The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 21

EDITOR: GREG NOBLE, 369-1917 THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER SUNDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1988 SECTION 0 Tougaloo's Best of OhioC-3 Lyle, Ballesteros tiedC-3 Seton wins district titleC-1 3 Churchill ready for CupC-1 4 Hawks move to top of NBAC-1 5 Alford fights for jobC-1 5 mi for knockout blow Sip a a- Bengals r- At a glance Ickey Woods: Long way from ghetto, gang fights "yr" 1 BY TIMOTHY W. SMITH The Cincinnati Enquirer Ickey Woods looks around the spacious family room in his home in West Chester. "You could probably put the apartment where me, my brother and mother lived into this room," Woods says about his 25-by-15-foot den. "It was just two rooms." are out of the division race." While Cleveland coach Marty Schottenheimer doesn't agree, of course, Kosar comes close to concurring with Thomas. "No doubt, this is a critical football game for our team," said Kosar, who returned to action last week after missing six games with a sprained elbow.

"I don't know if we're out of it, but obviously if you lose and go down three games down to a team that has beaten you twice, things will look pretty bleak from the standpoint of winning the division." A Cleveland victory, on the other hand, puts the Browns one game out with seven to play and squarely back in the race now that Kosar's healthy. "Cleveland is one of the best (Please see BENGALS, Page C-12) BY MIKE DODD The Cincinnati Enquirer CLEVELAND It's only the ninth week of the NFL season. But today's game in Cleveland Stadium will answer one of the major questions of the year. It's the game that will determine whether the 5-3 Browns can overcome the loss of Bernie Kosar for six weeks and still make a run at the AFC Central Division title. The Bengals, 7-1, have a chance to sound the death knell for Cleveland's realistic hopes to win its fourth straight division title.

A Cincinnati victory would give the Bengals a three-game lead over the Browns and a sweep of the season series, the first tiebreaker. "We've got them down, we want to go ahead and just apply the knockout punch, basically," said cornerback Eric Thomas. "We feel if we do win the game, that they WHO: Cincinnati Bengals (7-1) vs. Cleveland Browns (5-3). WHEN: 1 p.m.

WHERE: Cleveland Stadium. RADIO: WKRC-AM (550) (Phil Samp, Dave Lapham, and Ken Anderson). TV: Channels 5, 22 (Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen). ODDS: Browns favored by 3 points. Inside Mike Dodd's NFL report, Page C-8.

Browns scouting report, Page C-8. Rams face Saints for control of NFC West, Page C-9. Buchanan comes on strong for Browns, Page C-10. Ickey Woods Tu t- mK on the sofa in his den with his now famous ponytail unbraided, his hair hanging loosely down his neck. While his wife, Schondra, who is expecting a third child in March, makes lunch for him and their two children, Jermaine, 5, and Amber, 2, Woods reflects on where he came from, where he is and where he hopes to (Please see WOODS, Page C-12) Faust has same desire, different goal AKRON, Ohio Gerry Faust has had his baptism of fire.

This is his baptism of ice. Notre Dame's failed football coach is not fighting anger any more, but apathy. He is trying to bring the University of Akron into college football's big time and his efforts have so far been received mainly by empty seats. Disappointment he can deal with; disinterest is more difficult. "It's been the most frustrating three years I've ever spent in my life," Faust said Friday afternoon.

"Notre Dame was cake compared to this." Saturday night showed why. The Zips defeated Fullerton State, 15-14, on a field goal by Bob Dombroski with one second remaining in the game. Yet this drama was observed by only 4,090 spectators on an evening co-promoted as Summit County Government Employees Night and High School Band Night. On the day Notre Dame reclaimed the top spot in college football, Gerry Faust was left to ponder that ancient riddle: If a game is played and there is no one there to watch it, does it make a sound? A slow process rZ rrrr wr i i A i 1 -A This is not a man who easily recognizes obstacles. Since his dynastic days at Moeller High School, Faust has found silver linings in mushroom clouds, and he has let a smile be his umbrella amid monsoons.

He was this way again in the after- Aikman, UCLA humbled ENQUIRER NEWS SERVICES Troy Aikman, the UCLA quarterback who many consider to be the front-runner for this year's Heisman Trophy award, doesn't even think he's the best quarterback in the Pacific-10 conference. At least not after Saturday's game. Washington State's Timm Rosenbach hit on 16 of 25 throws for 272 yards and two touchdowns, both to Tim Stallworth, as the Cougars knocked off the No. 1 Bruins, 34-30. "I've got a lot of admiration for Timm," Aikman said.

