MATADORS TRIUMPH AFTER SLOW START; BRADEY'S TDS PILOT CSUN : CSUN 38 W. OREGON 19.

Byline: Chris Branam Staff Writer

It was an uneven performance, sometimes mediocre and sometimes crisp. Cal State Northridge football surely can't go on this way.

Cut this team some slack, though.

The Matadors, outplayed in the first 30 minutes of their season opener against an unknown opponent, slowly showed their superiority and beat Western Oregon 38-19 on Saturday afternoon at North Campus Stadium.

The victory might not have been impressive enough for most of the 3,142 fans who entered the gate, who knew the Matadors were one minute away from winning the Big Sky Conference championship last year.

After enduring a crazy summer that saw Ron Ponciano fired as head coach, offensive coordinator Rob Phenice forced to resign and an internal report released detailing the program's numerous NCAA violations, just playing the game was enough.

That showed in a first half in which the Matadors sputtered and made mistake after mistake.

``All the things in the summer, people can say they didn't think about (them) and they had no effect,'' senior running back Jaumal Bradley said, ``but it was in the back of my mind. We have a whole new look. I know a lot of people who watched us play (Saturday) noticed that we seemed a little different in the things we do. Our attitude . . . we came out a little lax and tentative.

``We were just not mentally focused.''

CSUN (1-0) didn't seem bothered when Western Oregon scored the first touchdown of the game - a 26-yard pass from quarterback Erik Davis to Derrick Miles with three minutes left in the first quarter. The players didn't look worried when the Division II Wolves (0-1) took a 13-3 lead on a 51-yard scoring pass from Davis to Miles six minutes before halftime.

The Division I-AA Matadors hadn't lost to a Division II team in four years. The idea, however, crept into CSUN interim head coach Jeff Kearin's mind.

``Thought? How about complete panic and fear?'' Kearin quipped after the game. ``But I believe in these kids. (At halftime) I saw no fear in their eyes. There was no doubt in their eyes.''

Aaron Arnold, who became the school's all-time leading receiver in the first half, set the tone in opening the second with a 58-yard kickoff return.

CSUN wore down the Wolves, not only with quick passes but a newfound running game. The Matadors, who were last in the Big Sky in rushing yards last year, averaging 84 per game, had 249 on Saturday.

Bradley had 90 yards and two touchdowns, and redshirt freshman Alan Taylor had a team-leading 94 on only 10 carries.

``A big improvement,'' Bradley said. ``(Now) we give an imposing threat to a lot of people.''

The Matadors might look a little tougher, choosing to run the ball in short-yardage situations where they once would have thrown. But CSUN isn't Michigan or Ohio State.

Sophomore quarterback Marcus Brady had 45 attempts, completing 28 for 321 yards and two touchdowns.

Senior wide receiver Aaron Arnold had 12 catches for 138 yards and set the school record for receptions in a career late in the second quarter.

After a slow start, Brady completed passes to eight different receivers.

``I was trying to make things happen,'' Brady said. ``I just had to get into the flow of the game.''

So did the CSUN secondary, which was thrown in the first quarter when starting safety Hassan Abdul-Malik re-injured his right hamstring and left the game. Davis's three touchdown passes were from 26, 51 and 41 yards, and they all came when a receiver was open in the middle.

``They weren't really fooling us,'' said safety Rahman Sparks, ``but there were a couple mistakes I made in coverage. (They) were just blown assignments.''

Sparks intercepted Davis with 11 minutes left in the game. CSUN cornerback Karalus Doyle picked off Davis on Western Oregon's next possession, as well.

``They got us a couple times up the middle,'' Kearin said. ``We were a little bit hurt when Hassan went out.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--Color) CSUN's Jaumal Bradley (11) gets the ball knocked from his hands by Western Oregon's Corey Sutton.

(2) CSUN wide receiver Aaron Arnold breaks through the Western Oregon line in the first quarter.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer