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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 1983)
Texas A&M povudFim f Ream, The Battalion Sports Monday, October 10,1983/The Battalion/Page 'I urray, Aggies smash Coogs, 30-7 ■e by John Wagner Battalion Staff In the end, Kevin Murray proved at one scat-cat quarterback is better anitwo. Texas A&M’s Murray, in his first illegiate start, tossed three touch- >wn passes to three different receiv- s as the rejuvenated Aggie offense jtpast the two-quarterback Houston ttigars, 30-7. ptie quick-footed freshman from orth Dallas High School put an end A&M’s quarterback “situation” with hit by a bufelperformance Saturday, passing for ndingat thefaKyards and rushing for 39 more, te at the hi fter replacing junior John Mazur in Bbf A&M’s last three games, Mur- v did not see'Mas finally given a chance to strut as fired fmlltuff as a starter. He responded to 1 whetheritV: e call with glee, edattheheltl”! knew if I had time to throw the til, good things would happen,” icopter was« aged and cob n, transpo: he main comp ternationalainl cay, Rowesaiil dio said tbe(i e militia agrtl e Kharoubrel Murray said after the game. Happen they did. The Aggies, who had been struggling offensively all year (they scored their first rushing touchdown of the season late in the fourth quarter) were simply too much for Houston’s error-prone Cougars. The story of this game, however, is a tale of two teams — one whose star appears to be rising, the other’s fading fast. Take a guess at who’s who. Had the Cougars not made enough mistakes to last the rest of Bill Yeo man’s coaching career, it might have been a different story. For two and one-half quarters, the Cougars dominated. Then they realized they weren’t meeting their usual dumb- play quota, and whoops, there went the ball game. Check the facts: • UH fumbled the ball five times, losing four. In six games, the Cougars have turned the ball over an incredible 26 times. Against A&M, three lost fumbles stopped long drives (One came with the Cougars at the A&M 15-yard line, one at the A&M 22, and another at the A&M 14). The other fumble gave the Aggies a first-and-10 at the UH 49, and led to A&M’s third touchdown. • Cougar punt returner Larry Shepherd called fair catch at the UH 3-yard line on a ball that would have gone into the end zone had he not caught it. The Cougars gained three yards in three plays, and punter Robert Myers shanked a 30-yarder that gave A&M a first down at the UH 36. The Aggies scored seven plays later. • The Cougars were stopped three times on fourth-and-one — each time after running a simple dive play into the line. • Both UH quarterbacks were in effective when it came to scoring. Freshman Gerald Landry and sopho more Quince Harris led the UH veer to 495 yards of total offense. Despite being speedy runners and adequate passers, however, neither could put the ball in the end zone with consisten cy. “I guess we have to work on hold ing on to the ball,” said Landry. It was obvious quickness was the “spark” A&M coach Jackie Sherrill had been looking for when he named Murray as starting quarterback Mon day. By utilizing roll-out pass plays and Murray’s ability to run with the ball, A&M was able to negate UH’s defensive pressure. “Kevin gives us a lot of dimension,” Sherrill said. “He’s going to make it very hard for other teams to prepare for us.” After ati uneventful first quarter, UH scored first when Landry tossed a short pass to split end Jeffery Fields, who broke away from the defense and cruised to an 82-yard touchdown re ception. A clearing block by flanker Kevin Johnson at the A&M 20-yard line made it possible for Fields to score. The Aggie offense was unable to muster much of a drive in the first half. Several key penalties and two tur novers — both by Murray — kept A&M bottled up. But with 4:45 left in the third quar ter, Murray found tailback Rod Bern- stine all alone in the right flat and tos sed an eight-yard scoring pass to the freshman from Bryan. Alan Smith’s extra point tied the game at 7-7. “We had a roll-out pass on, and I just went out into the flat,” Bernstine said. “The defensive secondary didn’t see me at all.” Murray proves rosh can play 7' 5’ s up the scfll by John P. Lopez e Shouf