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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 1983)
Texas A&M The Battalion Sports Monday, October 24,1983/The Battalion/Page 11 Murray throws Aggies ast lowly Owls, 29-10 by John Wagner Battalion Staff HOUSTON — The Sony Trinitron parked in the corner of the Rice Stadium press box was surrounded by writers — wri- :ers standing on their toes, writers stretch ing their necks — all trying to catch an occa- iional glimpse of Texas-SMU. The game joing on below seemed of secondary im- wrtance. ISWC RESULTS/pagelS I A&M TENNIS RESULTS/pagel2 »LSU WINS A&M CLASSIC/pagelS Bndeed, the most-asked question con cerning the Texas Aggies’ 29-10 defeat of Rice Saturday was, “What’s the score in Dal- as?" But the Aggies, who have yet to lose a qame with freshman quarterback Kevin K Hurray at the helm, couldn’t have given a toot about the Horns and the Ponies. They tad their hands full with a Rice squad play- ttng its last home game for head coach Ray mAlborn. i : ^Iborn, who has announced his intent to etire at the end of the season, was hoping nlmotional Owl team could pull off an ipset The Aggies put those thoughts out of ;i! ns head early. For the second straight week, A&M came ulmoking, taking a 14-0 first-quarter lead nd shutting the Owls’ offense down com- letely. Rice had just 32 yards of total ffense in the first quarter, and added only Hd! re more in the second quarter. But again, the Aggies failed to put together four quarters of solid football. “Just because you’re playing a team that’s been struggling,” A&M coach Jackie Sherrill said, “doesn’t mean you can take it easy on them.” And like the Baylor game last Saturday, the Aggies’ quick start caused problems. “We thought they (the Owls) were going to lay down and die,” said A&M fullback Roger Vick, who led all rushers with 79 yards on 18 carries. “We jumped on ’em real quick, and I guess we though we had ’em in the bag.” After falling behind on a 3-yard touch down pass from Murray tojimmie Hawkins and Vick’s 11-yard run up the middle, Rice safety Brian Patterson intercepted a Murray pass and returned it 85 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown, cutting the Aggies’ lead to 14-7. The Aggies came right back, however, with an 11-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Murray throwing a nine-yard scoring pass to sophomore Jeff Nelson. Alan Smith’s extra point attempt was no good, and the half ended with A&M leading 20-7. The first half statistics show how much the Aggies dominated play. A&M had 228 yards at halftime, compared to the Owls’ 37. But two interceptions and one lost fumble kept Rice in the game. “We’re just not to a point mentally — because we’re so young — to play a team like Rice and not have a letdown,” Sherrill said. “We got up by 14 points early and just lost intensity.” The two teams traded field goals in the third quarter to make it 23-10, but the Mur ray-to-Nelson connection clicked again in the fourth to round out the scoring. Nelson went over the middle for the 25-yard touch down catch to make it 29-10. The Aggies then failed on a two-point conversion attempt. Nelson’s two touchdown catches both came on the same route, a play called the 64-Z. “Both touchdowns were identical,” Nel son explained. “We use the play against man-to-man coverage, and on certain situa tions we knew they would be in man. The coaches did a good job of anticipating their coverage.” Murray finished the afternoon with 280 yards passing and three touchdowns, but also threw four interceptions. “He’s got all the tools, all the attributes,” Sherrill said. “We just didn’t help him out. When you put that much pressure on a young quarterback, he’s going to make mis takes.” A&M’s defense came up with another big performance, limiting the Owls to 81 yards of total offense. Rice’s lowest offensive out put of the season. Owl runners were sacked behind the line 10 times, for a minus-90 yards. “Our defense played well,” Sherrill said, “they just didn’t play with much intensity. Of course, that could be due to our early 14-0 lead.” The win pushed the Aggies to 3-3-1 on the year, 2-1-1 in Southwest Conference play. The Owls fell to 1-7, 0-5 in the SWC. A&M fullback Roger Vick carries the ball against Rice Saturday. staff photo by Dean Saito Vick led all rushers with 79 yards as A&M beat the Owls, 29-10. W '-I'-**-** * • Lilli H Ltd 1 LC;i LLJ 11 let rvV_ 1L A - 1 V7, IJ LI I lilt- 1V1 U 1 “ A v A '-aa t-w ± • y KS KS x** ^ y » ^. loung Aggies prove they’re ready to feast by John P. Lopez Battalion Staff j av HOUSTON — The appetizers are me, the table is set, the champagne is 1(l [|ke and the Aggies are about to sit mil for the main course. Main course? Il comes in three parts. leU Analysis First, flaming Mustang a la 15-12 jk’Mto Texas. Second, steamed Razor- fonack with a side order of Horned ■gs and third, Longhorn steak — mgh and just about inedible. B'exas A&M gobbled up its last tizer Saturday when the Aggies whipped Rice 29-10 to cap a three- game streak without a loss. And since it’s been two years since the Aggies haven’t lost in three straight games, perhaps the streak has whet their appetite. ... . . . Maybe A&M is still hungry and will want to pig