I I
age 8/The Battalion/Monday, December 2, 1985
ear’s time makes Sherrill Ag saint
A&
By CHA
Ass is
By PETE HERNDON
Sports Writer
What a difference a year can make.
Even after the Texas A&M football
team had upset Texas, 37-12, in Au
stin last year, Aggie fans still kept one
f oot in the water, preparing to jump
of f Coach Jackie Sherrill's ship if
A&M didn’t produce in 1985.
Several times last season, especially
after losses to Texas Tech and
Baylor, some Aggie faithful consi
dered standing Sherrill in front of
the cannon cadets lire after an A&M
score.
banged into the wall and the player,
so he backed away.
But since he is a coach which
preaches, “Never give up,” Sherrill
tried again
Same result. One more lime? Same
thing.
Finally, Sherrill just grabbed a
player’s shoulder pads f rom behind
and swayed with the team.
“Why not?" one A&M student said.
“We ain’t scorin’ any points. If we
don’t do something, that of Howitzer
is jes gonna get r usty again."
Oh well, every saint mustendurea
little hardship. And, despite his loci-
er room folly, Sherrill’s 42nd birth
day was as close to perfect as you
could get. After the U T g;tme, Sher
rill said he may be getting younger.
“I’m a lot yottger today than I was
yesterday," Sherrill <|uipped.
But during the course of a 9-2 sea
son, a Southwest Conference Cham
pionship and a Cotton Bowl matchup
with Auburn, Sherrill has gone from
being in front of a cannon to being
canonized — at least in the minds of
Aggie fans.
Even one of Sherrill's most livid
critics, Houston C/rro/i/c/esportswri-
ter A1 Carter, wrote after A&M'svic
tory that the best team in theSWC
was going to the Colton Bowlonjan
1.
"Saint Jack of Aggieland" wan
dered through the Memorial Student
Center and had his picture taken with
Cotton-frenzied A&:M fans. “Cotton
Bound" T-shirts were everywhere,
and this year, everyone wanted a shot
with Sherrill instead of a shot at him.
What could Sherrill have possibh
done to make all this happen?
However, Sherrill’s worst knocks
1 hursday came in the locker room
after the 42-10 rout of l exas. Wads
of cotton flew everywhere as the team
gathered in the center of the dressing
room and sang the “Aggie War
Hymn."
Sherrill found himself outside the
huddled group of players and against
a brick wall. Apparently Sherrill
thought he needed to get closer to the
center of the group and help lead the
song, so he tried to scoot around a
Twelfth Man kickoff team member.
A&M defensive end Rod Saddler,
who teamed up with cornerbacl
James Flowers to stop Texas running
back Edwin Simmons short of the
A&M goal line on the big fourth and
inches play, said it all started with the
team’s attitude during spring prac
tice.
"I told you this
spring we were
going to win the SWC and go to the
K? _ „
Cotton Bowl," Saddler said. “This
summer our whole team stayed down
here and worked. Everyone to
that we were going to go to a major
bowl."
And Saddler said the teamowesit
all to Sherrill.
White see
for Texas A
While the
white, as in
basketball tt
as in snow.
While the
and hoping,
ing snow i
Prairie Viev
doing the sa
The Texa
hosts Prair
night at 7:31
isettm.
The Ags v
were able t<
snow in not
Monday’s g;
“I just ho
Coach Shell
they’ve imj
They’ve just
son. I haver
don’t know
Metcalf d
Aggies thou
After two
t-he season, .
against Step
and never si
73.
“The last
we’ve playe
first two gai
rendous sta
second half,
stin, we pla’
That’s what
on doing,
healthy.”
The Ags
minor injur
Starting f
almost 100 j
ankle, torch
opener
Birminglu
broke a hai
and Mike C
X-rayed in
The Ags i
Don Marbu
points a gan
aging 13.3 |
per game.
Meanwhi
Photo hyJOHN MAKEL Y
The No. 15 Aggies defeated the No. 18 Longhorns, 42-10, to
win their first outright Southwest Conference title since 1967.
That was a mistake.
Just as Sherrill made his move, the
players started swaying and singing
illt
“Saw Varsity’s horns off!" Sherrill got
“He brought me down hereffi
Georgia) and wouldn’t let me quit
and go home when things weren't
going well for me,” he said. “Now
look how everything’s turning out.
What can I say, 1 love the man.”
I get s weren
to leave the
Ags were i
“white stuff
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