Battalion Staff drut, as we Prior to Saturday’s 30-7 win tstalhighwjer the Houston Cougars, nit over totkpething was missing from ‘internal st exas A&M’s offense. ■he running game sput- H, the passing game was in- Bstent and consequently, the Hes lost three of their first •Ur games. But if the Aggies’ big win over Koogs Saturday is any in flation, that missing ingredient Ka 6-2, 187-pound strong- med quarterback from North alias High School named overwhelr evil1 Murray. l vtwo-vearccJM urra y ignited the Aggies 14 percent ■day three touchdown f the system’!.while keeping Houston : on strikefo::ltM ance with his running ute teachersly' That speed, Texas A&M he walkout. Ip Jackie Sherrill said, is fit gives the Aggies an added intheChicaMeat while Murray is at the they wantitjm. Is Tuesday “He (Murray) gives us a lot,” ement wouldiprill said. “People have to do ed by Mom awful lot to stay with him. rgainers wertfS going to make it tough for could come her teams to prepare for us.” 24 hours. And that suits Murray just le. long strike hi 5 “As long as I’m in there doing )0 teachers erjob and I get better every board empkB, I’ll be happy,” Murray 100 students(tfl “I was a little nervous lo tion’s third la tyi but once I got in there and ■ed to connect (on passes) I rike dragged| pretty good, ore parents, If We’ve been struggling education eiwsively all year. It just felt : the affectdw to get a win. I think I re- re city's stinf > were also sponded well today.” Sherrill said he thought Mur ray played as well as could be expected considering Murray is a freshman and was playing in front of better than 57,000 vocal Aggie fans. “He did a lot of things well today,” Sherrill said. “He audi- bled well and used the clock very well in the fourth quarter. For a freshman to use the clock the way he did at the end of the game, that shows a lot of poise. “But that’s just the way he is. He’s a very mature young man and he’s very dedicated.” And Murray’s statistics show exactly how important it is to have a mobile quarterback. He connected on 18 of 31 passes for 217 yards and three touch downs, but the key in Murray’s offensive output were the 67 yards he gained rushing, not counting three sacks for 28 yards in Tosses. It seemed that every time Murray rolled into the flat, the Cougar defense didn’t know whether Murray was going to run or pass. To say the least, the young quarterback impressed everyone at Kyle Field. Aggie running back Rod Bernstine said the versatile Mur ray could be just what Texas •' A&M needs to salvage an other wise disappointing season. “He (Murray) has that extra speed and he can pop the ball a little quicker,” Bernstine said. “He throws the ball with a little more zip.” Pokes do it again, efeatBucs 27-24 itthe city has tey front id not giviil 2-year-oldLffl le attendind mol on the i p a!l 5 1RVING - TheDallas Cow- LiilrT won so man i' ? ames in 0 le tinal minutes over the years n jfl it has sort of become com- a rSplace. But on Sunday they m oar themselves, the weekWr ses on t^jm deserved a better fate. But ?y mdu(W1 fe Tampa Bay Buccaneers essions. iave g rown use( j to p a j n i 1 iestn ?T Almost certainly beaten at the at discussin? p 0 y an over iy i on g afternoon, nefits the ■ ],€ un b e aten Cowbc The unfortunate victim this essary to h 1: L v j t a g a i n) defeating the lues, 27-24. 1 And the Cowboys did it on K! day they honored their all- fflie comeback hero — former prterback Roger Staubach. : First of all, Dallas scored on a i2-yard touchdown pass from Rny White to Timmy News- fflie with just 47 seconds left in egulation to force the game nto overtime. And then Rafael Septien got p chances to kick the winning ield goal and made good on the Kond try from 48 yards out 1:38 deep in the extra period. [ Despite being penalized for 185 yards, the Bucs were on the jlge of at least partially atoning ior their record-setting loss a veek ago. | And, as he has been so often Bely, Dallas coach Tom Landry R at a loss to explain the out- tome. |“You’ve got to be excited idien the guys make the big plays,” said Landry. “But it was |ry hard to get ready to play this game. i “Both sides suffered a lot of penalties. When that happens it Bans you are playing lazy. You aren’t playing the way you