Wednesday, December 2,1987/The Battalion/Page 9
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Sports
Photo by Jay Janner
A&M’s John Roper (83) moves in on UT running back Derron Norris along with a host of other Aggie defenders
during A&M’s 20-13 win over the Longhorns Thanksgiving night. Roper was A&M’s leading tackier this year.
Roper-led A&M dominates
all-conference selections
From Staff and Wire Reports
DALLAS — Defensive Player of
the Year John Roper led a seven-
man Texas A&M contingent on As
sociated Press All-Southwest Confer
ence 1987 first team as selected by
the league’s eight football coaches.
Roper, a junior from Houston,
was the heart of Texas A&M’s de
fense which carried the Aggies to
their third consecutive SWC football
title.
Playing both end and linebacker,
Roper led the team in tackles and
sacks as A&M topped the SWC in to
tal defense.
Other Aggies on the first team in
cluded wide receiver Rod Harris,
center Matt Wilson, offensive tackle
Louis Cheek, placekicker Scott
Slater, noseguard Sammy O’Brient,
and safety Kip Corrington.
Aggies on the second team in
cluded linebacker Aaron Wallace,
strong safety Chet Brooks and tail
backs Keith Woodside and Darren
Lewis.
Jackie Sherrill, taking the Aggies
to their third consecutive Cotton
Bowl, was named Coach of the Year.
He clinched the title Thanksgiving
night with a 20-13 victory over the
Texas Longhorns.
A&M will face Notre Dame on
Jan. 1 in Dallas. The Irish, led by
Heisman Trophy hopeful Tim
Brown, finished with an 8-3 mark af
ter suffering a 24-0 drubbing at the
hands of Miami last Saturday.
Lewis was also named Offensive
Newcomer of the Year. Baylor quar
terback Brad Goebel was runner-up
in the voting.
Other first teamers included Of
fensive Player of the Year Eric Met
calf of Texas, a multi-purpose junior
back who averaged five yards per
run, seven yards per pass reception,
and 14 yards per punt return, and
Texas Tech sophomore James Gray
in the backfield.
Texas Christian’s Tony Jeffery
was relegated to a second team role
although he was the SWC’s leading
rusher.
Jeffery was suspended for his fi
nal collegiate game because of reve
lations regarding a professional
agent.
Only three SWC coaches nomi
nated Jeffery for All-SWC honors.
Metcalf, Gray and Jeffery all
rushed for over 1,000 yards.
Jason Phillips of Houston, who
caught 99 passes, and Texas Tech’s
Wayne Walker rounded out the
wide receiver corps. I
Texas Tech’s Billy Joe Tolliver,
who passed for 177 yards per game,
was the first team quarterback.
Others on offense included tackle.
Brian Brazil of TCU, and guards
Paul Jetton of Texas, and Mike Mc
Bride of Texas Tech.
Arkansas’ Tony Cherico and
TCU’s David Spradlin were first
team lineman. Linebackers Britt
Hager of Texas, Rickey Williams of
Arkansas and Gary McGuire of
Houston were first teamers. - >
The secondary besides Corring-;
ton, who is also a first team All-Aca
demic All-American, included Fa-
landa Newton, TCU, John Hagy,
Texas, and a tie between Johnny
Jackson of Houston and Robeft
Blackmon of Baylor.
Jackson drew the national spot;
light when he returned three inter
ceptions for touchdowns in a game
against Texas.
The punter was Chris Becker of
TCU.
The Defensive Newcomer of the
Year was hard-hitting Texas Tech
secondary star Donald Harris.
A&M defense takes up offensive slack leads Ags to Cotton
By Loyd Brumfield
Sports Editor
Now that the 1987 regular football sea
son is over it’s time to put Texas A&M’s ac
complishments in perspective.
Just how good are
those Aggies, who
managed to make it Analysis
four in a row over
Texas and three in a
row in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas?
