Sports
Ags survive Baylor, themselves
The Battalion Monday, Oct. 17, 1988
Page 7
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By Jerry Bolz
Sports Writer
Jackie’s Aggies survived an attempt to
self destruct in the first half and came
back to rough up the Baylor Bears 28-14
at Kyle Field Saturday.
Baylor had the top-ranked defense in
the nation coming into the game. That
didn’t seem to affect the Aggies once
they got settled on running the ball
against the Bears’ nine-man defensive
line.
Head Coach Jackie Sherrill said quar
terback Bucky Richardson was the an
swer.
“We ended up going with our strength
against their strength,” he said. “Bucky
finds a way to win, and he did it this
game.”
Richardson completed only two of
seven passes but ran for 86 yards and a
touchdown.
The Aggies’ problem was they were
killing themselves.
A&M got on the scoreboard first mid
way through the first quarter on a dive
over the hefty right side of the line by
Robert Wilson. That was all the Aggies
could come up with in the first half.
On the other hand, the Bears, who had
lost the last two meetings of the teams,
weren’t laying down for A&M.
Quarterback Brad Goebel hit his fa
vorite target, Bobby Jack Goforth, four
times for 77 yards and two TD’s in the
First half.
The first came on a seven-yard toss to
the back of the end zone at the start of the
second quarter. The touchdown topped a
36-yard drive, the result of a grounding
penalty against Richardson and a 31-yard
punt by Sean Wilson.
When the Aggies got the ball back
— they were penalized for illegal procedure
■twice before Osgood even took a snap.
[On the day, A&M gave up 115 yards on
15 penalties compared to Baylor’s seven
fouls for 66 yards.
They punted again and Baylor took it
from their own 29-yard line and tailback
Anthony Ray took it straight down
A&M’s throat for 34 yards on the series.
Goebel topped the drive with a 13-yard
TD pass to Goforth.
Richardson said the Aggies were
clearly beating themselves in the first
half. Running back Darren Lewis, who
had his fourth straight 100-yard game
with 138, said the team was trying too
iard.
The Aggies were still a little sluggish
See Aggies, page 8
Photo by Dean Saito
Robert Wilson plunges over the goal line for the Aggies’ first touchdown Saturday. Wilson scored two TDs on the day.
Hershiser lifts LA
to 6-0 win, 2-0 lead
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Orel
Hershiser did it all, holding Oak
land’s big bashers to three hits and
getting three himself Sunday night as
the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the
Athletics 6-0 and took a stunning 2-0
lead in the World Series.
Hershiser’s super season, which
ended with a record 59 consecutive
shutout innings, got even better with
his most incredible performance of
the year. He became the first pitcher
to get three hits —^including two dou
bles— in a World Series game since
1924 and the first ever to throw shut
outs in both the playoffs and the
World Series. He even threw in a fine
fielding play.
The Dodger Bulldog, who has
worked almost half his team’s innings
in the postseason, now has allowed
just three earned runs in his last 92 in
nings.
Mike Marshall contributed a three-
run homer and a triple as the Dodgers
again did everything right against the
heavily favored Athletics. This time,
Los Angeles didn’t need miracle man
Kirk Gibson, who won Game 1 with
a two-out, two-run homer in the bot-
tom of the ninth but did not play Sun-
day because of hamstring and liga
ment damage.
Gibson’s status remained day-to-
day going into Game 3 Tuesday night
in Oakland when Bob Welch opposed
Los Angeles’ John Tudor. Of 38
teams that have won the first two
games in the World Series, 28 have
gone on to win the championship.
The victory marked the 12th con
secutive game the home team has
won in the World Series. But the
Dodgers didn’t require the home-field
advantage; they had Hershiser.
Baseball’s most dominant pitcher
showed baseball’s winningest team
something it hadn’t seen. Only Dave
Parker could solve Hershiser, getting
three singles, but twice Mark McG
wire followed by grounding into dou
ble plays, and Hershiser evened that
one by striking him out to end the
game.
Hershiser struck out eight, includ
ing Carney Lansford, Dave Hender
son and Jose Canseco in the fourth,
walked two and allowed only three
runners to get as far as second base.
He threw just 104 pitches, 20 in the
See Hershiser, page 8
Scott Slater may fall heir to Eric Franklin throne
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Once upon a time — not long ago, in fact —
there lived in Aggieland a kicker named Eric
Franklin. He was “a great practice kicker.” Of
course, that is hardly a compliment.
