S The Battalion
PORTS
Monday • October 13,
Aggies romp Cyclones, improve to 5
By Chris Ferrell
Sports editor
Jimmy Johnson often stresses
the importance of “play makers”.
They are guys capable of making
a big play at anytime which can
turn the tide of a game. They
cause opposing coaches to hold
their breath every time they
touch the ball and leave every
body in the stadium shaking
their heads in disbelief.
The Texas A&M Football
Team proved they had some
playmakers in their 56-17 vic
tory over the Iowa State Cy
clones, Saturday at Kyle Field.
“It seemed like last year, we
didn’t have any big plays and
that was definitely frustrating,”
junior tight end Daniel Camp
bell said. “I think at the same
time, you’ve got a team this
year that makes their big plays
too and we didn’t have that last
year. That’s why this is a whole
different ball club.”
First and foremost, there
was tail back Sirr Parker. The ju
nior from Las Angeles touched
the ball only nine times on the
afternoon, but made the most
of each one, finishing the day
with 195 total yard and two
touchdowns.
Parker began his day with an
80 yard touchdown run the first
time he touched the ball.
“As I cut back, I got a great
block from (junior tight end) Der
rick Spiller,” Parker said. “That
gave me the opportunity to get
outside. I got a great block of
(sophomore wide receiver) Leroy
Hodge. I think he was blocking 40,
50 yards down the field. It allowed
me to g6t to the end zone. It was a
great offensive play.”
However, he still had a few
more fireworks in his pocket in
the third quarter when he re
turned Iowa State kicker Jamie
Kohl’s low knuckle ball kickoff
78 yards for a touch down. It
was the second of his career,
the first came last season when
he returned one 100 yards
against the University of Texas.
“He’s an excellent runner
whose getting better and better
every week,” offensive coordina
tor Steve Marshall said. “We’ve got
to work to get him the ball. He’s a
guy that can take it the distance
on every shot.”
Spiller also made big plays
for the Aggies.
When he wasn’t spring Aggie
running backs with big blocks,
he was collecting one of team
high four catches and two
touchdowns.
He and Campbell combined
to catch six balls for 70 yards on
the afternoon.
“We had an idea that we prob
ably going to be throwing the ball
a lot,” Campbell said. “It makes it
a lot better to know that they’re
going to have to worry about the
tight ends and not just the re
ceivers and the backs.”
And of course no big play
filled game would be complete
without a stellar performance by
sophomore Dante Hall who ran
for a 42 yard touchdown on Bar
ry Sandersesque scamper. Hall
took the ball down the left side
line and then cut back to the
middle of the field just before
stepping out of bounds and left
P mm
ik
mm
DAVE HOUSE/The Battalion
Junior quarterback Branndon Stewart dives to set up A&M’s first
touchdown in the Aggies’ 56-17 victory. He found junior tight end
Derrick Spiller two plays later for the touchdown.
A&M scores quick, gii
defense little time to n
ROBERT MCKAY/The Battalion
Members of the Wrecking Crew gang tackle Iowa State’s Darren
Davis in Saturday’s game at Kyle Field.
the ISU defense in disarray as he
dove head first in the end zone.
Their play helped A&M’s of
fense turn its most balanced at
tack of the season.
The Aggies ran for 268 yards
and threw for 226.
Sophomore Randy McCown
was 11 of 14 for 141 yards and a
touchdown and junior quarter
back Branndon Stewart com
pleted eight of his 12 passes for
85 yards and two scores.
“Every week we have a cer
tain plan going in,” Marshall
said. “I think our backs, re
ceivers, line, quarterbacks exe
cuted the passing game better.
We had a lot of that same stuff
all along and some days its for
nothing, some days it isn’t.
“When we’re executing, it eas
ier to call the plays. It wasn’t de
signed that we were going to go in
and throw the ball all the time be
cause that’s not us. We’re going to
run the football. We’ve got to run
the ball to win.”
Defensively, junior linebacker
Dat Nguyen showed once again
why he is the Wrecking Crew’s
perennial play maker, stepping in
front of a pass fiom Cyclone quar
terback Todd Bandhaur’s and re
turned it 32 yards for the A&M
touchdown.
The Aggie defense sacked
Bandhaur eight times, but gave
up 307 yards of total offense.
“We knew going into the
game that they had a danger
ous offense and the didn’t have
a lot of defense,” senior defen
sive end Brad Crowley said.
“During the week we had a lot
of rain and it was hard to keep
our motivation up because it
was such an emotional win last
week. We still came out and had
a good game so we’re pleased
with our effort.”
