The Anniston Star from Anniston, Alabama • Page 24

Page8B Sunday, September 20, 1992 No. 24 Mississippi St. slips by Memphis State Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. Mississippi State's season-opening road show ended on a successful note in Memphis on Saturday night. l.

i A Playing its tnira con- secutive game away from home, the 24th-ranked Bulldogs waited until the last few minutes to pull out a 20-16 victory over Allison had cut the lead to 10-6 with 1:06 remaining in the half when he connected on a 31 -yard field goal. With Mississippi State trying to run out the clock in the half, the Bulldogs' Kenny Roberts fumbled at the Mississippi State 24. Memphis State's Danton Barto recovered the ball, and the Tigers immediately sent Allison in for a 42-yarder. In the first half, Memphis State outgained the Bulldogs 171-90. Mississippi State had only nine yards passing.

Georgia 56, Fullerton St. .0 ATHENS, Ga. Garrison Hearst scored four touchdowns, rushed for 164 yards and sat out the final 27 minutes as 19th-ranked Georgia overpowered Fullerton State. touchdowns for the Bulldogs. It was last done by Tim Worley against Mississippi State in 1988.

Herschel Walker had three games in which he scored four times during his three-year career. 26, Lane 6 BIRMINGHAM John Whit-comb threw a pair of touchdowns and Kevin Thomason kicked two field goals as Division III Alabama-Birmingham defeated Division II Lane. Whitcomb threw a 7-yard scoring toss to Derrick Ingram in the second quarter, and he connected with Henry Ray on an 11 -yard touchdown in the third. Thomason's field goals were from 37 and a school-record 43 yards. He missed a 50-yard attempt.

UAB (3-0) won its sixth straight game dating back to last season. fell IMC, Aisoclated Pratt UT's Horace Morris (85), Steve Session (9) celebrate a sack Hearst scored on runs of 5, 16 and 7 yards during a 28-point second quarter and capped his day with a 29-yard touchdown run that gave Surprising Tennessee slaughters Florida, 31-14 Associated Press Memphis State. Michael Davis' 6-yard touchdown run with 2:13 left boosted the Bulldogs. "We're tired," said Coach Jackie Sherrill. "I told our players after the game that we had asked them to do a monumental task that's play three games on the road, all against tough people and at night in tough places to play.

When (the Bulldogs) got behind tonight, our players had enough in them and had enough patience with our coaches to hang in there and win the game." Mississippi State ended the road trip winning two out of three. They now have 10 days off before facing Florida on Oct. 1. "Now we get some time off, and thank God it's coming at this time," Sherrill said. Davis' winning touchdown came two plays after Memphis State (0-3) appeared to have stopped the Bulldogs on third down at the Tiger 17.

But a personal foul call against Memphis State kept the Mississippi State march alive, and Davis scored on the 14th play of the 80-yard drive. Memphis State's last-minute comeback attempt ended at the Mississippi State 44 when quarterback Steve Matthews' pass was intercepted by Kelvin Knight. The loss marked the third time this season Memphis State, a football independent, has lost in the final three minutes of a game. Memphis State (0-3) had taken the lead with 9:09 left in the game when Russell Copeland took a pass over the middle and slipped in the right corner of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown and a 16-13 advantage. Copeland finished the game with 10 catches and 87 yards.

The 10 catches tied a 27-year-old Tiger record. Memphis State dominated the first half, but could manage only a trio of field goals by kicker Joe Allison and trailed 10-9. The' final three-pointer came with four seconds remaining in the half. Southern Miss 16, Louisiana Tech 13 HATTIESBURG, Miss. Freshman Johnny Lomoro kicked a 46-yard field goal as time expired, giving Southern Mississippi a victory that snapped Louisiana Tech's 12-game unbeaten streak.

With 1 :03 remaining, cornerback Terryl Ulmer picked off Sam Hughes' pass at the Southern Miss 45 and returned it to the Tech 33. Three downs and five yards later, Lomoro kicked the game-winner that dropped Tech to 2-1. It was the second time that Lomoro had decided a game with a long last-minute field goal. A 52-yarder with less than a minute left gave the Golden Eagles (2-1) a 23-21 victory over Memphis State two weeks ago. KNOXVILLE, Tenn.

Saturday was a repeat of an episode that Florida coach Steve Spurrier didn't care for the first time he saw it. fill TTl On his last visit to Knoxville, I I Spurrier stood helpless on the hJt I IT sideline as Tennessee thrashed Florida by six touchdowns. On this rainy Saturday, the fourth-ranked Gators were upset the Bulldogs (2-1) a 42-0 lead with 12:52 left in the third quarter. Fullerton (1-2) never got its wishbone offense untracked. The Titans had 13 fumbles, losing five of them.