should.” I It marked the sixth come- hom-behind victory for the lowboys this season and kept oys some- Dallas one game ahead of Washington in the NFC East. Tampa Bay lost for the sixth consecutive time. James Wilder gave Tampa Bay the lead with a 23-yard touchdown run with 8:53 to play in regulation at the end of a 70- yard march and the Bucs’ de fense then stopped two Dallas drives. But Dallas tied it at 24-24 on Newsome’s unlikely touchdown after the Cowboys had taken over on their own 26-yard line with no timeouts left and only 79 seconds remaining on the clock. Newsome caught the ball in the left flat and appeared headed out of bounds in order to stop the clock. But he stopped just short of the boundary and then headed downfield, staying just in bounds and hurdling a would-be tackier along the way. Dallas won the toss following regulation and had to start at its own 10-yard line. On the second play, White hit Butch Johnson with a short pass and Johnson split two defenders to turn it into a 46-yard gain down to the Bucs 39. Four plays later, Septien tried a 50-yard field goal and missed, but Tampa Bay’s Thomas Mor ris was flagged for running into the kicker and Dallas had another chance. Septien made good on the second opportunity four plays after the penalty. Tampa Bay showed from the start it was a different team than the one the Packers beat by 31 points. The Bucs scored first on a field goal of 48 yards by Bill Capece and then for the first time in 18 games — dating back to Dec. 13, 1981 — scored a touchdown in the opening quarter. & - —V : A. V Texas A&M quarterback Kevin Murray looks for a receiver during the Aggie-Cougar game World Series preview staff photo by Dean Saito Saturday. Murray threw three touchdown passes to lead the Aggies to a 30-7 victory. A clash of youth and age United Press International BALTIMORE — The Old Guard against the New Wave. That’s what the marquee out side Baltimore’s Memorial Sta dium should read Tuesday night when the Orioles send left hander Scott McGregor to the mound against right-hander John Denny of the Philadelphia Phillies in the first game of the World Series. Let the Talking Heads sing the national anthem and give the honors to Chuck Berry at Philadelphia. The Phillies, who defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in four games to win the National League pennant, are baseball’s Methuselahs, a collection of old er players acquired from diffe rent teams, many of whom already wear world champion ship rings. Where once their electric talents carried them to great heights, they now use their vast experience to climb those same mountains. “They have a bunch of first- class old guys over there. That experience won out,” said the Dodgers’ Derrel Thomas Satur day night after the Phillies had wrapped up the NL pennant with a 7-2 triumph. In marked contrast to the Phillies, the Orioles are mere cherubs. Only pitcher Jim Pal mer, who doesn’t figure to see much action in the World Series, has played on a world cham pionship team, although a hand ful of current Orioles’ players were members of the 1979 American League champion ship squad. Palmer was with the Orioles when they won the World Series in 1966 and 1970. “There is a difference be tween an experienced and an in experienced player under press ure,” said the Phillies’Joe Mor gan, the club’s 40-year-old second baseman who once sparked the Cincinnati Reds to successive world championships in 1975-76. “An inexperienced player will try to do more than he is capable of. An experienced player will stay within his limits.” Morgan may be in for a sur prise when he sees the Orioles perform, however. While the Orioles aren’t greybeards, they don’t lack for poise under press ure. In their four-game AL play off victory over the Chicago White Sox, their young, inex perienced players came through as if they’d made ice water a sta ple of their diet. Cal Ripken Jr., the Orioles’ 23-year-old shortstop who is only in his second major league season, hit a cool .400 in the playoffs and fielded his position flawlessly; rookie Mike Boddick- er, a 26-year-old right-hander, captured the MVP award after his four-hit, 14-strikeout per formance in game two; Storm Davis, at 21 baseball’s youngest pitcher, pitched six scoreless