Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 62

1 6E DETROIT FREE PRESSTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1990 CMU: A job beyond Deromedi's dreams Central Michigan schedule EMU: A coach builds his case Mick McCabe selects the Free Press' All-MAC team: Offense PLAYER CL TEAM WR Rick Isaiah Sr. Toledo WR Allan Boyko Sr. WMU TE Mike Anderson Sr. Kent OT Craig Kuligowski Sr. Toledo OT S.

Brockelbank Jr. EMU i AIThigpen Jr. Toledo OG Todd Wright Sr. Ball St. i OG Miles Davidson Sr.

Ohio QB Kevin Meger So. Toledo RB Bernie Parmalee Sr. Ball Sts RB Leroy Smith So. BGSU PK Kenny Stucker Jr. BallStC Defense PLAYER CL TEAM DL J.J.Wierenga Sr.

CMU DL Terry Crews Sr. WMU DL CPetersmark Sr. EMU DL JonWauford Jr. Miami LB RichCurtiss Sr. CMU LB Sean Mulhearn Sr.

WMU LB MattEberflus Jr. Toledo DB Leo Porter Jr. Ball St. DB Jason Kelley So. Toledo DB Bob Navarro Sr.

EMU DB David Johnson Sr. CMU Cris Shale Sr. BGSU- 1 ii OPPONENT RESULT at Kentucky Lost, 20-14 DATE OPPONENT TIME Sept. 8 Sept. 15 Sept.

22 Sept. 29 Cincinnati at Akron Bowling Green Miami (Ohio) at Kent State Western Mich. Toledo at Eastern Mich. Ball State at Ohio U. 1:00 1:00 1:00 1:00 1:00 1:00 1:00 6:00 1:00 1:00 Oct.

6 Oct. 13 Oct. 20 Oct. 27 Nov. 3 Nov.

10 Directions Take 1-96 to Lansing, Intersect U.S.-27 north. Drive 65 miles to Mt. Pleasant exit (Old 27). Road leads Into Mt. Pleasant, two miles.

Stadium is at BroomfieldMission (Old 27) intersection. Tickets Available (or all games. Season tickets $52; single-game reserve tickets $8 (except Homecoming and WMU $10), $6 general, 18-under $4 (except tor Homecoming and WMU, $7 for adult and $5 for youth). Send a checkmoney order (plus $1 for handling) to Athletic Ticket Office, Rose 100, CMU, Mt. Pleasant, 48859.

Tickets also available at Rose Center, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Ticket office: 517-774-3045. Eastern Michigan schedule Pleasant, HPIckarch BlA-gpTl 2 Itemus If 'H Brorjmfield3 oLl Kelly M.iw r' Shorts ipeerfieid Stadkjm BY MICK MCCABE Free Press Sports Writer MT.

PLEASANT At every MidAmerican Conference function, Central Michigan's Herb Deromedi is invariably introduced as the "dean" of MAC football coaches. Deromedi winces as if that was some sort of insult. It is not as if he hasn't succeeded his 71 conference wins in 12 sea sons are the most in MAC history and he trails only Ara Parseghian, Bo Schembechler, Doyt Perry and Dave McClain in MAC winning percentage Rut rhinos Herk just weren't sup- Deromedi posed to work out this way. It isn't that Deromedi, 51, expected to be coaching at Michigan or Michigan State quite the opposite. "My goal all along was to be a Class A high school coach," he said.

Deromedi, 5-feet-7, was a fullback at old Royal Oak High and after graduating in 1956 he attended U-M, where he received a master's degree. "I was a stud in high school," he said with a laugh. "I wasn't big enough to play at Michigan. When I got to the right weight, I was too slow for the position. But I could probably be one of those Smurf receivers for the Lions." While working on his master's, Deromedi helped Jack Stoval coach at University High in Ann Arbor.