out for the rest of the sea son — starting with the SMU Mus tangs Saturday. But time will tell if the Aggies can over-indulge enough to pul! off a few upsets. One thing is certain, though. Some of the Aggies may have to be taught proper etiquette and table manners because they’ve never been at the table with the big boys and may not exactly know how to act. You see, freshmen in college foot ball are like youngsters at Thanksgiv ing -— they’re supposed to sit at a card table in the kitchen while the grown ups eat off china in the dining room. But for A&M, several freshmen or first-year players have contributed greatly to the Aggies’ resurgance on the field. And the play of those youngsters will likely spell the differ ence between feast and famine for A&M during the rest of the Southwest Conference schedule. On offense, youth has proven to be the rule as eight, count ’em, eight reg ulars are in their first year in an Aggie uniform. Defensively, A&M is more experienced, but six freshmen dot the two-deep roster. And although the youth movement on the Aggie team has yielded a mediocre 3-3-1 record this season, A&M has shown improvement every week and has not lost in a month. The Aggies’ win over Rice was a [ )erfect example of how freshmen are lelping the Aggies improve: • Freshman starting quarterback Kevin Murray connected on 25 of 48 passes for 280 yards and three touch downs. • First-year tight end Rich Siler was the leading receiver for the Aggies with seven catches for 75 yards, • Freshman Roger Vick was the leading rusher for A&M with 79 yards — the most by an Aggie all year — on 18 carries. • First-year defensive back Ken Ford was the leading tackier with seven stops, including one sack. And the list probably could go on if second- and third-leading rushers, re ceivers, tacklers or blockers were counted. The fact is, the Aggies are relying heavily on young, inexperienced play ers to produce on the field. And although an old cliche says that the best thing about freshmen is their sophomore year, many A&M players would disagree-A Vick put it well after A&M’s win over Rice. “We did what we had to do — we won.” And should the first-year Aggie players continue to d9 what they have, to do, perhaps that champagne on ice will not go to waste. Iborn’s last home game arred by Aggies’ victory by John Wagner Battalion Staff 10USTON — Poor born. Ray he nightmare never ends ^for the outgoing Rice coach, if Pit’s not one thing, it’s a million othe rs. If it’s not intercep tions, it’s fumbles or penalties T?freak plays or opponents at play like the Dallas Cow- Dys — and are twice as big. Not even his last home game 4 Rice coach went well. ■ It was supposed to be a joy ful homecoming, a big upset and a win for the good guys, ■stead, Jackie Sherrill — in his first game in Rice Stadium t -I beat Alborn, in his last. ■ Meanie. ■ Saturday’s 29-10 loss to MAI was vintage Rice — and fpical Alborn. He paced the sidelines, screamed at offi- Itols. threw his headset, and the Owls still lost. ■This has been two years of t wet frustration,” Alborn said Jiter the game. “I keep asking, [jl' How can it keep going like this,’ but it does.” ■1 he Owls were involved in ttoo plays Saturday that could stand as proof positive Alborn and his team are jinxed. ■The first was Brian Patter son’s second quarter intercep- | (k)n of a Kevin Murray pass. Patterson picked off the pass 3tthe Rice 17-yard line, swung upheld to the 30 and was hit. ■He fumbled. A&M reco- fred. Jinx. ■ 1 he second happened mi nutes later. The Aggies were ftreatening again, and Mur- 1,: ray hit wide receiver Jimmy ■al with a pass over the mid- ’ die. Teal was hit. ■He fumbled. The ball ■unced on the turf and went but-of-bounds untouched, as ttary an Owl could get his hand on it. Double-jinx. ■“We’re just not getting any of the bounces,” Alborn com- O0l plained. staff photo by Dean Saito Outgoing Rice coach Ray Alborn says he can’t understand the Owls’ losses. The Owls have yet to re spond with a victory since Alborn announced his res ignation, effective the end of the season. But Alborn isn’t bitter. In fact, the announce ment has lifted a great weight off his shoulders. Instead of worrying about his contract, he can concentrate on trying to win. “I had envisioned winning this last home game for the seniors,” Alborn said, “but it just didn’t work out. “I’m disappointed because I’ll miss the association with the kids, the coaches and some of the other people. I told the kids both before the game and afterwards that I’m proud to be associated with them.” The loss left Alborn’s career record at 13-50, 9-36 against Southwest Confer ence foes. The Owls have three games left, against Arkansas, SMU and Baylor. The Rice jinx continues. And it will probably re main, long after Alborn is gone. Texas’ teams Cowboys’ streak ends as Raiders win, 40-38 United Press International IRVING — Chris Bahr’s fourth field goal of the night, a 26-yarder with 20 seconds re maining, brought the Los Angeles Raiders a wild 40-38 win over Dallas Sunday night and halted the Cowboys’ season starting winning streak at seven games. Los Angeles quarterback Marc Wilson, making his first appearance this season as a star ter, threw for three first half touchdowns and