CSUN SURVIVES BIG SKY SHOOTOUT : CSUN 38, EWU 35.

Byline: Brian Dohn Daily News Staff Writer

The offense would get to the sideline, have time for a sip of water or some electrolyte-enhanced beverage, and it would be back onto the field. And by then, the opposition would have scored and the lead would have changed hands.

Like it or not, that's football in the Big Sky Conference, where back-to-back solid defensive plays are considered a good stand. It just so happens Cal State Northridge could counterpunch on Saturday, otherwise the Matadors may not have escaped with a 38-35 win against Eastern Washington in their home opener.

``This was big-time important for us because if we didn't get a win then everyone would have thought the (Northern Arizona) win was a fluke,'' said CSUN wide receiver Aaron Arnold, who caught seven passes for 86 yards and a touchdown. ``We knew that any type of play-action or fake run would set up the deep ball.''

Three times CSUN (2-1, 2-0 Big Sky) trailed in the second half, and each time they came back to take the lead. And at no time did either team lead by more than seven points.

Finally, after CSUN's Jimmy Greninger caught a break on the deflection of a Marcus Brady (17 of 22, 257 yards, three touchdowns) pass for a 40-yard touchdown, the Matadors were able to hang on for the final 8:07.

``Keeping momentum is huge,'' coach Ron Ponciano said. ``Don't get me wrong. I'm extremely proud of our team for getting this victory, but I'm not sure we know how to handle all phases of games.

``Away games and adversity we handled well, but we came home to a team that we had a slight edge over and the guys played pretty well. But from pregame, I saw some individual things guys were doing. Things we didn't want them to do.''

The offensive explosion saw the Eagles (0-3, 0-2 Big Sky) rack up 502 yards of offense, 404 of which came from quarterback Griffin Garske. Garske completed 18 of 28 for three touchdowns, all of which went to punt returner Bashir Levingston. But the two most important pass attempts were the ones Garske couldn't make.

With Eastern Washington at its own 49 and trying to get in range for a tying field goal, CSUN linebacker Brannen Swanson sacked Garske on third down. Following a timeout, Swanson sacked Garske again to give CSUN the ball with 1:49 left. CSUN then ran out the clock.

``There are a lot of positives that come out of a game like this, but unfortunately they are all overshadowed,'' Eagles coach Mike Kramer said. ``At this level, it's win or die.''

But other than those two defensive plays, this was one of those typical Big Sky back-and-forth, high-scoring affairs that also included some trickery. CSUN wide receiver Anthony Ramos completed a pair of passes to aid the offense. He threw a 5-yarder to Brady and then a 40-yard touchdown to Greninger. The Matadors, who had 362 yards of offense but only 59 yards rushing, also scored on a 43-yard pass play from Brady to Drew Hill.

``The schemes of this offense are absolutely incredible,'' Greninger said. ``We're running read routes and they can't stop us. As long as the offensive line gives us time, as they've shown now, we'll be fine. First we worked on the run, and now we've shown we have the deep threat.''

However, Eastern Washington had its own bit of tomfoolery working. After returning a pair of punts for scores in the Eagles' last loss, the coaching staff thought so much of his play-making ability they shifted him to offense.

Good move.

He had three receptions, including a North Campus Stadium record 95-yarder on the third play from scrimmage. He also had touchdowns of 27 and 60 yards.

``I wish I could say I felt all excited and cheery about this victory,'' Ponciano said. ``Hey, we're in the lead for the Big Sky, which is awesome, but we could have and should have played a lot better.''

CSUN vs. EAST. WASH.: A CLOSER LOOK

THE HERO

Though both defenses did nothing to distinguish themselves, this one's going to a defensive player. Cal State Northridge linebacker Brennen Swanson sacked Eastern Washington quarterback Griffin Garske on the Eagles' final two plays from scrimmage to secure the win.

THE GOAT

Not an individual, but rather a unit. It was going to one of the secondaries, but it was only a matter of which one. Since CSUN won, Eastern Washington's secondary gets the call. It gave up 303 yards passing and allowed four touchdown passes, three of which were more than 25 yards.