His first coaching chance came at Byron High, southwest of Flint, where he coached football, basketball and baseball. "When I interviewed for the job, I could tell the superintendent liked the Woody Hayes belly offense," Deromedi recalled. "So when he asked me what offense I would run, I told him the belly offense. Then I had to find out what the belly offense was." That began Deromedi on a quest to learn as much football as he could. He went from one clinic to another.

"I remember a guy from Warren, Ohio, was successful with the belly offense and I heard him speak at a clinic in Ohio," Deromedi said. "Who knows what our offense would be like today if I would have heard Mouse Davis speak? "But I was a clinic rat. Back then, I had no money and I'd sleep on the floor in guys' hotel rooms. I also tried meeting and talking with guys who were successful coaches." After a year at Byron, Deromedi returned to University High for two years. He then joined Pin Ryan's staff at Royal Oak Kimball for three years.

By then he had become friendly with Roy Kramer, who was an assistant coach at Central. When Kramer became the head coach in '67, he hired Deromedi as his offensive line coach. OPPONENT RESULT at Fresno State Lost, 41-10 DATE OPPONENT TIME STEVEN R. NICKERSONDetrcrtt Free Press coaching is the competition." 1989 standings CONFERENCE OVERALL PF PA PF PA Ball Stale 6 1 1 193 119 7 3 2 274 239 EMU 6 2 0 179 133 7 3 1 252 196 Toledo i 2 0 205 178 5 0 254 272 CMU 5 2 1 179 103 5 5 1 228 182 Bowling Gr. 5 3 0 193 195 5 6 0 233 319 WMU 3 5 0 155 143 5 6 0 210 210 Miami 2 5 1 98 156 2 1 122 262 Ohio 1 6 1 172 209 1 9 1 191 348 Kent 0 8 0 129 267 Olio 179 377 BOWL RESULTS California: Fresno Stale 27, Ball Stale 6.

Top returnees RUSHING ATT YDS AVG TO YPC Parmatee, Ball St. 181 672 3.7 3 74.7 Alexander, Mia. 126 551 4.4 1 68.9 Boggan, WMU 208 744 3.6 3 67.6 Smith, BG 161 564 3.5 3 51.3 Daniels, Kent 82 304 3.7 3 38.0 RECEIVING NO YDS AVG TP CPG Isaiah, Toledo 46 743 16.2 6 4.1 Evans, Toledo 43 511 11.9 2 3.9 Swanson, Ohio 37 503 13.6 1 3.4 King, WMU 32 435 13.6 3 2.9 PASSING CM ATT YDS TP EFF Thornton, Ohio 120 234 1502 6 102.5 Napoli, Miami 191 342 1988 7 100.3 Bender, CMU 108 232 1487 6 98.6 Dalpra, Kent 86 191 1089 7 90.3 si BY MICK MCCABE Free Press Sports Writer You might say Jim Harkema has coached for about 40 of his 48 years. "When we were kids playing pickup baseball games," Harkema said, recalling days in Owosso, "I was always the guy in the leadership role whether anybody else liked it or not. "Growing up I was one of those guys who just loved the strategy of the game.

I was always studying coaches. I was critical of coaches. I was probably hard to coach." Now the words might be "hard to replace." When a vacancy arises in college football, Harkema's name is likely to surface. That's because he has turned Eastern Michigan from the losingest team in Division I into Mid-American Conference champion and perennial contender since he arrived in 1983. The Hurons had five straight losing seasons before Harkema and three more in his first seasons in Ypsilanti 1-10, 2-7-2, 4-7.

Harkema was not used to losing. He won three league titles and had only one losing season in 1973-82 at Grand Valley State, which had not won a game in its inaugural two seasons before he arrived. His first team in Allendale went 6-3. His last went 7-3. "I was ready to leave Grand Valley because I needed another challenge," Harkema said.

"But now I don't have to leave anymore. I will not go to a place like Eastern that didn't have the things in place that you need to have a chance. I do not want to go though the hell I went through here in '83, '84 and '85. Our fans may not remember, but I'll never forget those days." Harkema can best be described as a competitor, maybe because of the way he has had to build teams. Niles East High in Skokie, 111., was on a 2-45-1 skid before Harkema arrived in 1967.