"He's the No. 1 quarterback in the country and he showed it." Rosenbach and Aikman ranked one-two nationally in passing efficiency entering the game. Aikman completed 27 of 44 passes for 325 yards and one touchdown with one interception. The loss cripples UCLA's chances at a national championship and opens the door for No. 2 Notre Dame to take over the top ranking in the polls.

The Irish roughed up Navy, 22-7. Oklahoma State running back Barry Sanders, the nation's leading rusher, ran for a school-record 320 yards on 37 carries in the 45-27 win over Kansas State. Locally, Greg Frey passed for 229 yards', but Ohio State lost to Michigan State, 20-10, and Alfred Rawls ran for two touchdowns to spark Kentucky to a 24-10 victory over Southern Illinois. The only Top 20 team other than UCLA to fall was No. 20 Oregon, which lost to Arizona State, 21-20.

College roundups, Page C-4-6. Gerry Faust glow of Saturday's victory, yet some of his recent remarks have i i leveaieu uiiukudiicuaiu. iwuigco ui un- happiness. Coming from such a sunny individual, it was natural to assume they reflected tremors beneath the surface. Faust is making progress here, but the stepping is slow.

The Zips are 4-5 this Tmnf nnr i-Yimf iron sw A to ycai anu i dual a uiicc-jrcai ictuiu ia 15-16. "We're getting better," he said. "We're going to be a heck of a football team next year. It's been a frustrating, tnnoh thino tn hnilH hut it's rnmintr I o- It was a task inherently hazardous. Faust's arrival coincided with the university's decision to compete at the Division 1-A IpvpI aftpr a decade at 1-AA.

No other Glenn Hartong for The Cincinnati Enquirer Louisville coach Howard Schnellenberger didn't have to remind QB Jay Gruden (No. 1 5) of many things Saturday. Louisville trots past UC, 21-6 program has ever attempted that climb. "We had to change the image and the way people think about the program," Faust said. "It reminds me of my first five years at Moeller, when we had to build our own (blocking) sleds." Start-up expenses were so gre.at that Akron's athletic department showed a deficit of $600,000 in Faust's first year.

His presence has not caused the expected boom at the box office. Akron's average home attendance was At a glance 18,137 in 1985, Jim Dennison's last season as coach, and that figure has consistently declined. The Zips averaged 16,606 in Faust's first season and 12,747 in 1987. This year they are averaging 10,202. Winners draw crowds tm- i i George Williams in the end zone.

UC's Marvin Bowman interfered, the penalty put the ball at the UC 6, and the Cards scored three plays later to make it 7-0. Until it scored in the third quarter, UC's best chance was a missed 47-yard field goal by Phil Insalaco late in the first period. UC lost its fifth straight, the program's longest skid since Currey's first Bearcat team lost five straight in 1984. Currey's career. record dropped to 18-34, and he surpassed Chuck Studley (27-33 from 1961-66) as the losingest coach in UC history.

The difference in the game itself was largely quarterbacking. Louisville featured veteran senior Jay Gruden, who short-passed his way to 266 yards and one TD. After being sacked seven times last year in a 25-0 UC victory, Gruden didn't hit the deck once Saturday. (Please see BEARCATS, Page C-12) BY TOM GROESCHEN The Cincinnati Enquirer The most dismal era in University of Cincinnati football history reached a new low Saturday in a 21-6 Homecoming loss to Louisville. The Bearcats, now 2-6, clinched an unprecedented sixth straight losing season.

The UC program had never suffered more than five straight years. Louisville, 6-3, clinched its first winning season since 1978 in beating UC for the first time in five years. "We are a struggling football team," said beleaguered UC coach Dave Cur-rey. "We have to find a way to get out of this, and it won't get any easier." Up next is merely seventh-ranked West Virginia, which smoked Penn State, 51-30, Saturday. It was a bad day on all counts for UC, which fell behind, 21-0, before scoring late in the third quarter.

It was a day when UC lost three fumbles all by halfback Al McKinney, who gained 94 yards and was penalized a season-high 13 times for 87 yards. Louisville had no turnovers and 50 yards in penalties. It was a day when sophomore Glenn Farkas, UC's starting quarterback all season, was pulled after one quarter in favor of redshirt freshman Don Hoog. Perhaps most embarrassing, it was a day when Louisville's fans who comprised seemingly half of the shivering crowd of 19,193 drowned out UC's with their cheers. At UC's Homecoming, mind you.

"Obviously there is a double-barreled story here," a delighted Louisville coach Howard Schnellenberger said. "The first one is the invasion of the Cardinal fans in Nippert Stadium They added a lot to our team's sixth win." After some give-and-take at the beginning, the tone was set on Louisville's second possession. On a fake field goal from the UC 28-yard line, of holder Eric Lawton passed toward tight end HOW AP TOP 20 FARED 1. UCLA lost to Washington 34-30 2. Notre Dame def.

