By Tom Ables
(Editor's Note: Tom Ables may be San Diego State's No. 1 fan. He served as the school's first publicity director for athletics and also served as the Sports Editor of the Daily Aztec. He is a member of the Aztec Hall of Fame. Ables has seen over 600 Aztec football games in person.)
When you've seen a few hundred games, it means you've seen a lot of plays. I'm not sure of the math, but working with round numbers, it must be somewhere nearing 90,000 or more. And yet, from all of those, there are some that stand out in my mind. You probably have your own favorites, but here are some of mine.
It was 1950. October 21. Aztec Bowl. The Aztecs were losing to Fresno State. Timeout, with just enough left for one more play. The ball was just inside the 50. Throw the bomb, right? (No one had coined the term "Hail Mary" yet.) Nope. QB Jesse Thompson threw a little swing pass to Art Preston in the left flat, which led to one of the most amazing runs I've ever seen. Art must have run a hundred yards, weaving back and forth. He must have been hit, but not tackled, by everyone on the Fresno team. But he scored the tying TD. Game ended, 20-20.
Jump ahead to 1985 for a matched set of long runs. Both home games. Both times the Aztecs were buried deep in their own territory at the 8-yard line. And both times, quick-starting Chris Hardy popped through a hole and went 92 yards for a TD. The first in a 48-23 win over Colorado State; the second, a 34-6 win over UTEP. Still the second-longest runs in Aztec history, topped only by Phil Prokop's 98-yarder against Pepperdine in 1952, and equaled by Skeet Quinlan's 92-yarder in 1951 against MCRD.
While this is just a random list, maybe my all-time favorite was Bob Jones' 98-yard interception return for a TD that sealed that great 36-0 win over North Dakota State in 1966. But for a combination of thrills and laughs, there was the 100-yard interception return by Dave Croudip in 1982 against Long Beach State. Actually it was more than 100 yards, but that's all the NCAA rules let you have. He intercepted the ball deep in the end zone and started running it out rather than downing it. Defensive Coordinator Burnie Miller was screaming, "NO! NO! NO!" until he saw what was unfolding and he switched to, "NO - DON'T STOP! GO! GO! GO!"
A nice variation on this was in a road game at Air Force in 1984. It was late in the game, and the Falcons appeared to be headed for a TD, near the Aztec goal line. But Tory Nixon read the option just right, and he took the QB's pitch as if it were meant for him and went 97 yards the other way for an Aztec touchdown.
Another all-time Aztec defensive gem was really four plays ? the goal line stand at USC in 1999. I'm not sure of the exact yardline, but with the first-and-goal inside the 10, SC ran four straight plays at the middle of the line, and led by Jerome Haywood, the Aztecs turned them back.
Marshall Faulk. The name is magic. The memorable plays too many to mention. Maybe the whole package of plays in his very first game as a freshman, when he set a then-NCAA rushing record with 386 yards against UOP in 1991. Maybe the famous 63-yard TD run in the 3rd quarter of the win at BYU in '92 when he made a very good DB look pathetic. Or maybe a short TD run at Hawaii when it appeared there was absolutely no hole, but Marshall got in the end zone. The day he made the USC Trojans look sick. Or his performance in that 52-52 tie with BYU in 1991, when he ran for 118 yards and had another 116 in pass receptions, including an 80-yard pass play from David Lowery. But I'd better stop. After all, you could write a whole book about great runs by Marshall Faulk.
How about a memorable punt? Noel Prefontaine hit one at New Mexico in 1996 that went almost to their goal line, took an abrupt right-angle turn and rolled dead at the 2. It was an 82-yard punt. Key to the Aztecs' 48-42 win. Who could forget the Dennis Shaw to Tommy Nettles 86-yard TD pass in the 68-7 win over Southern Mississippi in 1968. I swear that Tommy ran the last 10 yards backward into the end zone.
And, of course, Nate Tandberg's 36-yard field goal with one second left to beat BYU, 16-15, in 2000.
Obviously, I'm omitting (but not forgetting!) dozens of others. The great 51-yard TD run by Haven Moses with a pass from Thom Williams at Northern Illinois in 1967. A 92-yard pass from Brian Sipe to Robert West at Fresno in 1971. Amazing plays by Jimmy Sandusky who played only one season, 1983. The Marco Morales field goal that beat Wyoming in the never-to-be-forgotten blizzard game in 1982. Ray Peterson's 91-yard punt return against Fresno in 1992. The onside kick to open the game against Iowa State in 1981 in Coach Doug Scovil's first season. Kern Carson...Rod Dowhower...Tom Dahms...Ed Ricketts...Fred Dryer...Willie Buchanon...Cliff Hancock...Gary Garrison...Don Horn...Don Shy...Tommy Reynolds...Tim Delaney...memories of great plays from all of them, and many more.
They're dragging me away from the keyboard, so I'll stop here. But if you have a chance, let me know your most memorable Aztec plays. I'm sure I haven't covered many worthy of mention. But, from maybe 90,000, hundreds are bound to be left out. Go Aztecs!
(NOTE: I'd be remiss if I didn't credit Frank Aronoff for his great help. I've got a mind filled with memories; Frank does, too, but he also has a comprehensive file that he uses to help me be sure my memories are right. Thanks, Frank!)