It went 11-13 in his three seasons there. In 1970 he started the program at Triton Junior College in River Grove, 111. His second year the team was 7-1-1 and ranked 14th nationally "on the verge of starting a small little dynasty there," he said. He then spent a year at Northern Illinois before Allendale. "What I like about coaching is the competition," he said.

"Just the challenge to me is personal in terms of finding the right personnel and putting them in the right spots and helping them play to the top of their ability." Harkema is aware of one of the pitfalls of coaching burnout. "That fact that coaching is all-consuming that's all you do TEAM Western Michigan Al Molde, 4th year. 1989: 5-6 (3-5). Watch: QB Brad Tayles. Prediction: 10-1 (8-0).

1 2 Eastern Michigan Jim Harkema, 8th year. 1989: 7-3-1 (6-2). Watch: TB Mitch Brown. Prediction: 7-4 (6-2). Toledo Nick Saban, 1st year.

1989: 6-5 (6-2). Watch: QB Kevin Meger. Prediction: 8-3 (6-2). 3 Central Michigan Herb Deromedr, 13th year. 1989: 5-5-1 (5-2-1).

Watch: QB Jeff Bender. Prediction: 7-4 (6-2). Ball State Paul Schudel, 6th year. 1989: 7-3-2 (6-1-1). Watch: TB Bernle Parmalee.

Prediction: 6-5 (4-4). 5 Bowling Green Moe Ankney, 5th year. 1989: 5-6 (5-3). Watch: TB Leroy Smith. Prediction: 4-6 (3-5).

Kent State Dick Crum, 3rd year. Watch: QB Joe Dalpra Prediction: 1-10 (1-7). 7 Miami (Ohio) Randy Walker, 1st year. 1989: 2-8-1 (2-5-1). Watch: QB Jim Clement.

Prediction: 1-10 (1-7). 8 Ohio Tom Llchtenberg, first year. (1-6-1). Watch: TB Ricky Howell. Prediction: 1-10 (1-7).

9 WMU: Molde recalls roots as career finally blossoms Two years later, Deromedi was the defensive coordinator. During the first week of Aupst 1978, Kramer was named athletic director at Vanderbilt and Deromedi was named interim head coach. "It happened so fast it was dramatic and traumatic," Deromedi said. "I remember going into the first offensive huddle and saying: 'Angle defense tin Our first game was against Kent State. It was the best diet I've ever been on.

I dropped 10 to 12 pounds and wasn't trying." The Chippewas won Deromedi's first game, 41-0, and wound up 9-2, 84 in the MAC and in second place. "I remember beating Bowling Green to make us 6-2 and people were still calling wanting to apply for the job," Deromedi said. "Going into that year, we had Gary Hogeboom ready to emerge, but we didn't know that. We made a few changes and put a couple of freshmen in the lineup Reggie Mitchell and Willie Todd and they worked out pretty good." Even when Deromedi first went to Central, he intended to stay only a couple of seasons and then find a nice Class A high school for 30 years. "When I got to Central, it was a school that was growing," he said.

"It went from a non-scholarship program to a Division II school to a Division II school. I got carried away with it arid the school kept moving and moving arid moving. It took on new energies." And with the school's growth, Deromedi grew. To dean of the MidAmerican Conference coaches. I'd have to wake the players up when we got there.

1 "We started out with 28 players and we were quickly down under 20. 1 remember having 18 guys in uniform." If that season didn't drive Molde out of coaching, nothing will. i "I was 27 years old and I was full of energy, so I was going to get that thing turned around and I did," he said. "We hustled around and recruited some players. I wasn't home much that winter.

We talked to some boosters and the college president and got some land on campus for a practice field. My wife (Ingrid) and I went to a junkyard and got some pipes. We welded them together and painted it and made: a goalpost. It's still standing today. If you drove through town, you'd see it." In his second and final year at Sioux Falls, Molde's team went 5-4.

