It’s hard not to feel left out these days. It’s bad enough that Los Angeles doesn’t have a football team, but since CSUN’s football program was eliminated in 2001, students haven’t been able to experience the joy and pain of cheering for Matador football.
Until now.
There is a college-level Matadors football team that we can rally behind and adopt as our own. Less than 300 miles away and within a five-hour drive in Yuma, Ariz., is Arizona Western College. AWC is a member of the National Junior College Athletic Association and competes in the Western States Football League. The WSFL is a very competitive conference, with five of the member schools’ football teams ranked in the top 20 in the nation.
These Matadors even have a new stadium! AWC recently made their debut at Veterans Memorial Stadium a couple of weeks ago. “The Vet” can seat 5,000 people and has new bleachers, improved field lighting and permanent 25-second play clocks at each end of the field.
The Matadors are off to a bit of a rough start this season. They are currently 0-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
In their latest match-up, the Matadors lost to the Phoenix College Bears Saturday night 30-13.
In the first quarter, the Bears’ Timmy House caught a 30-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Shane Mascarenas to get Phoenix on the scoreboard. The Matadors blocked the field goal attempt and Phoenix led 6-0. With 5:01 remaining in the quarter, Tregg Jeffrey hit a 34-yard field goal to increase the Phoenix lead to 9-0.
In the second quarter, the Matadors scored on a 6-yard run by Tim Johnson. Michael Ellison kicked the ball through the uprights to put AWC within two points. The Bears made their way back up the field, however, and Timmy House ran the ball in from the 1-yard line and Jeffrey kicked the extra point. The Bears scored again before the end of the half, when Chris Miranda caught a 14-yard pass from quarterback Jeremy Roberts. At the end of the first half, the Matadors trailed 23-7.
The second half of the game was closer, but AWC was unable to overcome the points deficit. While neither team scored in the third quarter, the Bears’ Robert Benjamin ran the ball in from 25-yards out. Jeffrey put another one between the goalposts to give Phoenix a 30-7 lead.
The Matadors made one last run for it, with Johnson scoring his second touchdown of the game on a 4-yard run. The Matadors went for two points, but Johnson’s run was stopped short by the Bears’ defense.
Next up for the Matadors will be archrivals Eastern Arizona on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Thatcher, Ariz. The game will be broadcast live on www.audiosportsonline.net/ArizonaWestern/Football2007.htm.
Think of it like cheering for our little brothers.