With the victory the Aggies
improve to 5-0 for the first time
since 1994 when they finished
the season 10-0-1.
“It feels real good,” senior
guard Steve McKinney said. “My
freshman year we were 10-0-1, it’s
been a long time since then.”
By Jamie Burch
Staff writer
Time of possession can win football
games. Most coaches will tell you, includ
ing A&M coach R.C. Slocum, the best de
fense is a good offense, an offense drat eats
up so much clock that the opponent has lit
tle time to score. A good offense helps wear
down the opponents defense, while keep
ing your defense fresh.
But against Iowa State, the Aggies pre
scribed to a different method — the quick
strike. The A&M offense was like a time
bomb waiting to explode. The big play was
looming all afternoon, just waiting to hap
pen. Every time the Aggies touched the ball,
the threat of scoring was a reality.
In the Aggies 56-17 victory over the Cy
clones, A&M had possession of the ball 13
fewer minutes than Iowa State. Near the end
of the third quarter, the time of possession
margin read Iowa State 28 :54, A&M 14:24.
The lopsided time of possession is the result
of A&M’s big plays on both sides of the belli.
Tick, tick, tick, BOOM! On the Aggies
second possession of the game, leading 7-
3, junior tailback Sirr Parker broke free and
scampered 80 yards for the touchdown.
The drive to the end zone lasted 16 sec
onds. Aggies lead 14-3.
Like the fans in the stands and the media
in die press box, senior left guard Steve McK
inney said he was in awe of Parker’s run.
“Sirr played great,” a jovial McKinney
said. “The 80-yard run was nice. It kept
the offensive line rested. You don’t get
winded, except for running down the
field to celebrate.”
Tick, tick, tick, BOOM! After a missed 46-
yard field goal by senior kicker Kyle Bryant,
the Cyclones took over on their own 29 yard
line. Cyclone quarterbackTodd Bandhauer
stepped back in the pocket and threw for
tight end Damian Gibson. Aggie linebacker
Dat Nguyen cut in between Bandhauer and
Gibson and picked off the pass. Nguyen re
turned the interception 32 yards for the
score. Time of possession, zero seconds.
Aggies lead 21-3.
A humble Nguyen said he was in the
right place at the right time.
“The tight end made a little five yard
out,” Nguyen. “I read the quarterback the
whole way. 1 was fortunate
where I was at.”
Tick, tick, tick, BOOMi Threeu
into the second quarter, A&Ms
drive at its own 19 yard line and!
to the Iowa State 42yard lineij
plays. On third-and-two, sopi
tailback Dante Hall ran aroundi
end and down the sideline, 42ya
the touchdown. Time of thedriij
Aggies lead 28-3.
Sophomore quarterback Rand
Gown said the quick strikeisafcl
come.
“We love to score,” McCownsri
time we can have a big drive andlk
defense off the field, that’s good.:|
can’t complain when yougetabj
You’ll take ’em anytime.”
But anytime you have a quidj
drive, the defense is sent back owe
field. The longer the defense is one
the greater the chance a tired:
unit will surrender unansweredp
In the third quarter, the’
Crew spent nearly 12 minutesj
field, resulting from longsusta
ves by the Cyclones. Aftergoinjl
and-out to start the second half!
clones mounted a 17 play, SOyarj
that consumed 8 minutes. lowil
kept the drive going with twoo
sions on third-and-long andt
versions on fourth down.
Slocum said he was not pleasedtl
defensive efforts in the third quartej
“There were times I felt likewesi
the field too long ourselves," Slo
“The defense let them make sou
Our third down performance tod
good. 1 was not pleased with that’
Tick, tick, tick, BOOM! Follow
eight minute drive, Iowa State kid
to Parker. Parker received thekiclil
A&M 22 yard line and ran78yai
the Aggies lone touchdown oftlie|
quarter. Time of possessions
onds. Aggies lead 49-17.
Parker ended the day with99
seven carries and two touchdp
“The game is never over untildie
minutes is up,” Parker said. “Ouin
is to run right at ’em and to throw
’em. We score and we break thein
Texas A&M vs. Iowa State Game Notes
Injury Report
Sophomore linebacker Chris
Thierry was taken off the field in
an ambulance late in the fourth
quarter of Saturday's game.
The injury was diagnosed as a
stinger and x-rays showed no
damage.
Due to the fact that Thierry
felt some numbness, extreme
medical care was given.
Thierry is listed as probable for
next week’s game at Kansas State.
Junior tackle Cameron Spikes
left the game in the first half af
ter being poked in the eye and
sophomore running back Dante
Hall left the game in the third
quarter with a deep thigh
bruise. Both players will be
ready for next weeks game.