From there he went to Minnesota-Morris, Central Missouri State and Eastern Illinois. At Eastern, he developed his one-back offense, which is very similar to the run 'n' shoot. It is a passing-oriented offense that made Molde an attractive candidate to Western Michigan. In his second year, Western won its first outright MidAmerican Conference title. At the time they hired him, Western officials were looking for something more than a coach who liked to run off tackle.

To Molde, Western Michigan could have been Nebraska or UCLA compared to where he had been. "I've always said that I value my roots in coaching," he said. "I'm glad I wasn't a graduate assistant at a place like Michigan and then came here. I feel like all of the work I did 20 years ago to get a team in place so we could win five games (at Sioux Falls) contributed to making me what I am today. "I appreciate the fact that I was able to get things done with less than other coaches hQi Jim Harkema: "What I like about sometimes that scares me," he said.

"My wife (Merrell) and I have normal lives in the summer, but a lot of other coaches don't. Hey, I want to coach until I'm 60. You can't be all-consumed for 12 months and coach that long. "I don't want to be president, athletic director or vice president. I just want to coach, so I better enjoy other aspects of life.

So I play golf and spend time on my boat." But this time of year Harkema is back to all-consuming coach. "I don't coach to help kids," he said. "If I wanted to help kids I'd work at a YMCA in the inner city trying to get kids off the street. I coach because it's competitive and it's fun. A lot of kids who have played for me think I've helped them, but they were good enough kids to start with that they didn't need Jim Harkema.

"I'm just a guy trying to win football games by the rules. Hopefully, I'll help guys play to the top of their ability and get more points than the other guys." WHY CAN WIN 1. Tayles will be much improved. 2. Offensive line will be better.

3. Receivers could be MAC'S best. 4. Offense tough to prepare for. 5.

Overall defense will be strong. 1. Defense should again be strong. 2. DB Bob Navarro may intercept 72.

3. Western, Central, Ball St. at home. 4. EMU always has a good offense.

5. Should have won it last year. 1. Meger best In MAC. 2.

Good offensive Une. 3. New defensive scheme will help. 4. Outstanding receivers.

5. Fourteen returning starters. 1. Bender should be much better. 2.

Defense should be MAC'S best. 3. Western, Toledo, Ball State at home. 4. Can't have as many injuries as '89.

5. It's Deromedi's turn. 1. Maybe the MAC'S best secondary. 2.

Parmalee is All-MAC. 3. Defense may be better than '89. 4. Sound special teams.

5. It's about time somebody repeated. 1. Best defense BG has had. 2.

Smith Is solid. 3. Punter Cris Shale is All-MAC. 4. Good depth, especially defensively.

5. Better win or Ankney is history. 1 Eight returning starters on offense. 2. May eventually kick a FG this time.

3. Must Improve by accident. 4. Dalpra Is talented. 5.

Maybe others will go on probation. 1. Running game will be Improved. 2. Team attitude will be better.

3. Defense should be decent. 4. Tradition? 5. Maybe Bo will return.

1. QB Anthony Thornton Is talented. 2. Llchtenberg Is funniest coach in MAC, 3. Defense might be better.

4. Seven offensive starters return. 5. Offensive line will be Improved. 4.

5. 1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Sept. 8 Sept. 15 Sept. 22 Sept. 29 Oct.

6 Oct. 20 Oct. 27 Nov. 3 Nov. 10 Nov.

17 Western Mich. Ohio U. at Youngstown at Indiana at Toledo at Bowling Gr. Central Mich, at Miami (Ohio) Ball State at Kent State 6:00 1:00 7:30 2:00 1:00 7:00 6:00 1:30 1:00 1:00 Geddes Rynearson Stadium Directions Exit from 1-94 to Michigan Ave. Turn right, go half-mile to Hewitt.

Turn left, go about five miles. Tickets Available for all games. Season tickets $38; single-game tickets $10 reserved, $8 general admission. Tickets available at Bowen Field House, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

weekdays. Ticket office: 1-487-2282. Western Michigan schedule DATE OPPONENT TIME Sept. 8 Sept. 15 Sept.

