Matador Defense Makes a Stand

The Cal State Northridge defense, bowled over by opponents this season, seemed determined to make a stand Saturday against Cal State Sacramento. And the Matadors did.

Standout running back Charles Roberts of Sacramento, who rushed for 231 yards against Northridge last season, was smothered by defenders at the line of scrimmage on the first play from scrimmage.

Spearheading the charge was senior safety Rahman Sparks. Sparks finished with a team-high 11 tackles against Sacramento and increased his team-leading total to 31 unassisted tackles. Safety Steve Forte and cornerback Chazz Moore each had five unassisted tackles.

Forte and cornerback Mel Miller had first-quarter interceptions to contribute to a 10-0 Northridge lead. Miller’s 90-yard return for a touchdown broke a 36-year-old school record for the longest interception return.

When it was over, Northridge had kept its Big Sky Conference title hopes alive with a 36-14 victory.

The Matadors, ranked last in team defense in the nine-team conference, were motivated primarily by pride, interim Coach Jeff Kearin said.

“They’ve been criticized and they’ve been critical of themselves,” Kearin said. “They knew. But they believed in themselves against a very, very good offensive team. That’s as good a defensive effort as we’ve had since I’ve been here.”

Miller described the mood Saturday of the Matadors’ defense as angry.

“We just came to win,” Miller said. “We showed what we can do when the defense is working as a unit. Today, it all clicked.”

*

Northridge (3-3, 2-2 in conference play), tied for fourth in the Big Sky, realistically must win its four remaining Big Sky games to finish first. The Matadors play at Montana State on Saturday.

The Bobcats are the only Big Sky team the Matadors are winless against since joining the conference in 1996.

Montana State defeated Northridge, 32-26, last season at Northridge. The Bobcats posted a 31-20 victory two years ago in Bozeman, Mont.

*

Center Julio Alcala suffered a sprained ankle, fullback Jaumal Bradley a bruised hand and tackle Nick Longshore a bruised shoulder against Sacramento. All are expected to play Saturday at Montana State.

*

Terrence Jones led Northridge with nine catches against Sacramento, despite dropping a certain touchdown bomb from Marcus Brady on the Matadors’ first play.

Jones atoned in the second quarter by gathering in an underthrown Brady bomb and zig-zagging his way for a 74-yard touchdown that gave the Matadors a 23-6 lead.

Jones was penalized after the play for excessive celebration. He said he was only trying to entertain the Northridge crowd.

“I had to,” Jones said. “It’s homecoming.”

*

Northridge held a statistical edge in most categories against Sacramento, but the most significant, perhaps, was time of possession.

Northridge controlled the ball for 34:59.