THE BATTALION Page 15
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1978
Mark
Patterson
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It is only fitting that the 1978 Texas A&M football season ended in
saster, a 22-7 loss to The University of Texas on national television
riday night. The nation saw the remains of what was a typical Aggie
otball season.
For 11 years in a row the Texas Aggies have finished as an also-ran
the quest for the right to be the Southwest Conference’s Cotton
iowl representative. This season the ending to the story was the
me but the middle chapters were different.
The Aggies did not hold their fans in suspense by waiting until one
ftheir final games before blowing the season. The team did it early,
Iropping a 33-0 decision to the Houston Cougars in the fifth game of
le year. From then on it was just a matter of where Texas A&M
'ould finish behind the power teams of the Southwest Conference.
Now that the 84th season of Texas A&M football has come to an
|nd Aggies around the world will look back at 1978 as one of the most
nusual, if not disappointing seasons the Cadets have endured.
NOT DISAPPOINTING IN terms of their final record — 7-4
[mild be welcomed at schools from Oregon to Mississippi. But four
bsses for a Texas A&M football team is unacceptable in the eyes of
Lggie fans. Not since the 1973 season have the Aggies lost more than
nree games in a season. And this year’s setbacks came in a season
[hen many were picking the Aggies to finally make it back to the
Jotton Bowl.
In their first four games the Aggies played like their fans had hoped
would, running up scores of 37-10, 37-2, 58-0 and 38-9. The
ores of those four games may be why this season has turned out to
i so disappointing for Aggie fans.
As a result of the first four games a false sense of optimism was
pstilled in Texas A&M fans. After all, the team was rolling over its
pponents with ease. Texas A&M was unstoppable, or so it seemed.
BUT THEN CAME the trip to the Astrodome, where the Aggie’s
978 bubble was burst by the Cougars. It was an embarrassing loss,
qne that would have serious repercussions two weeks later.
The loss hung with the Aggies through the next week, when the
[adets were shocked by the Baylor Bears 24-6 in Kyle Field. The
|umni began talking and the students began complaining. It proved
much for Coach Emory Bellard. In a move as shocking as the
Bck-to-back losses Bellard resigned as head coach and athletic direc-
r.
The season had begun to crumble and now the team as well began
splinter. Offensive Coordinator Tom Wilson was named as Bel-
rd’s successor in hopes of salvaging what was left of the season.
Working with what he had, Wilson did as well as he could in the
ual five games. He lead the Aggies to three wins, and more impor-
intly, the team received a bowl bid for the fourth time in as many
ears. To have a 7-4 team get an invitation to a bowl is a feat in itself.
THE AGGIES HAD a chance to salvage the season, at least in the
ft’es of Texas A&M fans around the country, with a victory over Texas
[riday night. But that dream was shattered, as was the dream for a
lerth in the Cotton Bowl this season. The Aggies were outclassed by
Longhorns. The Cotton Bowl berth went to Houston. The year
asn’t one for dreams.
But Texas A&M has one game left, against Iowa State in the Hall of
ame Bowl Dec. 20. There is a chance that the team could end 1978
Jolding a 8-4 record, equal to their final figure last season.
No matter what the final won-lost record this season Aggie fans will
|ill utter the saying that has become synonymous with their team.
Wait until next year.” And those people who try to explain that next
ear might be a repeat of years past will live through another barrage
if Highway 6 attacks and “two-percenter” accusations.
And both will be welcomed. Without them it wouldn’t be football
ason at Texas A&M University.
Aggie notes
Volleyball team ends
season
Texas A&M’s men’s volleyball
team wrapped up an almost perfect
season at Southwest Texas last
Saturday.
Going into the league cham
pionship tournament, the Aggies
had won the University of Texas
tourney, placed third at the Univer
sity of Texas at Arlington, second in
the University of Houston tourney
and first at the Southwest Texas
State tournament. The Aggies had a
season record of 25-2 going into the
league championship.
The 1978 all-league team was
selected by the players. A&M was
represented by center blocker and
spiker Bob Bardsby and center
blocker and spiker Mike Malley.
