ber 17,;
Sports
’age 7
The Battalion
Tuesday, November 17,1992
BflJWp
College football
should take hint
from high schools
seorse
DON
NORWOOD
Sports Writer
Weld
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much mon-
it he mean!
personally
: have any,"
said, 'Well
luts, then."
its
mt
P
PRESS
I n the midst
of an emo
tionally tax
ing football sea
son, I had my
wavering faith
in the sport re
stored Nov. 14.
That night, by
being a small
but vocal part
in a simple,
high school
playoff game,
reminded me
why I, as well
as millions of
other Ameri
cans, have a love affair with football.
The fact that my alma mater won
the game was merely icing on the cake
as the Silsbee Tigers beat the Port
Neches-Groves Indians 42-17 in a
Class AAAA first-round game. In fact,
the win could have been demoralizing,
considering that both years I played
we missed postseason play.
The real beauty of the game came in
the atmosphere. There were no wor
ries about narrow-minded sportswrit-
ers voting the wrong teams into the
Top Five. There were no worries
about the dark cloud of the NCAA
watching like a hawk to see if a boost
er buys a player a bag of french fries.
And most comforting of all, there were
no worries about another team skip
ping the postseason game they should
appear in in favor of a game promis
ing more revenue. Isn't it amazing
how a playoff system will make things
so much more organized and clear-
cut?
Instead, there was just football.
And it was beautiful.
The sights and sounds of the game
were as vivid as they were five years
ago, when I and around 30 of my clos
est friends happily ripped our knees
and shoulders to shreds in front of a
See Norwood/Page 8
Harrison becoming A&M's newest offensive threat
By K. LEE DAVIS
Sports Writer of THE BATTALION
He is a threat to score from all over the
field.
He picks his blocks well and follows
them to the end zone.
He has the highest average yards-per-
carry of anyone else on the Texas A&M
football team, and possibly in the nation.
And he has the highest scoring percent
age for times touching the ball at 1.000.
Greg Hill? Rodney Thomas? Doug
Carter? Corey Pullig?
Guess again. It's offensive guard
"Touchdown" Tyler Harrison, and don't
you forget it.
Harrison has found himself to be much
in demand since picking up a loose ball
on the age-old fumblerooski play, and
then rumbling 25 yards to the end zone
during the first quarter of Thursday's 38-
30 win over the University of Houston.
The fumblerooski, or "Golden Goose
Egg" as the Aggies have named the play,
is accomplished by the center, in this case
Chris Dausin, snapping the ball to the
quarterback, who does not take the ball
from the center but allows him to drop it
between his legs. At that point the left
guard scoops it up from between the cen
ter's legs and runs around the end.
The play goes back further than most
fans can remember, and has been used re
peatedly this season in college games
across the country.
The play is often effective, usually end
ing in a long gain or a touchdown.
But Harrison is quick to point out that
he is no johnny-come-lately to the busi
ness of producing points.
"Hey, haven't I been an offensive
threat all year?" Harrison said, referring
to the work he and his offensive line
mates have done to help move the offense
all season.
But the 275-pound guard said that stu
dents around campus have kept him from
being too cocky about his running
prowess.
"Most of them are very happy for me
and a little surprised," Harrison said.
"But they all say that I don't know how to
hold the ball."
Harrison said he learned his carry-the-
ball-in-one-flailing-hand technique when
he was a child growing up in Arlington.
"I think that was an old back-yard
style play," he said.
When told that he was possibly the
most prolific rushing offensive lineman in
the history of the Southwest Conference,
Harrison seemed unimpressed.
"That's definitely a weird statistic," he
said.
Harrison added that nothing is as
strange as hearing your number being
" e huddle foi
called in the
for the first time ever.
"I really couldn't believe they called it,
and I had to go up to the line and tell my
self, 'He (offensive coordinator Bob Tole
do) really did call it,' and then I just had
to run the play," Harrison said. "Once I
saw the goal line, I just started thinking,
'Score.'"
Harrison, featured on virtually every
sports highlight show after the game on
Thursday, and then again all during the
weekend, said that he finds all of the ex
posure kind of funny.
