington. . . . Punter Scott Oatsvall practiced Wednesday, punting 30 times without discomfort. The senior lost consciousness and stopped breathing for two minutes near the end of Saturday’s game, requiring emergency assistance for an apparent reaction to severe back spasms. Trainer Brian Barry said Oatsvall is cleared to play against Fresno State. A battery of neurological and cardiological tests all proved negative.