Other selections were Texas’ Ron
Hermes, strong side spiker and
Keith Cassell, setter and spiker;
SWTSU’s Bruce Whittley, center
blocker and spiker; and UTA’s Andy
Hallford, setter and spiker.
Texas A&M was seeded No. 1 for
the tourney but fell to Texas by
scores of 15-13, 8-15 and 15-7 in the
finals.
The outcome of the pool play (two
games with all opponents) left A&M
and Texas tied with 8-2 records, but
A&M was 15 points behind Texas on
a point differential. That placed
Texas first in pool play with a bye to
the finals while A&M (second) was
pitted against third place SWTSU.
Although the match was won by
A&M in two games by scores of 15-5
and 15-10, the games were ex
tremely intense, with the second
game lasting thirty-five minutes and
four full team rotations.
In the finals with Texas, the Ag
gies were definitely tired but spir
ited. The fresh Texas squad proved
too much for the Aggies however, as
the Longhorns won the cham
pionship in three games.
The Texas A&M men’s bowling
team finished their fall season this
past weekend in Houston. Compet
ing for A&M were Dave Il
lingworth, Jay Chester, Mark
Myrick, Paul Merriman, and Steve
Wright.
A&M’s first three-game match of
the day was against Lamar Univer
sity. The Aggies won 20 and one-
half points out of 24 with Myrick
having high series of 584 and high
game of 240. Illingworth had second
high series of 577.
The second match was against
Rice University where each team
won 12 points. High series for A&M
was Merriman with a 601 and Il
lingworth had high game of 218.
Merriman also had high games of
210 and 202.
The final match of the day was
against TSU where the men’s team
performed excellently. For the sec
ond game the team had a total series
of 1038, an average of 207 fory five
men. High series was Chester with
a 653 while Myrick had a 598, Il
lingworth had a 571, and Merriman
had a 570. High games were Ches
ter with a 232 and Myrick with a
229.
High average for the day was
Chester with a 197. Merriman was
high point winner with six and
one-half out of nine and Chester and
Myrick each won six points.
The men and women’s bowling
teams final TIBC match will be at
Lamar on Jan. 27. Both teams are
currently far ahead of the other
schools for first place and will repre
sent the division at the state cham
pionship in February.
once. The defensive effort was led
by goalie Jay Cooke.
Texas A&M is now 3-0 this sea
son. The Aggies have also defeated
SMU and Houston. They travel to
Waco Saturday to play Baylor. A
win there will assure Texas A&M of
the pre-season pick as league cham
pions of the Southwest Conference.
The Texas A&M lacrosse team
avenged the football team’s loss by
defeating the Texas Longhorns
Saturday in Austin. The Aggies won
the hard-fought contest 7-4.
The A&M offense was led by
Chris Desadier and Dave McDer
mott who each scored two goals and
Ben Neal, Guy Grosgebauer and
Brian McDermott each scoring
Landry to rest key players
United Press International
DALLAS — With the division
title neatly wrapped up for Christ
mas, Dallas coach Tom Landry said
Tuesday he would be resting some
of his front-line players during the
final two regular season games.
But, Landry said, not at the ex
pense of winning.
Winning is something the Cow
boys have gotten used to again dur
ing the past month and Landry does
not want it to stop before the
playoffs.
“ We re a contender now, ” Landry
said Tuesday. “Four or five weeks
we didn’t act like one. But we are in
a position to make a run for it now. I
think it is important over the next
two games to maintain the
momentum.”
There are not many clouds on the
current Dallas horizon. Fullback
Robert Newhouse, who has missed
two games with a hairline leg frac
ture, will be held out of next Sun
day’s game against Philadelphia but
should be ready to meet the New
York Jets in the regular season
finale.
If there is any hint of a problem, it
has to do with a sore finger on the
throwing hand of quarterback Roger
Staubach.
“Roger is still having a little trou
ble with his finger,” Landry said.
“We will curtail a little of his passing
in practice this week. But he will be
ready to start Sunday.”