22 Sept. 29 Oct. 6 Oct. 13 Oct. 20 Oct.

27 Nov. 3 Nov. 10 Nov. 17 at Eastern Mich. Louisiana Tech Kent State at Iowa State at Akron at Central Mich.

Ball State at Ohio U. Toledo at Bowling Gr. Miami (Ohio) 6:00 1:00 1:00 2:00 1:00 1:00 1:00 1:30 1:30 1:30 1:00 Kalamazoo a IM-43 Directions Exit from 1-94 to Oakland and go north. Go through stoplight at Howard Street and continue one mile to Oliver Street. Turn left on Oliver, go to Stadium Drive.

Tickets Available for all games. Season tickets $40; single-game tickets $10 reserved (except homecoming $12), $8 adult ($10 for homecoming), $5 general admission ($6 for homecoming). Send a checkmoney order (plus $1 for handling, $2 for season tickets) to Athletic Ticket Office, Read Fieldhouse, WMU, Kalamazoo, 49008-3874. Tickets also available at field house or by phone, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

weekdays. Ticket office: 616-387-3092 or 1-800-992-7841 4- YpSiantT 1-94 9 3 Lake Miles m'' -y i M-43 Stadium 0 1 i Miles II I Zi I WHY CAN'T WIN 1. Are there any RBs? 2. No dominant defensive players. 3.

Tough opener at EMU. Question marks In secondary. Another MAC title and Molde is gone. 1. Is there a QB? 2.

Is there a TB? 3. Kicking game is a concern. 4. Offensive line must develop. 5.

Needs consistency at CB. First-year coaches don't win title. Depth could be a problem. Players might not adjust to Saban. Have trouble winning big one.

MAC News Media picked Toledo. 1. No proven TB. 2. No proven receivers.

3. Young offensive line. 4. Lost kicker and punter. 5.

Bender throws too many Interceptions. 1. Nobody repeats In the MAC. 2. Can't replace QB David Riley.

3. Or LB GregGarnica. 4. Not as big or fast as last season, 5. Not a real passing attack.

1. Is there a QB? 2. Opens with four road games. 3. Too many holes offensively.

4. Hasn't figured out how to win. 5. Denny Stolz's ghost still looms. 1.

Hey, Flashes were 0-11 last year. 2. Nowhere near enough talent. 3. Could start five freshmen.

4. Only seven seniors on entire squad. 5. They're horrible. 1.

34-0 loss at North Carolina. 2. Plays at Louisiana State. 3. Worst running in Division I last year.

4. Walker is no miracle worker. 5. Passing attack was terrible. 1.

Defense was horrible. Offense was Just as bad. No talent. No depth. No chance.

BY MICK MCCABE Free Press Sports Writer Perhaps the many 2V2-hour trips Ingmar Molde and his son, Al, made from Montivideo, to Minneapolis to watch the Golden Gophers play football made Al's decision easy. "I knew back in grade school that I was going to be a football coach," said Molde, who is starting his fourth season as coach at Western Michigan. "That's the one thing in my life that there was never any question about. Yep, I was going to be a coach all along. "When I was young, I played all of the different sports and I ii ICldlCU IU au Ul yy the coaches I had," he said.

Molde "I'm sure my father taking me to the games kept me interested. When I was growing up in the late '50s and early '60s, Minnesota was pretty good and that helped." Molde, 46, was an offensive guard and a linebacker in high school and at Gustavus Adolphus College. He coached three high school years and then worked as a graduate assistant while getting a master's degree at South Dakota State and a doctorate in exercise physiology at Utah. By then he was ready to become a head coach in college if that's what you want to call Sioux Falls College. His first year there, 1971, Molde's team was 0-8-1.

"We didn't have a practice field," he recalled with a laugh. "We had to get in this old 37-seat bus and drive 20 minutes to the' other side of town just to practice. And the janitor would come on the bus with his old stinkj cigars and 1.