"It was really strange, but it was excit
ing to see myself," he said.
"It was a unique play, and a great op
portunity for me," Harrison added.
The rest of his teammates have been
supportive of Harrison's new found role,
but not to the point that they don't give
him extra grief for his fame.
"Most of them were really excited for
me and for what it did for the team, but
they all said it looked really comical,"
Harrison said.
Harrison said that if his number is
called again, he will be ready.
"Whatever Coach Toledo calls for,"
Harrison said.
With rushing numbers like Harrison's,
people could start calling for a new chant
when it's time to put the ball in the end
zone.
THT—-Tyler Harrison Time? Maybe
not. Just doesn't have the ring as GHT.
RICHARD S. JAMES/The Battalion
A&M left guard Tyler Harrison (55)
meets with other members of the
offense during the Aggies’ 41-7 win
over SMU. Harrison was thrust into
the offensive limelight in the Aggies’
win over Houston when he scored a
touchdown on a “fumblerooski” play.
Batt readers lash out on Aggies' position in AP Poll
Throw the polls out, because a win is
a win. Texas A&M has managed to fash
ion a perfect 10-win season with only
two games, left even though they started
the season with three of their top defen
sive leaders and the legendary Bucky
Richardson gone to the NFL. With only
a true freshman and a slider pitcher at
quarterback the Aggies have vanquished
all of their scheduled opponents. Who
cares if only one of the teams was ranked
in the Top 25? These schedules are
made several years in advance and it
certainly isn't A&M's fault that the rest
of the SWC has chosen to roll over belly
up and wait till next year. This A&M
team has been jumped in the polls four
times because drey didn't
up on their opponents. Is that the mes
sage the pollsters are sending out to
coaches? If that is the case then someone
should nominate Houston's John Jenkins
coach of the year. However, most peo
ple criticize John Jenkins' style of piling
up points on inferior teams. That also
brings up an interesting point. Whenev
er the University of Houston ran up the
score on Louisiana Tech 73-3 last year,
Lee Corso of ESPN joined the nation
wide media criticism of this action.
However, I didn't hear anyone com
plaining this weekend, including Corso
who is a Florida State Alumnus, when
Florida State ran up the score to 70-7
against defenseless Tulane. The out
come of that game surely played no
part in the decision by Pollsters to
run’the score jbump 9-1 Florida State past Texas A&M
this week in the AP Poll. So R.C. Slocum
take note because the AP Poll gods have
spoken. Go out and crush TCU by at
least 50-60 points and put aside those
childish sensitivities like integrity, re
spect and sportsmanship.
Troy Mooney
Class of '92.
This past weekend our football team
was once again jumped in the polls/this
time by Florida State. To all of our play
ers and coaches that have to be feeling
great frustration and 'well what else
cane we do but winedness/ T would like
to remind you of a little Al Da vis/Oak
land Raider inspired philosophy: "Just
Win Baby." This point is often over
looked by AP vdters and fans alike.
Whether you beat the opponent in a
Gome-from-behind victory, or drub them
such as Fla. St. has done to its opponents
of late, a victory is still a mark in the
"W" column. And after all, is the goal of
the game to win or destroy? Whether
it's by one point or sixty, nobody can
take a win away from you. And though
a national championship is not out of
reach yet, if you guvs go into the Cotton
Bowl 11-0 and 'just heat' Fla. St. or Notre
Dame or whoever, no matter what the fi
nal ranking is you will be perfect in our
eyes, and national champs in our hearts.
Keep winning guys, and beat the hell
outta texas!
S tephen Scott Cone
Class of '95
■
II gpJWljf
Spring
Fraternity Rush Symposium
Wednesday, Movember 18
7-9 p.m. 225 MSC
All 261FC fraternities will be
there ready to answer your
questions about Spring Rush
at Texas A&M University.
Come choose the right one for you.
Be a Part of the Winning Team
GIVE BLOOD
November 15-20, 1992
10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
The Commons
SBISA
Rudder Fountain
O
THE
BLOOD CENTER
at Wadley