THE COLLEGES : Johnson Given All-American Snub

Maybe it’s poetic justice. John Johnson, a player noted for making steals, got robbed.

The Antelope Valley College freshman cornerback, whose eight interceptions placed him among the nation’s junior college leaders, was conspicuous in his absence from the J.C. Grid-Wire All-American team announced this week. There were 19 defensive backs on the first and second teams or receiving honorable mention.

Johnson signed with Washington State out of Palmdale High, but he did not meet minimum NCAA academic entrance requirements so he enrolled at Antelope Valley. He was considered a top prospect then, just as he is now.

Fit to be tied: How could a team go undefeated in two playoff appearances and still get eliminated? The Master’s College pulled the trick.

At the National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics soccer tournament in Boca Raton, Fla., the Mustangs tied top-ranked West Virginia Wesleyan, 1-1, then defeated William Carey (Miss.), 5-1, in pool play. And Master’s still was sent packing.

West Virginia Wesleyan defeated William Carey, 5-0, and earned the right to advance out of the pool to the semifinals by tiebreaker.

The tiebreaker? Fewest goals allowed. How inappropriate.

With only two matches played, settling a tie on the basis of goals allowed seems grossly unfair. Let them play for a half. Line them up for a shootout. When a national championship is at stake, a team should not lose out until it is defeated on the field.

The only consolation for Master’s is that West Virginia Wesleyan, the team it played to a draw, won the championship, beating the host school, College of Boca Raton, 3-1, in the final.

On the run: Three lopsided road basketball losses to begin the season have not harnessed the enthusiasm Coach Pete Cassidy has for Northridge’s new running game.

“It’s not fair to say that it’s not working after only three games,” Cassidy said. “You don’t quit on something that early you spent two months on. We don’t know the system yet. Our players don’t know it.”

The main problem: The Matadors, Cassidy said, are thinking too much. “They don’t recognize when something is there and when it’s not at this tempo yet,” Cassidy said. “Right now, they have to think first before they react.”

Northridge will play its home opener tonight at 7:30 against Northern Arizona, a team that was 8-20 last year.

Quotebook: Cassidy, expressing disappointment with the effort in the last half-hour of practice on Thursday: “I took them on vacation to Colorado and New Mexico. You know, kids owe you when you take them on vacation.”

Briefly: How’s this for one-upmanship? Ventura men’s basketball players wear the slogan, “We try hard” on the back of their warm-ups. That prompted a response from Ventura County rival Moorpark, which now wears warmups that read, “We try harder.”

Suggested reply: When you’re No. 2, that’s what you do. . . .

Moorpark’s Sam Crawford, who has signed a letter of intent to play basketball at New Mexico State next season, was talking on the phone to a few of his future teammates early this week. The Aggies had just defeated Northridge, 120-62.

So what did the New Mexico State players say about the Matadors? “Shoulda stayed Division II,” Crawford said. . . .

What Steve Largent was to pro football, Mike Trevathan was to the college game at the Division I-AA level. Many wide receivers have similar speed and moves, but few could match his production.

Trevathan, a Montana senior who played at Thousand Oaks High, had 71 catches for 1,006 yards this season. He was second in Division I-AA in receptions a game (7.1) and sixth in receiving yards a game (100.6). . . .

Don’t be surprised if former Valley College running back Donald Dozier is wearing a Northridge football uniform next fall. . . .

Coach Bob Burt says the top recruiting priorities for his Northridge football team are linebacker and kicker. Finding a few solid running backs wouldn’t be a bad idea, either. . . . Wide receiver Paul Peters of CSUN recently underwent surgery on both shoulders, but he is expected to rejoin the Matadors next spring. Peters suffered a broken collarbone in the Matadors’ opener at Northern Arizona. . . .

Shock factor: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo defeated Northridge twice in three weeks but Burt was not completely shocked that the Mustangs fell hard in the NCAA Division II quarterfinals, losing, 47-0, to top-ranked North Dakota State.

North Dakota State runs the option, and, although San Luis Obispo’s defensive front is strong, the rest of its defense isn’t particularly fast. That factor, plus four turnovers and 138 yards in Mustang penalties, contributed to the score.