completed all five of his passes during the march that led to Bahr’s winning field goal. The Cowboys rallied from a 10-point deficit at the end of third quarter to take a 38-34 advantage with 13:05 to play — the go ahead touchdown coming on Mike Hegman’s 7-yard re turn of a Wilson fumble. But Bahr ended a 75-yard march with a field goad of 26 yards with 9:40 to go and then kicked a winner after a Dallas march was stopped by an inter ception from Los Angeles cor- nerback Ted Watts. Wilson, the former first round draft choice from Brigham Young, was named on Wednesday by coach Tom Flores to move in front of Jim Plunkett. Wilson responded by completing 26 of 49 passes for 318 yards and led Los Angeles out of a 38-point second quarter with a 31-24 halftime advantage. Wilson lobbed a 2-yard scor ing pass to Derrick Jensen late in the second quarter after scramb ling halfway across the field, threw a 17-yard touchdown to Frank Hawkins with 2:19 left in the first half and then found tight end Todd Christensen with a 1-yard throw on the final play of the half. Dallas countered with a suc cessful trick play to take the lead in the first quarter — a 15-yard pass from running back Ron Springs to quarterback Danny White and followed by second quarter scores on a 2-yard run by Springs, a 23-yard field goal by Rafael Septien and a 15-yard throw from White to Butch Johnson. Dallas scored 14 quick points early in the fourth quarter on a 17-yard throw from White to Doug Donley and Hegman’s fumble return. The Raiders piled up 519 yards to Dallas’ 319 while White hit on 19 of 39 passes for 240 yards. Los Angeles turned the ball over six times, the last of those being a fumble by receiver Dokie Williams at the Dallas 35 that seemed to doom the Raid ers’ hope for a win. But four plays later, White was inter cepted by Watts to set up the winning field goal drive. But during that march, Wil son hit Williams with two 18- yard passes, completed two more to Christensen and found Marcus Allen with another com- petion. The back-and-forth first half was symbolized by the odd turn of events that allowed the Raid ers to take a 31-24 halftime lead. Of the eight possessions in the second quarter, points were re corded on six of them. The game was deadlocked at 24-24 when a Dallas go-ahead bid was thwarted with 52 seconds remaining in the half by an Odis McKinney interception at the Raiders’ 22-yard line. Making use of all three of. their time outs, Los Angeles moved to the Dallas 30, and with nine seconds left the Raiders lined up for what appeared to be / a 47-yard field goal try by Bahr.:! But Wilson, holding for the kick, rolled out and tried to throw deep. Wilson, under a ; heavy rush, threw well short of his target, but Dallas linebacker Dickerson interfered in the end zone to give the Raiders the ball at the 1-yard line. With just one second left on the clock, the Raiders chose to go for the touchdown and made good on the gamble with Wilson hitting Christensen just inside the goal line. Chiefs clip Oilers in overtime, 13-10 United Press International HOUSTON — The revital ized Kansas City Chiefs climbed back into their division race Sun day at the expense of the woeful ly downtrodden Houston Oil ers, who finally found a game they could win and booted it. Chiefs placekicker Nick Low ery, who had missed a long go- ahead field goal try with 4:22 left to play, came back in overtime in the Astrodome to kick a 41-yard field goal that provided a 13-10 win. The kick evened the Chiefs’ record at the midway point of the season, giving them their third win in four games. The Oilers, losers of 15 straight games now, had only a 41-yard field goal attempt with four seconds to play in regula tion to snap their long-suffering torment. But normally reliable soccer-style placekicker THorian Kempf sliced the kick to the right of the goal posts. Lowery said after the missed field goal in the fourth quarter he did not get down. “For some reason I thought I would get another chance,” he said. “I wasn’t down at all. The offense did its job and gave me a nice easy chip shot.” Kansas City coach John Mack- ovic said winning the game is an important step in the develop ment of the team. “I had thought even before Nick kicked the field goal that if we were to become a great team we had to win games like today’s. The fact that we won puts us on the road to that goal. We’re a long way from being a cham pionship team, but I think we’re on the right track.” Mackovic said a flood of men tal mistakes “almost killed us. We just didn’t execute.” The Oilers played most of the game without key running back Earl Campbell, who went out 6:32 into the game with a groin muscle pull. But despite that blow to their offense, they had a solid chance to win a game for the first time this season. The Chiefs threatened to go ahead 13-10 with 4:22 to play when they drove to a third down and three at the Houston 18- yard line. But an all out Oiler blitz trapped quarterback Ken ney for a 15-yard loss and Low ery’s 52-yard field goal attempt went wide right. The Chiefs, under first-year coach John Macovic, now have beaten the Oilers, the New York Giants and the St. Louis Cardin als in the last four weeks and stand 4-4 in the AFC Western Division.