Sports
Friday, September 20, 1991
The Battalion
Page 7
3, 1991
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Dronett
key to
'Horns
success
T hat rambling about wanting Texas
to leave the conference and having
Houston follow still holds, but
there's chance for redemption.
Texas plays No. 15 Austin at Memo
rial Stadium in Austin Saturday.
But whatever the Longhorns do
against Auburn this weekend, they still
seem about as inspired to play hard-hit
ting football as graduating seniors are to
study for finals.
Oh no, it's not that I don't respect
the faithful from Austin. I respect them
like Bevo's horns pointed at my back.
It's just that if the Longhorns of pre
sent are ever going to be like the
Longhorns of old, they need to realize
one thing.
Texas head coach David
McWilliams won't lead them to a na
tional championship. He'll only coach
them to one.
The players need to find a leader
amongst themselves. One that will
throw chairs in the locker room when
it's needed and one that will be under
standing when that form of leadership is
needed.
Do the Longhorns have that type of
leader now?
They have him, it's just not quarter
back Peter Gardere. The UT quarter
back, who never seems to have a hair
out of place, can't lead players that
weigh more than mobile homes.
Someone on the sidelines needs to
run up to Gardere and mess his hair up.
Do you think he'd cry?
Bucky's hair looks nice in pictures
but during games it loses its hold. He
even breaks a sweat.
So, where are the 'Horns left?
They're left dragging on the Memo
rial Stadium turf, holding on to the un
tucked jersey of defensive end Shane
Dronett.
At 6'6", 260 pounds, Dronett is rated
the No. 1 defensive end in the country
by the Sporting News and has found his
way onto a number of preseason All-
America lists.
And for good reason.
He's the type of good-spirited fel
low that finds solace in an Ozzy
Ozbourne concert, or a snack of slightly
spiced raw meat, or scaring young chil
dren.
Last season Dronett recorded 10
sacks and 73 tackles in the Longhorns'
trek back to the Cotton Bowl. All of that
was accomplished as a sophomore.
Dronett opened his junior season
two weeks ago in ordinary fashion. If
he could have been able to hold on to
Mississippi State quarterback Greg
Plump it would have been grand fash
ion.
Dronett, on five different occasions,
had his arms around Plump and just
couldn't hold on. He should have fin
ished the game with five sacks. Instead
he walked away with one.
His problem wasn't beating the of
fensive linemen of Mississippi State - it
was tackling.
Don't expect that to happen this
weekend against Auburn.
Dronett will show up to play and I
expect the rest of the Longhorns to show
up, too. And hopefully, for the sake of
the conference, Dronett's teammates will
show up to play, not to be cheerleaders.
There's one thing the Longhorns
need to remember before kickoff on Sat
urday.
Having home field advantage isn't
going to win them the game. True,
78,000 Sixth Street derelicts can make a
ruckus.
ButTexas should put itself in
Auburn's position and play at LSU, Al
abama, Florida and Tennessee every
year. These opponents put hair on play
ers' chests.
But Texas can do it. They can bring
pride back to the conference, back to the
itate and back to their school. It's pride
that has been missing from the burnt or
ange for a long time.
Some Aggie fans may not want to
see the Longhorns move back into the
national spotlight, but it's the best thing.
When the Aggies play Texas on
Thanksgiving, it would be a lot more
interesting if it were for the national ti
tle, than for conference bragging rights.
Young Aggies ready for Tulsa surprises
By Scott Wudel
TTze Battalion
Texas A&M head football coach R.C.
Slocum is prepared for the worst.
The Aggies (1-0) face the Tulsa
Golden Hurricane (2-1) this Saturday at
Skelly Stadium in Tulsa, Okla. at 12 p.m..
Slocum and his young but potent
Aggies know they can't underestimate
the Golden Hurricane even after A&M's
stroll over Louisiana State University 45-
7 last Saturday.
"We've got a test to see if we can
come back and putour feet on the
ground and work hard, and put this
week behind us," Slocum said earlier this
week. "And not have tolearn the lessons
you see every week."
Those lessons are what teams like the
University of Southern California and
Michigan State have already learned this
year. The Trojans were upset by Central
Michigan, and the Spartans were
defeated by Memphis State.
"That's the nature of college
football," he said. "If you're not prepared
and ready to play,
anybody on a given
day can beat any one
else.