Georgia broke a scoreless tie with 9:26 left in the opening period, when Chris Wilson scooped up a' Trendell Williams fumble and returned it 43 yards. Williams had avoided a sack on the play and scrambled for 13 yards before the ball was jarred loose by Greg Tremble. Georgia added another touchdown on a fumble return with 5:38 left in the game, a 55-yard return by Jock Stephens. Georgia's other score in the second quarter came on a 50-yard pass from Eric Zeier to Ha'son Graham three plays after a 25-yard run by Hearst. Graham went up with defender Darrius Watson for the short pass in the left flat.

When they came down, Watson fell and Graham turned around and had clear sailing from the Fullerton 43. Terrell Davis, a transfer from Long Beach State, scored on a 21 -yard run with five seconds left in the third quarter, one play after he had gone 61 yards. Hearst made it 10 times in school history for a player to score four mostly for shooting itself in the foot most of the day. The Gators were penalized 12 times, punted nine times, and managed what is for them an anemic 278 yards of offense. "We had an illegal procedure penalty about every other possession," Spurrier said.

"We'll just have to learn how to play in this environment." The environment included a crowd of 97,137, third-largest in Neyland Stadium history. "Defensively, we bounced back from a tough game against Georgia," said Fulmer, whose team yielded 569 yards to Georgia last week. "After not feeling very good last week, they have every reason to feel good about themselves after this game." Florida was hampered by the loss of star runner Errict Rhett for most of the game with an injury. He carried 1 1 times for 34 yards, half of the Gators' total for the game. The game turned on two plays late in the third quarter during a driving rainstorm.

Facing third down and 5 at the Tennessee 34, Shuler tossed a short swing pass to Phillips, who raced 66 yards untouched to put the Vols ahead 24-7 with 2:49 left in the third period. It was Shuler's only completion of the second half. The Gators, who had managed just one first down in the second half up to that point, ran a fake punt on fourth-and-one from their 19 on the ensuing series. Michael Gilmore was stopped for no gain and Tennessee took over. Five plays later, Shuler scored his second touchdown and the Vols had a 31-7 lead with 13:43 left.

Matthews, late in the second half, completed 56th career touchdown pass, tying Kerwin Bell's school record. Otherwise Matthews didn't have a good day, finishing with 12 completions in 23 attempts for 149 yards. 2g) TOYOTA WE Will BEAT ANY PRICE! 31-14 by No. 14 Tennessee. The only Southeastern Conference losses for Florida in 16 games under Spurrier have come at Knoxville.

"It was just like two years ago," Spurrier said. "We were beaten in every aspect of the game." Tennessee interim coach Phillip Fulmer, filling in for recuperating Johnny Majors, downplayed the long-term significance of the victory. "This win doesn't mean anything, except that we're on top of our division at this time," he said. Quarterback Heath Shuler ran for two touchdowns and passed for another to lead the Vols. But it was Tennessee's defense that made the difference.

The 14 points matched the low by Florida since the 45-3 Tennessee victory two years ago and the Gators didn't get that second touchdown until Daryl Frazier raced 48 yards after a forward lateral with 20 seconds left in the game against Vol substitutes. The Vols (3-0 overall, 2-0 SEC) got scoring runs of 11 and 8 yards from Shuler, one of 15 yards from James "Little Man" Stewart, and a 66-yard touchdown pass from Shuler to Mose Phillips to end an 11-game SEC winning streak for the Gators (1-1 overall and SEC). Florida's famed Fun 'n Gun offense was effective Vanderbilt stuns Rebs Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. Safety Jeff Brothers collected 146 yards on an interception, a blocked field goal return and a punt return Saturday as Vanderbilt upset No. 25 Mississippi 31-9.

mm Off 1MB UNA tops 15-7 Associated Press Conference Overall jjgSfe '92 LESABRE CUSTOM SEDA1I Team Pet. Pet. Eastern Division Tennessee 2 0 0 1.000 3 0 0 1.000 Georgia 1 1 0 .500 2 1 0 .667 Florida 1 1 0 .500 1 1 0 .500 Vanderbilt 1 1 0 .500 2 1 0 .667 Kentucky 0 1 0 .000 2 1 0 .667 South Carolina 0 2 0 .000 0 3 0 .000 Western Division Alabama 2 0 0 1.000 3 0 0 1.000 Mississippi 1 1 0 .500 2 1 0 .667 LSU 2 1 1 .500 1 2 0 .333 Arkansas 1 1 0 .500 1 2 0 .333 Auburn 1 1 0 .500 2 1 0 .667 Miss. State 0 1 0 000 2 1 0 .667 Saturday's Ratults FLORENCE Tyrone Rush ran for 141 yards and No. 17 North Alabama's defense forced six interceptions as the Lions rallied to defeat Alabama 15-7 Saturday.

Alabama (0-3) led 7-3 at halftime, but North Alabama (3-0) took control midway through the third quarter with a 39-yard, four-play drive that culminated in Brian Satlerfield's 13-yard TD run with 4:47 left. The Lions scored their final points on a 76-yard touchdown run by Eric Groom with about 1:35 left in the third quarter. Alabama only score was set up when David Peterson recovered a North Alabama fumble and the Bulldogs began a 47-yard drive capped by Antoine llarden's 8-yard scoring run with 12:32 left in the second half. IM17 MUM. I jb.