Navy, 22-7 3. Southern Cal def. Oregon 41-20 4. Miami def. East Carolina, 31-7 5.

Nebraska def. Missouri, 26-18 6. Florida State did not play 7. West Virginia def. Penn 51-30 8.

Oklahoma def. Kansas, 63-14 9. Auburn def. Florida, 16-0 10. Wyoming def.

Colorado 48-14 11. Arkansas def. Rice, 21-14 12. Oklahoma St. def.

Kansas 45-27 1 3. LSU def. Mississippi, 31 -20 14. Michigan def. Northwestern, 52-7 15.

Clemson def. Wake Forest, 38-21 16. Syracuse did not play 17. S.Carolina def. N.Carolina 23-7 18.

Georgia def. Wm. Mary, 59-24 19. Alabama def. Mississippi 53-34 20.

Oregon lost to Arizona 21-20 Lohr wins playoff for first PGA title ine ucliu is inaue muic diaiiiiing uy the NCAA's requirement that all Division 1-A schools average at least 17,000 at home once every four years. Surely Akron can paper the house if necessary next year, but Faust was not brought here with the intention of indefinite subsidies. "After we start winning, the crowds will come," he says. This much of the equation Faust thinks he can control. Only four of Akron's 22 starters are seniors, and there are only two more on the second team.

The other cause of Faust's optimism is Faust himself. If the Notre Dame experience revealed his shortcomings, it also served as his college coaching classroom. "I had a lot to learn," he admits now. "I would like to think it would be a completely different story now. I learned how to handle kids, how to organize.

One thing that I've done I think it's a. real important thing is with the psychology of practice. "At Moeller, we were really tough on them. There wasn't any team in better shape than our football team. You can't do that in college.

We lost a lot of games in the fourth quarter and people said they weren't in shape. That was a lot of bunk. They were in too good shape. We ran 'em too hard and too long." Saturday's victory was the second time this season Akron had made a last-minute march to victory. The sad summary of Gerry Faust's life is that he may have realized his dream before he was ready for it.

His dreams are not so grand now. "What I want," he said, "is to have a 50-50 chance to win." Tim Sullivan is Enquirer sports columnist. After parring the next two holes, they returned to 16, where Beck made a 15-footer for a birdie and then Lohr dropped a 12-foot birdie putt to stay alive. The playoff was the 13th and longest on the Tour this year and the first ever for Beck or Lohr. "1 feel like I put a lot of pressure on him today," Beck said, "and he responded very well.

He responded like a champion." Lohr collected $126,000 and became the 11th first-time winner this year on the PGA Tour. He has had two second-place finishes. Lohr, who led after each of the first three days, admitted he was nervous playing in his first playoff. "Everybody was waiting for the ship to sink, and it never did," said Lohr, 27. "If someone in that position says he isn't nervous, they're crazy.

Thank God I was able to handle it." Lohr was born in Cincinnati, attended Miami University and played at O'Bannon Creek before turning professional in 1983. He now lives in Orlando, Fla. Lohr shot a 68 and Beck had a 66 for 72-hole totals of 263, 25 under par. Both players set a record for the Disney tournament and came within two strokes of the 43-year-old tour record for most shots under par in a 72-hole event. Ben Hogan set the record of 27-under in the 1945 Portland Invitational and Mike Sou-chak tied it in the 1955 Texas Open.

The previous tournament record score of 266 was set by Larry Nelson in 1984. Lohr had also set tourney records for 36 and 54 holes. Beck won $75,600 to move into the lead on the money-winning list with $770,258. "I commend myself," Beck said. "I feel (Please see LOHR, Page C-12) ENQUIRER NEWS SERVICES LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.

His first victory was a long time coming four years and 23 holes, to be exact. Bob Lohr had to play five extra holes on Saturday before sinking a 5-foot birdie putt to beat Chip Beck in a thrilling playoff and record his first PGA Tour title in the $700,000 Walt Disney World Classic. "My first reaction? Thank God it's over," said Lohr, a four-year veteran from Milford, Ohio. "It's hard even to remember all the putts I made to stay alive." Beck, the leading money winner on the tour this year, carried a two-shot lead to the 18th hole, but he three-putted for bogey while Lohr dropped a birdie putt to draw even. Beck and Lohr each birdied the first playoff hole, the par-4 16th.

Lohr made a 15-foot putt from the edge of the green, and Beck then dropped a 12-footer. Bob Lohr putter kept him alive.