sports
Battalion/Page 1
August 31,1982
Sherrill begins new season
without fanfare, fireworks
TANK MCNAMARA
by Jeff Millar & Bill Hinds
“We begin the Sherrill era.”
And so it began, a beginning as simple as
the five-word sentence that Texas A&M
President Frank E. Vandiver used to intro
duce the Aggies’ 1982 football season.
Make no mistake, there were those in the
standing-room-only crowd at all-University
night who were there to listen to the band,
or practice a few yells, or maybe even learn
some Aggie traditions.
But you can bet the farm that most of the
people crammed into G. Rollie White Col
iseum Monday night were there to see that
same beginning.
Sure, they whooped and cheered when
Head Yell Leader Tom Joseph welcomed
everyone back. And they sat politely
through several introductions and short
speeches. But it was evident that most every
one wanted to hear Jackie Sherrill.
So when Joseph brought the Aggies’ new
head coach on stage, you’d have thought it
would’ve been quite a spectacular introduc
tion, complete with fireworks and a long red
carpet.
But if you expected fanfare and flam-
boyancy, you would’ve been disappointed.
Fanfare and flamboyancy aren’t Sherrill’s
style — red carpets aren’t his bag. Gridiron
green with white stripes is his favorite carpet
color. Fireworks are scoreboards with lots of
points for the good guys. It’s easier to prove
what you can do than to tell what you can do.
So without much ado, Joseph introduced
the Aggies’ new head coach. Sherrill came
up on stage like he’d been in Aggieland all
his life.
You could tell right away, however, that
this wasn’t just another new coach trying to
gloss his way into the fans’ hearts. Sherrill
spoke softly at first, then in stacatto bursts,
almost nervously — feeling out the crowd as
they felt him out. It was the first encounter
between the man who is supposed to lead
the Aggies to football supremacy and the
students who want so desperately for him to
do so.
Slowly, simply, both coach and crowd
seemed to gain more than respect for each
other. They gained an understanding — a
realization of common goals that wasn’t
completely there when the evening began.
Not to say Sherrill wasn’t aware of the
potential support the Twelfth Man can give
a football coach. He told a story about his
first day on campus:
A student walked up to Sherrill and
Cougars’ no-name show should
finish season near top of SWC
United Press International
HOUSTON — Coach Bill
Yeoman’s 21st Houston team
potentially is a steamroller
offensive outfit whose line is
back intact from 1981 when it
led the way to 20 points a game,
despite funlbling 39 times.
Under Yeoman, Houston has
gone two years now without win
ning the SWC title and going to
the Cotton Bowl, an unusually
long time for the newest confer
ence member. And the Cougars
are getting hungry.
In Houston’s first four years
competing for the football title
starting in 1976, the Cougars
went to the Cotton Bowl three
times.
Yeoman, disappointed dur
ing a third-place finish in the
SWC last season, has worked the
Cougars fearsomely since then.
“We may have hit a little
more,” Yeoman said. “Last year
our pads weren’t down like they
should have been. Bodies we
ren’t hurtling over the line like
they should have been.”
Looking at game films of the
7-4-1 season made him sick, he
said.
“I couldn’t believe how many
times we got inside the 20-yard
line and didn’t get a point,” he
said. “We fumbled at the worst
times all season. If we hang onto
the football this fall someone is
going to have to work hard to
stop us.
Houston’s offensive line of
center Billy Kidd, 6-4, 245;
guards Scott Marshall, 6-3, 245,
and Bobby Grimes, 6-4, 250;
and tackles W.C. Ransom, 6-5,
260, and Maceo Fifer, 6-6, 265,
has a year of experience
together. All are red-shirt
seniors except for Marshall, and
he’s a red-shirt junior.
Up front defensively the
Cougars look vulnerable, and so
Yeoman prefers in the two
weeks before his season opener
at Miami not to say much about
the line. Houston follows Miami
by playing Arizona State and
Lamar.
“We’re going to have to pur
sue like a bunch of wildmen on
defense because we’re gonna
make some mistakes,” he said
during a team appraisal Monday
for visiting sportswriters on the
Southwest Conference Press
Tour.
Houston did not lose in the
regular season after Oct. 17 last
year, although their season en
ded on a sour note in a 40-14
debacle against Oklahoma in the
Sun Bowl.