in nings in game four and 25-year- old John Shelby made several fine catches in center field. About the only concern man ager Joe Altobelli of the Orioles has in the playoffs is what to do with Ken Singleton. The Orioles’ one-time regular right fielder was relegated to a desig nated hitter role during the reg ular season and the playoffs, but the designated hitter will not be used in the World Series this year. Singleton, who hit 18 homers and drove in 85 runs during the season, most likely will be used only as a pinch hitter, since Altobelli has gotten plenty of production out of his right field corps of Jim Dwyer, Dan Ford and Tito Landrum. A&M scored again less than five mi nutes later, after stopping UH on a fourth-and-one at the Aggie 29. Mur ray took the Aggies on a 4-play, 71- yard drive the ended in a 30-yard touchdown pass to Jimmie Williams, giving A&M a 14-7 lead. After UH’s Shepherd fumbled a punt at the Cougar 49, the Aggies went the distance in five plays, scoring on a 12-yard pass to Shea Walker. A&M’s other points came on a safe ty by Jeff Paine and Keith Woodside’s 6-yard run. Woodside set himself up for the score by racing around the right side for a 61-yard gain to the UH one. A 5-yard penalty pushed the Aggies back to the 6, and Woodside scored on the next play. The win boosted the Aggies’ record to 2-3, 1-1 in the Southwest Confer ence. The Cougars dropped to 2-4, 1-2 in conference play. Coogs say turnovers hurt most By Steve Thomas Battalion Staff Larry Shepherd’s mental lapse came on the Houston 3- yard line with his arm raised waiting for a kicked football. “I just forgot where I was,” Shepherd said after the game. His words were like a eulogy for the whole team. Cougar coach Bill Yeoman said his own team was his biggest problem, attributing the 30-7 loss to the Aggies to lots of mis takes and little teamwork. “We played hard,” he said, “but not well.” “We moved the ball,” sopho more quarterback Quince Har ris said, adding that more hard work was what the Cougars needed for success. Harris said the sudden change of quarterbacks, which included a change from a run ning game to a passing game, was planned from the begin ning. Houston, he said, suffered fhom “no strategy problems.” Shepherd, who is probably still on the 3-yard line, pointed a more concise finger of blame. “We can’t keep the defense out there all day and expect to hold them,” he said while ner vously looking around the lock er room. “It’s up to the offense to do a little bit.” A few minutes earlier coach Yeoman used a different color light to explain the situation. A reporter asked him if he had thought about taking Shepherd out. . I “We don’t have anybody else,” Yeoman said: “who would we put in?” Despite Yeoman’s lack of players in some areas, he wasn’t hurting for quarterbacks. Fresh man Gerald Landry put on a suprising show, passing 3-5 for 10/ yards and rushing for 21, though three sacks knocked his net rushing down to one yard. Landry wasn’t exactly gushing with praise for the Aggies, saying he felt the Cougars just got overconfident in the second half. But Landry dangled in and out of the game because Yeo man considered a full game too much for him. “He’s a freshman,” the coach said, “he can handle a minimum of offense.” That’s interesting. What ab out Kevin Murray, coach? “Well,” Yeoman rasped, “we gave him some good field posi tion to work with.” Overall, Yeoman was more inclined to blame his team than to magnify Texas A&M. He emphasized the importance of the Cougar’s several turnovers and mumbled some witticism about how he was “just waitin’ ^ for the snowflakes to fall.” Shepherd seemed concerned about the number of turnovers, also. To correct the team’s prob lems, he said “we just need to shut down on the turnovers.” He should know. Landry jumped on the band wagon, saying “if we would stop turning over the ball our morale would go up.” He said lack of morale was an important contri buting factor to their loss. And with haunting similarity, Billy Ray Brown, the Cougar ball boy, echoed Landry’s words as he mingled with the reporters outside the locker room. He accused his team of an un necessary lack of morale, asking: “If you can’t get motivated against the Aggies, who can you get motivated against?”