The Battalion
SPORTS
Thursday, October 26,1989
Sports Editor Tom Kehoe 845-2688
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Cowboys may be
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some NFL stats
Tom Kehoe
Sports Editor
While perusing the NFL statistics
Wednesday, I noticed something that
hadn’t been seen all season.
The woeful Dallas Cowboys lead a
statistical category.
Not as a team of course. No, they’re
still at rock bottom in both team offense
and defense.
But James Dixon, a free agent from
the University of Houston, stands alone
at the top of NFC kick returners, leading
by a slim two-tenths of a yard with a 26.5
average.
Of course, you have to figure he’s just
getting more opportunities. Who
returns more kickoffs than the
Cowboys?
I suppose they lead that category too,
but it’s filed under the heading “Most
Points Allowed.”
But these are more or less “official”
statistics.
How about more realistic, if not off-
the-field categories that the Cowboys
most likely would lead?
• Most fans alienated — Not since A1
Davis, Robert Isray and Bill Bidwell up
and moved their teams altogether, have
so many long-time supproters been
turned off by an owner.
Jerry Jones may be counting all the
socks and jocks (or maybe he’s washing
them, he never really said), but he sure
can’t count on fans showing up in Texas
Stadium. And he left the team right
where he found it. No, not last place,
Dallas.
• Alienation of most talent — The J -
Birds ran off two-thirds of last year’s
starting backfield, a starting defensive
tackle and two linebackers that started
most of the time. Way to go, Heckyll and
Jeckyll. I hope I wasn’t the only one who
smiled smugly when Steve Pelluer got
See Kehoe/Page 12
M - ":t Ctrl L
Versatile Hollas key for Owls in 1989
Photo by Frederick D. Joe
Rice’s Donald Hollas (9) teams with linebacker O.J. Brigance in sacking
A&M QB Bucky Richardson in last year’s game. A safety last year, Hollas
now is the Owls’ starting QB and will lead Rice this Saturday.
Junior QB’s seen
both sides of ball
By Alan Lehmann
Of The Battalion Staff
When Texas A&M squares off against
Rice this weekend, it’ll face a quarterback
unlike anyone it’s seen in 1989. How many
other QBs in the nation have collegiate de
fensive experience?
Owls’ junior quarterback Donald Hollas
has, and he just wasn’t filling in either.
Hollas was a free safety his first two years
at Rice, but has made the move to quar
terback in 1989. He ranks second in total
offense in the Southwest Conference this
season.
“Hollas is a very good quarterback,”
Texas A&M at Rice
• Site: Rice Stadium (70,000 cap.)
• Kickoff: 2 p.m.
• Ranking: A&M (21st), Rice (—)
• Records: A&M (5-2), Rice (1-5-1)
• TV/Radio: The game will not be
televised live; KTAM (AM 1240)
A&M Coach R.C. Slocum said. “They’re
doing things with him that allow him to take
advantage of his abilities — passing the ball
and spreading you out, and doing things to
where you just don’t get a chance to over
power them.”
Hollas said that it hasn’t been easy pre
paring for the Aggie defense, which is
ranked nationally.
“I don’t know how to prepare for A&M,”
Hollas said. “They’re awesome. They’re
fast, and quick up front.
“They put pressure on the quarterback,
and I think it’s going to take a perfect game
on our part just to have a chance. Looking
at them on film, they’re the best defense
we’ve faced this season.”
As a redshirt freshman in 1987, he was
listed as third-string quarterback behind the
tandem of Quentis Roper and Mark Co-
malander.
Although he wasn’t overjoyed, Hollas
agreed to play defense rather than ride the
bench.
“I’ve always wanted to be quarterback
and that’s the reason I came here,” Hollas
said. “I got moved to free safety, and I did it
for the team.”
Still, he played well enough to be named
to the second-team All-SWC defense in
1987. His biggest game that year was
against Arkansas when he registered 18
tackles (12 unassisted).
He also was named to the All-SWC team
last year.
But despite his defensive success, Hollas
said he’d rather play quarterback.
“I think it’s easier to play defense because
it’s more reckless abandon,” Hollas said.
“On defense, you get more excited, but of
fense is the glamour part. You don’t hear
too much about defensive players.”
However, Hollas knows that it’s not all
fun and games on offense, either.
“Playing quarterback, you want to get ex
cited, but you really can’t,” he said. “I have
to be mentally alert on every play. Defensi
vely, you have to check and make audibles,
but it’s not as intricate as being quar
terback.”
Playing safety has given him insight into
defenses, he said.
“It helps in reading defenses,” he said. “I
realized why people are where they are. I
see certain coverages, and know where de
fenders are supposed to be.”
Hollas got a chance to test his knowledge
last year, when he started two games at
quarterback, and completed 30 of 59 passes
for 373 yards, one touchdown and two in
terceptions.
Still, Hollas’ efforts on both sides of the
ball weren’t enough to prevent the Owls
from going 0-11 in 1988. Hollas attributed
Rice’s losses to their lack of a winning atti
tude.
“We had chances to win a lot of games
last year,” he said. “It all goes back to that
attitude.”
This year, Hollas has played only quar
terback, and the Owls have shaken their los
ing ways. However, after beating Southern
Methodist in its season opener, Rice has not
won any of their last six games.
The Owls tied Wake Forest and lost to
Texas 31-30. The Owls led by 13 points late
in the game.
“We’ve played a lot of close games this
year, and come up on the losing end,” Hol
las said. “It’s been frustrating to have so
many leads in the fourth quarter, and lose.
“It just doesn’t seem like we can hold
them. I think the mental part isn’t there yet.
Until Rice starts protecting late-game
leads, it’ll be a long season for the Owls,
Hollas said.
“You can see that we haven’t learned
some things about winning, yet,” he said.
“When we go to the fourth quarter with a
lead, it’s like, ‘What, we have a lead?’.
“Until we realize that’s the way it’s sup
posed to be, we’ll be in for a lot more losing
Saturdays.”
Hollas almost single-handedly won the
See Hollas/Page 12
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Party following the game
TEXAS HALL OF FAME
8pm-lam $2 00 /person with I.D.
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