STAT OF THE GAME

CSUN's defense yielded 502 yards of total offense, including 404 in the air. But the most eye-popping stats belong to Eastern Washington's Bashir Levingston. He caught three passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns. That included a North Campus Stadium-record 95-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter.

QUOTE

``Our offense saved our (butts).''

- CSUN safety Vito Clemente

after the defense gave up 502 yards and 35 points.

NOTEBOOK: For Matadors, respect spelled `r-a-n-k-i-n-g'

A week ago, Cal State Northridge piqued the Division I-AA voting committee's interest with a thrashing of Northern Arizona.

Now, the Matadors want respect. And they'll judge how much respect they get based on a national ranking.

The school has never broken the Division I-AA Top 25. The Matadors expect that to change when the polls are released Monday, thanks to their 38-35 shootout win against defending conference champion Eastern Washington on Saturday.

``The only way you get respect is to take it . . . by winning games, and that's what we've been doing,'' CSUN safety Vito Clemente said. ``We beat NAU, moved up a little bit - and NAU was still ranked higher than us in the polls. We're not getting what we want, but we're getting recognition a little bit.''

Enough to earn a ranking? ``I would hope so. But that's up to the polls to decide.''

Many of the Matadors, including the coaches, looked curiously when the rankings came out last week and Northern Arizona dropped just six spots despite a 35-point whuppin'.

And although CSUN's defense gave up 502 yards to winless Eastern Washington (0-3, 0-2 Big Sky), the Matadors (2-1, 2-0) believe they are worthy of some national attention.

``I think we're kind of setting a trend, and for other teams in the Big Sky, `Watch out for Northridge,' '' CSUN receiver and Monroe High product Aaron Arnold said. ``The preseason, they put us on the bottom of the conference. We all knew that we would be better than that, but we wanted to surprise people.''

Academic risk?: CSUN linebacker Brennen Swanson admitted it was one of the best feelings he's had on the gridiron, sacking quarterback Griffin Garske on Eastern Washington's last two offensive plays to ensure victory.

However, that's nothing compared to what he may feel like in May.

Swanson, a senior, can earn another year of eligibility if he graduates in four years. He was a partial academic qualifier out of Santa Ynez Valley Union High and had to sit a year because he was considered an academic risk by the NCAA. And sitting a year counted against his eligibility.

However, NCAA rules state that if a partial qualifier graduates in four years, he regains a year of eligibility. Swanson plans on attending graduate school next year so he can play for CSUN.

``It'll be the happiest thing,'' said Swanson, a recreation major. ``Yes, better than the two sacks because I get to play more. This is my life.''

Assessing the time change: A big deal was made of CSUN moving its home games from 6:05 p.m. to 3:05 p.m. this season to get more play from the local and national media. It also helped alleviate the lighting problem at North Campus Stadium that's become an issue with the Big Sky Conference.

But CSUN officials feared it would have an adverse effect on attendance.

However, athletic director Paul Bubb said he was happy with the 3,920 who attended the home opener.

``I'd like to see more,'' Bubb said. ``But at the same time, if you look at the people that were here, what I saw was a fairly large group of adults and youths. The thing I didn't see was a lot of college students.

``I think that we need to work with our own student body to get more of them out to the games right now, and that's one of the things I'm going to go back Monday and talk with our marketing director about.''

CSUN averaged 4,187 per home game in 1997 and 4,261 in 1996.

- Brian Dohn

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos, Box

PHOTO (1--Color) CSUN wide receiver Jimmy Greninger celebrates a touchdown during Saturday's 38-35 win over Eastern Washington.

(2) CSUN`s Mike Ogas is tackled by Eastern Washington's LeVar McClary after pulling down a reception during the Matadors' win.

Michael Owen Baker/Daily News

BOX: CSUN vs. EAST. WASH.: A CLOSER LOOK (see text)