Well, pretty darned good, all things con
sidered.
Considering that A&M lost seven de
fensive starters, including the entire line
backing corps, the Aggies did extremely
well. The 1987 defense, led by All-South
west Conference linebacker John Roper,
was even more dominating than last year’s
team and the 1985 defense.
Case in point: the A&M defense totally
shut down Washington and its then-Heis-
man hopeful Chris Chandler, limiting the
Huskies to just 173 total yards. The defense
also scored a touchdown on a blocked punt
and forced turnovers that led to two more
touchdowns.
The Aggies were equally inhospitable to
Baylor (213 total yards in a 34-10 win) and
Arkansas (125 total yards in a 14-0 shut
out).
A&M even handled Lousiana State
rather well, too, limiting the Tigers to just
63 second-half yards after a shaky first half.
The offense grades out much worse than
the defense, but who needs an offense as
long as you can win games without one?
Craig Stump, the much-maligned fifth-
year senior, hasn’t had what some would
call a banner year, but he did finish strong
enough to emerge as the leader at the end,
aided by a good showing against Arkansas
when he entered the game late in the sec
ond half to spark the Aggies’ only consis
tent drive of the day.
Stump, replaced by redshirt freshman
Lance Pavlas, and then replaced again by
true freshman Bucky Richardson, deserves
thanks for his patience, as well as his experi
ence down the line.
Pavlas remains the Mystery Man of the
offense. He started out with promise after
capable performances against Washington
and Southern Mississippi (13-of-19 for 83
yards against the Huskies and 10-22 for 130
yards against the Golden Eagles), but then
fell apart against Texas Tech when he
couldn’t read defenses and found himself
scrambling for his life many times.
Since that 27-21 loss in Lubbock, Pavlas
has seen minimal playing time, and he has
developed a tendency to rush his throws,
which has resulted in a rash of intercep
tions.
But when Pavlas faltered, an unknown
freshman, Richardson, entered the picture
and carried the Aggies for most of the sea
son.
He would be the perfect quarterback if
he would just learn how to throw the ball.
Come to think of it, he may be perfect any
way, since the Aggies won without passing
for much of the year. *
Next year, Chris Osgood joins the ranks I
of the quarterback corps. Osgood, a junior*
transfer from Ole Miss who started the -
1986 season for the Rebels, has the best arm I
in the bunch and just may steal the job away j
from Richardson and Pavlas.
Richardson steals the show from Darren
Lewis as my Offensive Performer of the
Year, however, with clutch performances ;
against Baylor, Southern Miss and Texas,;
scoring the winning touchdown in the latter
game after replacing an injured Stump.
Lewis all but wiped out all the hoopla
surrounding fellow freshman Randy Sim- i
mons, the heralded running back from Mc
Kinney.
See Defense, page 10
GATE WAX' HAIiIiMARK
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PHOTOS
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Nov. 30 - Dec. 4
FINAL WEEK OF MAKEUPS
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NOTICE AFFORDING OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC HEARING
The State Department of Highways and Public Transportation is planning the *
improvement of FM 60 from Loop 507 to FM 2154 in the'City of College *
Station. *
*
The proposed improvement consists of upgrading the existing four-lane *
roadway to provide for six lanes with two-way left turn. *
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Maps and other drawings showing the proposed location and design for the *
proposed project as well as environmental studies are on file and available *
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POST OAK MALL
Information about the State's Relocation Assistance Program, the benefits
and services for displacees and information concerning the relocation
assistance office as well as information about the tentative schedules for
acquisition of right of way and construction can be obtained at the
District Office.
Any interested citizen may request that a public hearing be held covering
the social, economic and environmental effects of the proposed location
and design for this highway project by delivering a written request to the
District Office on or before January 8, 1988. The address of the District
Office is Mr. Carol D. Zeigler, District Engineer, State Department of
Highways and Public Transportation, P. 0. Box 3249, Bryan, Texas 77805.
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