What it really meant was that Franklin was
deadly all week long, but when Saturday came he
was a wreck. The simplest of chip-shots was an
adventure. Extra points were never taken for
granted.
More often than not it would be fourth and four
inside the opponents’ 30-yard line, Jackie Sherrill
would motion for the kicking team, and a chorus of
boos would fill the air. Yes, fish — boos at Kyle,
and boos directed at the home team.
One day — Jan. 1, 1986, at the Cotton Bowl —
he was pulled. A kicking-team specialist came in,
nailed a 26-yard chip shot, and the transition was
in place.
The new kicker was named Scott Slater. And
today he must be having an incredible and
frightening case of deja vu.
Incredible because of the similarities.
Frightening because instead of happening to a
Hal L.
Hammons
Sports Editor
hapless Eric Franklin, now it’s happening to him.
Slater started the year at the top of the world. He
was headed for a third consecutive berth on the
All-Southwest Conference team. He was looking
to improve on the Honorable Mention All-America
honors he received the year before.
Sherrill said in the 1988 A&M media guide,
“He’s probably as good as any kicker in the
country. I have a lot of confidence in him.”
But now it’s mid-season. And the situation has
changed somewhat drastically.
After the Baylor game Saturday I asked Sherrill
how confident he was in his kicking game. He
said, “Sean Wilson’s doing a fine job.” I wasn’t
asking about the punter, and Sherrill knew it.
When I specified the field-goal kicking, he said
rather laconically, “Right now we’re not very
good.”
Slater’s miss from 43 yards Saturday wasn’t just
the icing on the cake — it was extra hot fudge on
an already-overloaded sundae.
Slater hasn’t hit a field goal all year. He’s had
four makeable attempts. And it’s becoming
questionable if he will get many more.
The cherry on top came in the fourth quarter. It’s
fourth and two from the Bear 23. It’s 14-all.
There’s about five minutes to go. The defense is
stifling the Bear offense. And the ball is in the
middle of the field.
Common sense says kick a field goal. Sherrill
says go for it.
The message was clear. The confidence is gone.
Agreed, it’s tough to put an All-Conference
player on the bench. But as Sherrill said Saturday,
something has to be done.
That something could be Layne Anthony Talbot.
Talbot was an all-state selection coming out of
high school. If you watch him practice before the
game you will know why. He regularly hits more
of his pregame field goals than Slater and with
more room to spare.
If you have any doubts about his leg after
watching him squib kickoff after kickoff, you
should have been watching him warm up last year
before the Louisiana State game. I saw him kick
two or three in a row from 50 yards out — over the
uprights. Not through. Over.
I was thinking at the end of the first half, as the
Aggies seemed to be driving for an attempt at a
long field goal, that Sherrill might opt for the
longer-footed Talbot, giving him a golden
opportunity to steal the job from Slater. But Chris
Osgood threw an interception.
So I guess we ’ll have to wait until next week to
see who kicks field goal number five.
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rte the a
MSC/MBA Law Committee
Presents
the MBA/LAW Symposium
"Destined for Success"
Nov. 9, Wednesday
Business & Law School Representative
10-4 p.m. 1st Floor Hallway MSC
Register in MSC Hallway# Blocker, &
Student Programs Office
10-3 p.m. October 31-Nov 11
$5 in advance/$8 at the door
Keynote speaker:
Henry Gilchrist, attorney,
Jenkins & Gilchrist
Also including representatives from:
Harvard Business & Law Schools, Wharton Busi
ness School, Chicago Law School, UT Business &
Law Schools, SMU Business & Law, & all Baylor
Business & Law Schools.
JJL
YE
MBA LAW
^ C O M M I T T E ~E~
T exas A&M
Flying Club
^Teaching tfie, ‘Best to BCy tfie Best
Interested people are urged to attend our meeting
Tuesday, Oct. 18 at the Airport Clubhouse
For information
Call Julie Scott 846-1279
7:00 p.m.
HNBTOMV OF fl PBRTV
*1 _ o
Tuesday, October 1 8
Rudder Theatre
8:00-9:30 p.m.
National Collegiate
Alcohol Awareness Week
1988
Sponsored by Sigma Chi
0-
Interfraternity Council
Call battalion Classified
845-2611