"There will be
some teams like
A&M that will lose to
Tulsas this weekend.
And hopefully that's
not us."
Tulsa's two wins this season came
against Southwest Missouri State and
Oklahoma State. Tulsa is led by
quarterback T.J. Rubley, who had his
19th 200-yard or better passing game in
the Hurricane's 23-17 loss to Kansas last
week.
Texas A&M (1-0) vs.Tulsa (2-1)
When: Saturday, Sept. 21
Kickoff: 12:06 p.m.
Where: Skelly Stadium (40,385)
TV: Regional broadcast by Raycom
Radio: 1240 KTAM
Tulsa's junior tailback Ron Jackson
has rushed for 349 yards in three games,
320 in the Hurricane's first two games.
Slocum said he didn't expect to be
entering this Saturday's game with as
young a lineup as he
has.
R e d s h i r t
freshman
quarterback Jeff
Granger will start
the game for the
Aggies, with a
backfield made up of
redshirt freshman
tailback Greg Hill and true freshman
fullback Clif Groce.
Slocum said he will not play senior
quarterback Bucky Richardson in the
Tulsa game if he's not 100 percent
healthy. Doug Carter is also not expected
to play after spraining his ankle against
the Tigers.
Greg Hill will try to keep stride after
last Saturday's 212-yard, record-breaking
performance.
The revolving backfield will also
include Groce at fullback and Randy
Simmons and Rodney Thomas
alternating at tailback and fullback.
The Aggies played nine true
freshmen, 15 redshirt freshmen and five
sophomores against the Tigers.
But the young Aggie offense amassed
524 total yards against LSU, and the
tough A&M defense only allowed 10 first
downs and 197 total yards in the game.
This will be A&M's first trip to
Skelly Stadium.
The last time the Aggies played in
the state of Oklahoma was 1988, when
A&M dropped a 52-15 decision to
Oklahoma State in Stillwater.
Texas A&M vs. Tulsa
Three steps forward .
Venetoulias
headed in right
direction as
Aggies'
placekicker
By Scott Wudel
The Battalion
Terry Venetoulias is back on his feet
again.
Last year, A&M's backup placekicker
spent the season struggling to regain his
old form. His sole job was to handle
kickoff chores for the Aggies, and he re
sponded by kicking line-drives down the
field while A&M kickoff teams struggled
to tackle their opponents before they
crossed midfield.
Venetoulias was in a rut, A&M head
football coach R.C. Slocum said - Walk
ing a thin line until the end of the season.
Doubts were cast on who would be
the Aggies' kicker in 1991 with the de
parture of senior Layne Talbot. Last
February, A&M ran after and successful
ly recruited one of the nation's top high
school kickers. Venetoulias had to sit
down and come up with some answers.
"I was kind of scared," he admitted.
"I didn't know what to think or what to
do.
"It kind of put a little fire in me. I
said, 'hey, now is the time you get your
act together.' I should have done that a
long time ago."
Texas A&M placekicker Terry Venetoulias
is beginning to reach his goals with the
A long time ago was 1989. Venetou
lias, one of Texas' top-rated kickers in
high school, came to A&M overweight,
to the displeasure of the A&M coaching
staff. After spending his freshman year
as a redshirt, the kicker was asked to
take a step forward when Talbot pulled a
muscle during fall drills - but he wasn't
mentally prepared for the task at hand.
Venetoulias said he broke one of the
golden rules of kicking.
RICHARD S. JAMES/ The Battalion
Aggies. The kicker hopes his newfound
success can transfer into points for A&M.
"If you have something that works,
you don't change it," he explained. "It's
that old philosophy that if it isn't broken,
don't fix it.
"I tried to change my style and form,
and it just screwed everything up. I
should have just put the ball down like I
did in high school, take my steps back,
run at it and knock the tar out of it."
Venetoulias is putting that simple
wisdom to work now. His performance
since last spring compared to last season
has been like night and day, said A&M
kicking coach John Pearce.
"I was really impressed with how far
he had advanced, and more importantly
how much he had matured," Pearce said.
"The ability was always there."
The kicker is reaching new heights
everyday. Since spring Venetoulias has
been "knocking the tar" out of the foot
ball and consistently placing kickoffs in
the end zone. Last Saturday's perfor
mance against LSU was no exception.
