Image provided by: Texas A&M University
About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 6, 1980)
THE BATTALION Page 13 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1980 Ags seek role as spoilers i winners iner dritij of 1: drivingi 1 :22.5fl; a Sb 10.52; D. ng an i 22.561 ai«l| mg a 24.32. r witb 1 sidentofi innersx ’arsons Ford will ;| ptimeofll Soccer sandwich Photo by Howard Eilers fexas A&M soccer fullback Mike Denton, after being traped fetween two Texas Tech players, escapes with the ball in idion last Saturday on the Penberthy Intramural Complex. The Aggies won the game, 2-1 with a goal on a fast break by Aggie striker Paul Winston in the last few seconds of the game. ellard escapes Aggie plague By KURT ALLEN Poconp Ul Battalion Staff Q11 (tw ^ 0W ^ Ie m 'Rhty have fallen! e ftinl a wiki last two weeks this has , In both politically and in the [e^d of football. 1 for “ Idare sa y n0 one could have pre- : led so many upsets. While an MU defeat of Texas was eonceiv- Be, who could envision Texas A&M III mg beaten in Kyle Field by Rice? Ihen, last week, Rice embarras- K Arkansas, Baylor temporarily ■ its mind by losing to San Jose |e and Texas Tech rose from the shes to smoke Texas. Ihe wild chain of upsets was com- yareslai' ^ e( j Tuesday when President- It Ronald Reagan swamped Presi- I fairly *| n t Carter. ing in tk ||/hile all this is very exciting and and Tfflijonderful, nothing tops the upset lachedtkfssissippi State pulled on Alabama rent on tot%t weekend. the donblf^To put it simply, the Bulldogs finalsanJo-Ire magnificent. It was one of the well, ^defensive efforts thrown against lay as wl|abama since Bear Bryant became 1 but tlMe Crimson Tide’s head coach, week of pin til its Waterloo at Jackson, the Kent. "V'f'kle had averaged 38 points per ack and pl'llje. But MSU showed why Emory lard-coached teams are known for ■emainbas%fense by allowing only a field goal, aril Souid'A glance at the stats shows the Idogs held the Tide to a mere 180 jams areS®s net offense. Of that total, 116 man-Bm: ards came on the ground with 64 in Grubert.fhe air. jConardS* Beyond that, the contest consider- rt Stapprtly altered the national collegiate ir this w pings. The Tide slumped from jeenthestkst to sixth, while MSU entered the ■20 for the first time at 17th. ill competd The MSU triumph also earned een somefed coach Emory Bellard UPI Na- br Kent, orkonsingt tional Coach of the Week honors and saw Bulldog defensive end Billy Jackson named Southeast Defensive Player of the Week. Bellard’s reac tion was a characteristically modest one. “Well, that’s incredible,’’ said Bel lard. “I can’t take the credit. But I appreciate it for the players and for the coaching staff.’’ The game also matched up Wish bone offenses. Many of Bellard’s Analysis players said he told them that since he created the Wishbone, he knew how to stop it. “Well,’’ drawled Bellard in reac tion, “I have a pretty good under standing of what it (the Wishbone) is supposed to do and that’s always an asset. ” While Bellard may be low-key now, he certainly couldn’t hide his enthusiasm Saturday. In the MSU dressing room he characterized his team’s performance as “a flat-out 10, just like (actress) Bo Derek. ” The MSU-Bama game was also a matchup between two former Texas Aggie head coaches. Bryant coached Texas A&M from 1954 through 1957 and compiled a 25-14-2 record, in cluding an undefeated 9-0-1 mark in 1956. Bellard led the Aggies from 1972 until resigning midway through 1978. He compiled a 48-27-0 compo site record and took Texas A&M to three bowl games in that time. His defeat of Bryant was the first time the Bear had lost to a current or former Texas A&M coach since Gene Stall ings beat Alabama 20-16 in the 1968 Cotton Bowl. Remarkably, Bellard has turned MSU around in just two seasons. Af ter last year’s 3-8 mark, MSU is now 7-2 and headed for a bowl. Bellard s success once again points up how a coach can build programs when free from administration and alumni interference. It’s too bad Tom Wilson doesn’t enjoy the same benefits here in Aggieland. Since succeeding Bellard, Wilson has diligently strived to build a prog ram which wins and is also honor able. Yet, he has been stymied in that effort. Wilson’s job has been complicated by two things. First, he inherited the results of two sub-par recruiting years by Bellard. But before any body goes around blaming Bellard, it must be remembered that at that point he was also fighting the same outside interference now plaguing Wilson. Secondly, Wilson has been victi mized by an uncanny combination of injuries which have at different times disabled both