Experienced junior quarter
back Lionel Wilson, who has
gained 10 pounds to 214, again
directs that talented offensive
line, but his running backs and
wide receivers are relatively in
experienced and unproven as
regulars.
Yeoman said backs Dallas
Wiggins, Donald Jordan and
Patrick Franklin are quicker
than the backs who performed
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asked, “Have you seen us perform?” Sherrill
replied that no, he hadn’t seen a game yet.
“I’m not talking about the players, Coach,”
the student said, “I’m talking about the stu
dent body.”
That’s the kind of support that makes
coaching a little easier, and Sherrill seems
determined to use his Kyle Field advantage
to the fullest. He told the crowd that when
the Aggies get Boston College “in there,
(Kyle Field) we’re not going to take any pris
oners.”
And just as Sherrill was aware of the
Twelfth Man, Aggie fans are more than
familiar with Sherrill’s success at Pittsburgh,
success that is almost legendary now. Con
secutive 11-1 seasons, top-ranked defenses,
numerous bowl games — and all these
accomplishments in so little time. It didn’t
take long for the students to let Sherrill
know what they would consider to be a suc
cessful season here in the Southwest Con
ference.
The chants of “We want Cotton” that
spread around the coliseum before the
program began were impatiently shortened
to “Cotton Bowl, Cotton Bowl” not long af
ter Sherrill introduced his coaching staff
and starting line-ups.
“We want Cotton” and “taking no prison
ers” — those are big words, winning words.
For Aggie fans, they have a nice ring to
them. The Sherrill era is here, and the stu
dents are liking what they’re hearing.
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Royals roll as Leonard
stifles Rangers at home
ity is playing great
said Johnson.
last year. And wide receivers
Milton Watson and David
Roberson are bigger and block
better.
Houston should score more
and should give up more. For
the first time in many years,
Yeoman does not have a bellcow
performer in the defensive line;
nor does he have an all-
conferance performer at defen
sive end or linebacker. The
Cougars’ secondary led by free
safety Calvin Eason and left cor-
nefback Butch LaCroix, is out
standing.
United Press International
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The
Kansas City Royals have made a
believer out of Texas Ranger
Manager Darrell Johnson.
“I don’t think the other peo
ple can keep up with them,” said
Johnson in the wake of an 8-3
loss to the Royals Monday night.
It was Kansas City’s fourth
straight victory over the Rangers
in a span of seven days, its
seventh straight win overall and
opened a 2!/2-game lead over
California in the American
League West.
“Kansas City is
baseball,”
“They’ve got it rolling and the
schedule is in their favor.
They’re just playing too good.”
The best team in baseball at
home with a 45-17 record, Kan
sas City will play 19 of its final 31
games in Royals Stadium while
the Angels must play 20 of their
last 32 on the road.
However, Royals Manager
Dick Howser doesn’t feel the
schedule will be the main factor
down the stretch.
“The difference will be the
pitching and our pitching has
been very good the last month,”
said Howser. “I looked it up and
nobody has pitched better. It’s
the strongest it’s been all season,
which is what you like to have in
September.
Dennis Leonard, 9-3, allowed
11 hits but just three runs in win
ning his sixth straight and
fourth in a row since returning
from the disabled list Aug. 8.
The Royals backed him with
14 hits, including four by the
league’s leading hitter — Willie
Wilson — in winning for the
110th time in the last 12 games.
Wilson, who figured in three
of the Royals’ four scoring in
nings, scored twice and drove in
two runs in lilting his average to
.348.
“When Willie gets on you fi
gure we’re going to score some
runs,” said Howser. “The games
he doesn’t get on, we usually!
ven’t won.”
Wilson, who has failed tol
safely in only 19 of II
this season, credits hissuccesi
the plate with being able toji
complete concentration.
“I block out the batting
just like you block
crowd,” said Wilson. “Atemi
you hear it, but I trynottoili
when I’m at the plate. Thini
is my worst enemy because tl
I start thinking of whatapitd
has and where he mi|
the ball. 1 jst have to
react.”
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★ ★★★★★***
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NEW CLASSES
starting
SEPTEMBER 7
in College Station
For more information, call
CINDY SOOTER
846-9490
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• BAPTIST STUDENT UNION HOWDY PARTY
. Thursday, Sept. 2 7 p.m. at the BSU
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Sept. 3 beginning at 5:30 p.m.
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$1003 discount on all permanent waves
including the California Curl.
696-6933
Call early for your appointment.
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