Just how concerned is Landry
over Staubach s ailing digit?
“It really doesn’t overconcern
me,” he said. “It’s something that
gets sore. If he hits it on a helmet or
on a wrong spot it could be bad.
Now it’s just a matter of having
some swelling after a game. It usu
ally subsides during the week and
he is ready to go on Sunday.
“How much it affects his throwing
I couldn’t say and, of course, he
wouldn’t say himself. I don’t think it
bothers him a whole lot.
“It’s not a chronic thing. It hasn’t
been really severe. It’s just the swel
ling in one joint that makes it sore
and keeps it sore. Just the throwing
of the ball doesn’t bother him, but it
is hard to pass the ball that many
times without hitting somebody
witb your hand. That’s what kind of
triggers it.”
Landry, however, does not plan
to hold Staubach out of action, al
though his quarterback might wind
up on the sidelines earlier during a
game than he normally would.
“I might be quicker to subsitute
players than I have in the past,” said
Landry, whose team wrapped up
the NFC East title with a 17-10 win
over New England last Sunday.
“We will probably work our bac
kup people more like (running back)
Alois Blackwell, who hasn’t played a
whole lot.
“But I wouldn’t jeopardize our
chance to win. I think it’s important
to win.”
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United Press International
is the fourth in a series of
\es profiling Texas A&M’s 1979
fthwest Conference basketball
nents.
Fayetteville, Ark. —
[nigs may not be quite as exciting
asketball season as they were a
ago around the University of
.nsas.
it’s not all that often that a team
| the chance to be one of the final
I teams playing for the NCAA
the Nffl anc ^ what Arkansas did
nkJdiii«i year ~ eventually capturing
r hardi’L P* ace * n t ^ le Southwest Con-
' a ^ e( | r jfcce’s most historic year of com-
' " Two of the three men who
ght basketball success to the
rbacks have moved on to other
;s, leaving Sidney M oncrief be
ta try to act as the glue that will
a young team together,
put Sidney Moncrief is pretty
E gl ue -
iVith Moncrief — if he stays
|thy — we are not going to be a
team,” said Arkansas coach
lie Sutton.
t just how good can Arkansas
ith the loss of Ron Brewer and
in Delph? That’s what Sutton
ing to find out these days,
tmay not be as fun to coach this
Sutton said. “But we have
e a lot of progress. The trouble
that we have already been
ued by injuries.”
ihris Bennett, a junior who fig-
to be a starter for Arkansas this
is now questionable with a
injury. But returning center
e Schall, although perhaps not
percent following an operation
[ing the off-season, is making
ress and probably will be in the
up.
|We have more question marks
at any time since I’ve been at
nsas,” said Sutton. “We’ve had
0 a lot of teaching during our
‘kouts. It’s been boring to Sidney
the older players. We are work-
them harder and longer than at
time since the first year we were
B.”
loncrief, whose spectacular slam
rreen i>ks and leaping rebounds were a
in Arkansas’ 32-4 season last
r, admits workouts have been a
e slow.
Hie coach is having to stop prac-
a lot of times to tell people how
fo things,” Moncrief said. “Last
year things just flowed smoothly.
But I don’t see myself as having to
carry the load. We have a lot of guys
who can score on this team.
“Last year everybody expected us
to be a good team and to go to the
final four. Now, if we can do it again
when people are not expecting it, it
would really be something.”
Sutton is counting on his school’s
recently acquired winning tradition
to help the Razorbacks this year.
“We are not a good ball handling
ball club right now,” he said. “But
we can be competitive. We are
going to have to mature, we are
going to have to have two or three
newcomers come in and play consis
tently well and we have to have
Schall healthy.”
“Because of the rennovation in
Barnhill Fieldhouse (which will hold
9,000 this year) we are having to
travel to other gyms to practice.
“But that is what we did two years
ago and we won 26 games. Maybe
that is what we need to give us men
tal toughness.”
The Razorbacks presently have a
1-0 season record, having defeated
Oklahoma 80-74 earlier in the week.
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