CSUN NOTEBOOK: BALL FINALLY BOUNCES CSUN'S WAY.Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer Cal State Northridge punter Ethan Beck is attractive to NFL NFL abbr. National Football League NFL (US) n abbr (= National Football League) → Fußball-Nationalliga scouts. But the Matadors' other special-teams players should have turned a few heads themselves Saturday. A 45-27 victory over Cal Poly Cal Poly may refer to:
 `ĭs ōbĭs`pō), city (1990 pop. 41,958), seat of San Luis Obispo co., S Calif., near San Luis Obispo Bay; inc. 1856. at North Campus Stadium was boosted by an aggressive kick-blocking and coverage unit. With the Mustangs seeking momentum while trailing 21-7 late in the first half, Seth Lewis lined up for a 38-yard field goal. But Matadors cornerback Cory Oggs busted free from the left side to deflect the kick and maintain the 14-point lead. ``No question that was huge.'' CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge coach Jeff Kearin said. ``Whenever you can block a kick, that's such an emotional killer. That's why I'm so proud of the guys because they really kept their eye on the ball.'' Cal Poly was forced to punt after its opening second-half drive stalled in three plays. The Matadors set up for a punt return In American and Canadian football a punt return is one of the punt receiving team's options to respond to a punt. A player (usually a second or third string wide receiver or running back) positioned many yards from the line of scrimmage will attempt to catch or pick up the ball , but senior Gil Rodriguez was thinking block. ``Most of our returns, I'm the only guy on the outside. And I was beating the guy outside all day, so (assistant coach David Robinson David Robinson or Dave Robinson is a name shared by the following individuals:
Rogers never had a chance. Rodriguez smothered smoth·er v. smoth·ered, smoth·er·ing, smoth·ers v.tr. 1. a. To suffocate (another). b. To deprive (a fire) of the oxygen necessary for combustion. 2. the punt and pounced on it to give CSUN possession at the Cal Poly 10. ``Sure enough it worked. The guy punted it right into my hands,'' said Rodriguez, one of 11 Matador matador In bullfighting, the principal performer, who works the capes and attempts to dispatch the bull with a sword thrust between the shoulder blades. Most of the techniques used by modern matadors were established in the 1910s by Juan Belmonte (b. 1894–d. seniors making his final home appearance. ``I watched film on them all week. Their punter was a little slow. . . . I saw a little crease.'' Added Kearin: ``For Gil Rodriguez, that was just individual effort. We had a return called there, and he just ran through it and got the block.'' CSUN got three points out of the deal with Derek Brown's 35-yard field goal to make it 24-7 almost four minutes into the second half. ``That was a big play. We've only blocked two punts all year,'' Rodriguez said. ``And it was a momentum changer Changer The name given to a clearing member that is willing to assume the opposite position of a futures contract within a larger alternative exchange, of which it also is a clearing member. . It was just going our way.'' That trend continued to wreck any Mustangs' comeback hopes. Freshman Travis Morse (Palmdale High) was stripped on the kickoff by Travis Campbell. Campbell also recovered the fumble and set up a 1-yard touchdown pass on fourth down from Marcus Brady to Rodriguez. If that wasn't enough grief for the Mustangs' kick specialists, Andy Zaldivar put his hand skyward sky·ward adv. & adj. At or toward the sky. sky  wards adv. to block Lewis' conversion kick after a Seth Burford-to-Raj Thompson touchdown cut the Mustangs' deficit to 31-13. ``Even when they scored and our guys came off with a blocked extra point, that was huge,'' Rodriguez said. ``We're not giving up and we're going hard. That's Northridge football.'' --Local watch: Despite his fumble, Morse had a solid game with three kickoff returns for 62 yards, including a long of 34. Morse, one of the fastest players in the Golden League his senior year at Palmdale, figured to redshirt this season. But he's made an impact with 13 kickoff returns for 225 yards. ``It wasn't something I wanted to do,'' Morse said of not taking a redshirt year. ``But I guess coach thought I might have had the capabilities to do it. ``(My speed) helped me out a lot. That's probably what the coaches also saw, and they just decided to put me on (kick returns). Mustangs redshirt freshman Chris Canoles (Chaminade High of West Hills) made a special-teams tackle for a 4-yard loss. CAPTION(S): box Box: Big Sky CONFERENCE: A QUICK LOOK |
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