Going the wrong way
Of ISlTs 78 offensive plays, 15
went for losses.
Freshman defensive end Rocky
Bernard, sophomore cornerback
Sedrick Curry and senior line
backer Phillip Meyers all recorded
two tackles for a loss. The Wreck
ing Crew also recorded eights]
on the day.
Kansas State next 1
A&M will be on the roatfj
week to battle the No. 20M
State in Manhattan, Kansas l
Last season K ansasStasB
feated the Aggies 23-20»
Field.
1939 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Gathering reunites '39 national championship team
By Jeff Schmidt
Staff writer
T exas A&M’s only national
championship team had its 58
year reunion this weekend.
The 1939 Aggies went 11-0 that year
with a 14-13 victory overTulane in
the Sugar Bowl. Most of the players
on that team were reemited in 1937.
The depression had just ended and
Texas A&M needed money. They
knew a winning football team
would bring that money. With the
help of athletic booster Bert Pfaff,
the scholarships were raised and the
Aggies signed 37 players. This nu
cleus helped the Aggies win consec
utive Southwest Conference
championships in 1939
and 1940. The team
was coached by
the legendary
Homer Nor
ton. Norton
has the
school record
for career
wins with 82
and is in the
College Foot
ball Hall of
Fame. The 1939
team featured
three first team
All-Americans:
guard Marshall
Robnett, running
back John Kim
brough and tackle
Joe Boyd.
When the Ag
gies played UCLA
in 1940, Robnett manhandled a
young player named Jackie Robin
son. Legend has it that Robinson
would decide to concentrate on
baseball after the
beating he suffered.
Kimbrough is one
of the most well-
known players
A&M history. He fin
ished fifth in Heis-
man voting in 1939
and second to Michi
gan’s Tom Harmon in
1940. In the 1940
Sugar Bowl, Kim
brough single-
handedly
led the Ag
gies to victory after be
ing down
13-7 in the
fourth quarter.
Kimbrough fin
ished the day
with 159 yards
rushing and
scored A&M’s
only two
touchdowns.
Boyd was a
co-captain on the
national champi
onship team and
was drafted by the Washing
ton Redskins. Other notables
on the team were quarterback
Marion Pugh, receiver Herb
Smith and running back Kim
Thomason. Despite the pletho
ra of stars on this team, A&M’s
student manager Jimmie Parker
believes it was the team’s cohesive
ness that made it a champion.
“We lived like a team should
live, as brothers. Everybody was
good to each other
and we played as a
team, which is why
we did so well,”
Parker said.
Bubba Reeves
agrees with Parker’s
assessment.
“We didn’t have a
team, we had a fami
ly,” Reeves said.
Part of the reason
to the success of the
team was to a group
of men called the
Blue Boys. This
group was composed of third
stringers, hold outs and ineligibles.
It was the Blue Boys job to prepare
the first team for their next foe. Af
ter the Aggies beat Villanova in
1939, newspapers reported on the
beating that Villanova took from
the Aggies. After reading this, Bub
ba Reeves, the captain of the Blue
Boys, sent a telegram to the Wild
cat coach asking, “What are you
beefing about? We play those buz
zards five days a week. You only
did it once.”
In these days, college football
didn’t command the money that it
does today. Jimmie Parker says the
player’s played for something more.
“We played cause we were loy
al to A&M. Now, players go to
whoever will pay them the most
money. But back then, there was
n’t any money,” Parker said.
RYAN ROGERS/TheE'
Members of the 1939 team, A.W. Buchanan (Class of ’42), Cowley Harold (Class of ’42), and Hugh Boyd
(Class of ’40) talk at the team’s reunion Friday at the Hilton.
The Aggie defense, as it is today,
was one of the most dominant
units in the country. The Aggies led
the county in total defense, scoring
defense and rush defense. The
scoring and rush defense yardage
allowed are still NCAA records.
They compiled a whopping six
shutouts, including a 20-0 drub
bing of the Texas Longhorns.
Harold Cowley is proud of
their accomplishments but hope
that future teams can bring home
a championship.
“It’s horrible to be the only na
tional championship team. I
thought we were going to have an
other two years ago but we hyped
everyone out of it,” Cowley said.
Jimmie Parker, who became the
first business manager of the!
las Cowboys and proudly disp
his 1972 Super Bowl Champ
ring, remains upbeat.
“It’s a great feeling comings
to Aggieland and seeing the
tional Championship sign lull
Field. It’s like going back home
seeing something you haven't* '
in a long time,” Parker said.