"I was really nervous," Venetoulias
said. "I kicked last year and you'd say I
shouldn't be nervous.
"But one thing I wanted to do was go
out there and prove to coach Slocum,
coach Pearce, and the whole coaching
staff, the student body and the whole
community, that that was the real me.
That I can do the job."
Venetoulias admits he is glad to be
able to stand solidly on two feet this
year.
"My first goal at the beginning of the
year was to be a starter," he explained.
"I'm not going to try to break every
NCAA record. I never tried to do that in
high school and I'm not going to try to
do it now. I just want to go out there and
every time I get up there to kick, I want
to do my job. All that other stuff comes
with it."
No task remains to big or too distant
now that Venetoulias has put the past
behind him. The kicker firmly admits
they all look the same - a 40-yard field
goal isn't much different than a 20-yard
field goal.
But haven't the goal posts been
moved closer together this year?
"I just go at it like nothing ever
changed. I'm still aiming straight down
the middle."
Another step in the right direction.
Hang time
By Anthony Andro
The Battalion
Texas A&M punter David Davis has
become a booming success after his first
college game.
But the success has had its share of
hardships.
Davis came to A&M from Loop,
Texas, located 60 miles southeast of Lub
bock.
In Loop, there is not enough players
for an 11-man football team, so they play
six-man football.
Davis was all-district his senior year
after playing defensive end, fullback,
placekicker and of course, punter.
But college scouts don't usually re
cruit in six-man football, so Davis came
to A&M as a walk-on.
Davis starting punting for the Ag
gies in the spring of 1989, but he was still
behind starter Sean Wilson, and second-
teamer Kevin Ellis on the depth chart
and did not have a chance to play.
Last year, Davis was listed on the
roster but still did not receive a varsity
letter.
Finally, this year, the junior beat out
freshman Sean Terry and was the open
ing day punter for the Aggies against
Louisiana State University.
Davis responded in his first test by
punting six times for a 43.2 yard aver
age. Davis was admittedly nervous be-
HUY NGUYEN/ The Battalion
David Davis has hung in long enough with
the«Aggies to earn a scholarship and become
A&M's starting punter.
fore his first game.
"Before the game I was a little
tense," Davis said. "I've had plenty of
time to think about it over three years.
"During the game, I wasn't that ner
vous because it happened so fast I didn't
have time to think about it."
Overall, Davis said he was happy
with his game and composure on Satur
day.
"I was real pleased at how I did Sat
urday," he said. "After the first punt, I
wasn't worried about shanking one be
cause in practice I have been real consis
tent."
As the game progressed, Davis
gained more confidence in himself.
"I'm to the point now that I'm really
comfortable back there and confident I
can get the job done,"
But Davis is quick to give praise
where it belongs.
"One of the best things I've got go
ing for me is that I have a great line and
a great deep snapper," he said. "There
are also super athletes on the punt team
who hem the returners in and don't give
them a chance at a return."
One thing that made Davis work
harder was the fact that he was a walk-
on. But that status changed earlier this
week when A&M head football coach
R.C. Slocum awarded Davis a scholar
ship.
Davis won't lose his edge now that
his education is paid for.
"It makes you work harder (being a
walk-on)," he said. "But, now that I'm
on scholarship. I'm not going to let up.
"I'm just going to keep doing those
same things that got me here."
After all that he's had to endure to
get to this point, punting should be a
snap for Davis.
Texas World
Speedway revs
up for first race
By Richard S. James
The Battalion
After a long absence, race cars will
replace the construction equipment on
the high banks of Texas World Speed
way this weekend.
The speedway will reopen this week
end, featuring the Automobile Racing
Club of America (ARCA) Permatex Su
per Car Series Texas 500k stock car race
on Sunday.
"We’re ready," said Slick Johnson,
marketing and promotions director for
the speedway. "The track's been finished
since the middle of last week and 90 per
cent of the construction is done."
The track was originally scheduled to
open the first weekend in July with
Sports Car Club of America races, but
the races were cancelled due to heavy
rains which caused construction delays
This weekend's racing will feature
the ARCA Permatex Super Car Series for
full-bodied stock cars. Also scheduled to
compete are the Texas International
Drivers' Association (TIDA) Pro Sedans
and Late Models and Pro Vee open-
wheel race cars.
Johnson said response from the
See Speedway/ Page 8