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Battalion/Page 13A
September 16, 1982
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Lightning Lance
Mcllhenny one of keys to Mustangs’ fortunes
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United Press International
DALLAS — Lance Mcllhen
ny had a good reason to break
down and cry on that October
afternoon in Austin two years
ago.
He was, after all, about to be
fed to the Longhorns.
Texas was unbeaten and
ranked No. 2 in the country.
Longhorn fans were getting
frothed up about a possible na
tional championship. And here
was Mcllhenny, a mere fresh
man, starting his first game. He
had done nothing to deserve the
fate that was seemingly awaiting
him on the floor of Memorial
Stadium.
But Mcllhenny was not
crying because of fright. It was
the sheer emotion of the mo
ment that had finally overcome
him.
I stood there listening to our
alma mater,” he recalls, “and the
next thing I knew there were
tears rolling down my cheeks.”
I he rest, as they say, is lore.
Mcllhenny and the SMU Mus
tangs barbequed the Longhorns
that day, 20-(), starting them on
a slide in which they lost four of
their last six games.
Quite a few SMU touchdowns
have been recorded since those
tears welled up in Mcllhenny’s
eyes. He has gone from anxious
freshman to seasoned junior, he
kets migl
hout Mashas quarterbacked a conference
lehampionship club and he has
been a key factor in the splendid
careers of Eric Dickerson and
Craig James.
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SMU quarterback Lance
Mcllhenny leads Mustangs
And Saturday night when the
Mustangs defeated Tulane, he
began what might turn out to be
the most distinguished season in
the history of SMU football. The
Mustangs are picked to win the
league title again and could bat
tle, for the national champion
ship.
But if Mcllhenny has been
lying awake at night thinking ab
out all sorts of post-season hon
ors, he won’t admit it.
“Tve always been taught that
it is important to worry about
the next game you are playing
and nothing else,” said Mcllhen
ny, looking directly into the eyes
of the questioner. “We can’t
think about playing in the Cot
ton Bowl or playing somebody
for the national championship.”
Dickerson and James com
bined for almost 2,600 rushing
yards from the tailback position
last year and that total would
have been far less had it not been
for the smooth option quarter-
backing of Mcllhenny.
“He is,” new SMU coach Bob
by Collins says, “the best option
quarterback in the country.”
His ability soon became evi
dent in Mcllhenny’s first start.
The critical play of the Texas
game was a 53-yard touchdown
run by James, who took a pitch
from Mcllhenny just as the
quarterback was being leveled
by a Texas lineman.
“I guess that (pitching the ball
at just the critical moment) is
what I do best,” said Mcllhenny.
“You can’t be shy when you
pitch it. We’ve got great running
backs and my job is to get them
the ball.
“I’ve always been one to just
do the best I can. I don’t have the
great statistics. But you do what
the situation calls for. With re
petition you get better and bet
ter at something. When there is
trouble in front of you the idea is
to get the ball to the running
back and that’s what I try to do.”
Mcllhenny has started 16
games for the Mustangs and his
team has won 14 of them. And
despite his vulnerable position
he has yet to miss a minute of
playing time.
“I have seen some stars,” he
said. “And after one hit I re
member throwing up a little
blood. But I have learned to get
out of the way now. When you
pitch that ball you get upheld,
you don’t stand around waiting
for somebody to tee off on you.
“The question is not whether
you can stand a lick, but whether
you can get up afterwards.”
And as Mcllhenny has con
tinued to get up, respect for him
has grown around the league.
“You know that freshmen
don’t carry much clout in college
football,” he said. “And when I
came in as a freshman I had to
prove to the team what I could
do. Now I’ve been here for three
years and I need to show some of
the leadership qualities that
some of the older players have
shown to me.
“A quarterback has to be a
leader.”
Mcllhenny has proven his
leadership abilities over the past
two seasons. He has absorbed
the changes brought on by the
new coaching staff and he has
entered the 1982 season with the
proper amount of confidence in
his own abilities.
He began his career as a col
lege quarterback with tears in
his eyes. But ever since, it has
been the opposition who’s been
crying.
STARSHIP
When You Care Enough
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1 to get
Astros add to Atlanta’s
misery with series sweep
THE VEST OF WARPED
Classic strips from the past 2
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United Press International
ATLANTA — Most of the
the Rod|Houston Astros say they are
pulling for Atlanta to win the
National League West, but
they’ve dealt a severe blow to the
Braves’ chances.
“I think a lot of teams are
pulling for the Braves because
they are a young team and this is
their first real shot at being in
of a prol contention,” Astros’ pitcher
"Nolan Ryan said after stopping
the Braves 5-4 Wednesday night
to complete a three-game series
sweep.
“But we’re going to play
fee hard,” Ryan said. “We want to be
a factor in the pennant race.”
The loss dropped the Braves
2'/a games behind Los Angeles
as the Dodgers completed a
sweep over San Diego with a 5-0
victory for their sixth straight
win.
The Braves, who open a
weekend series in Cincinnati
Friday night, can only hope the
Astros can help even things up
C*
n page
nee facto
feel like
for imprt
ive two
;ames.
i get a
son, and convinced Ryan he was
ready to come out.
“I didn’t have real good stuff
tonight and basically struggled,”
Ryan said. “I felt like after the
eighth inning that if I stayed out
there in the ninth I might
jeopardize the outcome of the
game.”
Smith, who set the Braves
down in order in the ninth, said
he was “looking forward to
going out to LA and trying to
sweep those guys. That would
really make the season for us. I
would rather see the Braves in
there. I don’t care for the Dod
gers too much.”
A Houston sweep in Los
Angeles would be fine for Atlan
ta manager Joe Torre, who shut
his door after the game and had
nothing to say to reporters for
the first time this season.
“There’s not much to say,
really,” Atlanta’s Jerry Royster
said. “You can talk until you are
blue in the face and that doesn’t
get any hits or runs up on the
board.”
ixk:
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MSC Cepheid Variable
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TIME
BASTOITS
• • . they didn’t make history,
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Thursday, September 16
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s felt that
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sorry
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aid
we pti w hen they travel to Los Angeles
elf and
we all
Paine
twasg
us
i as it
ich a serif
AeorgePui
this weekend.
j “We were very disappointed
we got swept by the Dodgers at
home last weekend,” Ryan said.
“We wanted to play the spoiler
role against them at home. Now,
i ; we want to go to Los Angeles
and play that role.”
With the game tied 2-2, short-
sneed Lc st0 P Dickie Thon blooped a two-
n itinhus 9 u t, opposite-field double over
d Paine J hyst base with the bases loaded
ied thetk ? ' n ^ sevent b inning to drive in
three unearned runs and give
the Astros the victory.
Ryan, 15-11, allowed seven
hits and four runs in eight in
nings and Dave Smith finished
up for his 11th save. Tommy
oggs, 2-2, was charged with all
five Houston runs in 6% in
nings.
The Braves made it close in
the eighth on Bob Horner’s two-
fun homer, his 32nd of the sea-
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