the offense and de fense. It’s certainly easier to win with a healthy squad. The point is, that no matter who the coach is, no matter where he practices his profession, he must be given a free hand. That’s a football lesson some people in positions of power around here have never learned. Ignorance in the wrong hands can often breed disaster. The sad thing is that Texas A&M seems to have more than its fair share of ignor ance these days. ey should' rail 1 team, dio had > 11 week, bd :e will not® iess. f were e women sf mmamenl teams si* iooten, niB330 Jersey team Aim Next to Rother's m’ dy TEXAS BURGER SPECIAL One Free Eggroll with the purchase of a hamburger & drink. THE BEST BURGERS IN TOWNI Coupon good thru Sat. 11/8/80 Southside Shopping Center 696-0915 By MIKE BURRICHTER Battalion Staff Only one day away from the state championship, the Texas A&M women’s volleyball team, having re cently completed its two worst weeks of the season, is eager, yet apprehensive about the tournament at G. Rollie White this weekend. With only two victories in their last 13 games, the young team, which is made up entirely of under classmen, enters the tournament af ter a tough week in California. The Aggies played in the UCLA Invitational last week in Los Angeles. First year head coach Terry Condon, who played for the Bruins during her college tenure, had hoped the California week would provide the team with good experi ence against top ranked teams. In four games, the Aggies experienced different ways to lose games. But none of the Texas teams were greeted with a hearty welcome. In deed, the University of Texas and the University of Houston, both more experienced and ranked higher than A&M in the state, could muster only one victory in eight games be tween them. UT got swept, and UH, playing in what Condon called an easy pool, managed only one victory. The Aggies may have had the best showing among Texas teams, playing three teams ranked in the top ten, pushing two of those teams to three games. Condon has said all along that her team simply lacks the experience to win the close ones. Many of her play ers agree, saying that late game jit ters lead to many of their losses. Anne Yardley, a sophomore from California, said the team didn’t play that badly despite their record. “I didn’t think we played that bad,” she said. ‘‘Some matches we played well. They were just more experienced and better and top rank ed teams.” Yardley, who came to A&M via California along with two other play- I ZACHARIAS GREENHOUSE j ers, said some of the players had nev er faced top competition before and it showed. “The freshmen from Texas have never played against top teams,” she said. Four freshmen suit out for the Aggies, along with four juniors and the California trio of sophomores. Yardley said the team’s chances in this weekend’s tournament depend on the team’s attitude. “We’re so up and down, it just depends on how we feel. I really want to do well because I want to go to regionals.” The tournament gets underway Friday morning at G. Rollie White Coliseum. The Aggies were not bles sed with a favorable home court draw. They face UT-Arlington, the state’s top ranked team, and Texas Tech, another perennial power, hav ing dealt A&M two losses already this season. Yardley said the team seems to play best when they are relaxed and having fun. “No one has been having fun. One time this season it didn’t matter whether we won or lost so coach just told us to go out there and have fun,” she said. “We went out there and had fun, and ended up beating Lamar. ” The Cardinals are ranked about fourth in the state, at least a notch above the Aggies. It was the only victory for the Ags in three outings with Lamar this season. A&M has to be considered an upset special in this weekend’s tourney, and many play ers are ready to prove it. “We played pretty badly in Cali fornia,” Kristen Bloom, a junior from Arlington said. “But the coach at North Texas State said we’re the tournament spoilers and I’m inclined to agree with him.” New Fall Arrivals at the Locker Room! Warm-Ups by: JOG-JOY HANG TEN WINNING WAYS _ OPEN 9:30-6:00 % l ocker Room "SPORTSHOES UNLIMITED" 800 VILLA MARIA RD. ACROSS FROM MANOR EAST MALL 779 9484 [ise will ®|i teams we» GIBSON’S I SALE ENDS SAT. 1620 Texas Ave. 693-3716 Mon.-Sat. 9-9 __ _ Sun. 10-6 ^ . j Old Milwaukee *■ LONE STAR LONGNECKS 599 1 55 6 pac J 12 oz. j cans j Coca' Cola'Xl&M ~ ^ 6 pac 32 oz. .J 12 pac 79 1st Annual Miller Lite & KAGC 10,000 METER ROAD RACE 'm 5 Sunday, N ovember 9 STARTING AT 2 PM SHARP AT THE y BRAZOS CENTER PICK UP ENTRY BLANKS AT ANY SPORTING GOODS STORE OR CALL 845-5924 ^ — 1 $