AIR CONDITIONED Vanderbilt defense shut down Mississippi (2-1, 1-1 in the Southeastern Conference), sacking quarterback Russ Shows five times. The Rebels had to settle for field AUTOMATIC samel goal attempts, and Brian Lee converted awl three of six for Mississippi's only points. DRIVER 8IDE POWER 8EAT POWER WINDOWS TILT POWER DOOR LOCKS CRUISE ANTI-LOCK BRAKES SKYLARKS AT DEALER INVOICE MANY TO CHOOSE FROMI Alabama 38, Arkansas 11 Auburn 30, LSU 28 Tennessee 31, Florida 14 Georgia 58, Cal State Fullerton 0 Kentucky 37, Indiana 25 Vanderbilt 1, Ole Miss 9 Mississippi State 20, Memphis State 16 East Carolina 20, South Carolina 18 Ntxt Saturday's Games Louisiana tech at Alabama Arkansas at Memphis State Southern Mississippi at Auburn Ole Miss at Georgia South Carolina at Kentucky Colorado State at LSU Cincinnati at Tennessee Livingston 42, Albany State 36 ALBANY, Ga. Matt Carmen scored on a four-yard pass with 2:54 remaining in the game to give Livingston State its win. Livingston's Marty Washington completed 20 of 36 attempts for 360 yards and three touchdowns before leaving the game with an injury after two quarters.

Livingston State remained undefeated at 3-0. Albany State dropped to 1-1. PLUS '1250 CASH REBATE ON MOST MODELS! The Commodores (2-1, 1-1), who edged the Rebels 30-27 in 1991, won back-to-back victories over Mississippi for the first time since 1981-1982. Lee was attempting a 21 -yard field goal with 3:07 left in the first half when Robbie Young blocked the kick. Brothers returned the ball 71 yards to set up an 11 -yard touchdown run by Tony Jackson that gave Vanderbilt a 14-6 lead.

Brothers helped Vanderbilt pad its lead in the third quarter when he stopped a Rebel drive by picking off a Shows pass. Vanderbilt quickly capitalized as Marcus Wilson hit Clarence Sevillian with a 39-yard pass. Vanderbilt's defense, burned for 37 points by Duke a week ago, managed to stop the Rebels in the first half despite giving up 161 yards, lxe kept Mississippi in the game with field goals of 50, 32 and 43 yards. Kentucky 37, Indiana 25 LEXINGTON, Marty Moore returned an interception 36 yards for a touchdown with 1:20 remaining to lock up the Kentucky win over Indiana. Kentucky (2-1) appeared to have the game safely tucked away when Donnie Redd raced around left end and broke two tackles on a 24-yard touchdown run for a 31-10 lead with 7:53 left.

But quarterback Trent Green passed for two quick touchdowns to put Indiana (1-1) in position to win the game in the final minutes. Redd, a sophomore tailback, finished with 104 yards on seven carries in becoming the first Kentucky back since 1989 to rush for more than 100 yards in a game. Green completed 28 of 41 passes for 294 yards, but was the victim of seven sacks, including a Kentucky-record five by defensive end Dean Wells. The Hoosiers were able to pick up only 40 rushing yards. East Carolina 20, South Carolina 18 COLUMBIA, S.C.

Michael Anderson threw three touchdown passes and East Carolina beat South '92 EAGLE TALON Carolina as the Gamecocks missed two field goals in the final 15 seconds. The victory was the second straight for the Pirates (2-1) over the Gamecocks, but the first in eiht games at Williams-Brice Stadium. The loss was a school-record seven in a row for South Carolina, which is now 0-3 this year. The Gamecocks had two chances to win in the final seconds after driving from their 31 to the Pirates 19. On third down, the Gamecocks called on Marty Simpson, whose 36-yard field goal was blocked by Thomas Jones with 15 seconds left.

But South Carolina recovered, giving Simpson another shot. Simpson, who had already hit four field goals, saw his 37-yard attempt slide wide right with two seconds left. The Gamecocks also missed on a two-point conversion moments earlier that would have tied it when Wright Mitchell's pass to Brandon Bennett was knocked away by Fred Walker in the end zone. Anderson threw touchdown passes of 7 and 6 yards to Clayton Driver and 3 yards to Cedric Van Buren. The 6-l'oot-4 sophomore hit 18 of 35 passes for 21 9 yards and no interceptions.

'Rabat Appllad. Tax, TNIa, Admlniatratlva Faa Not Included. Troy State 20, Central Florida 16 ORLANDO, Fla. David McCombs ran up the middle for the winning touchdown with 1:19 left in the game as Troy Stale edged Central Florida. Eddie Coleman ran for 71 yards and the first score for Troy Stale (3-0) and with only six minutes left in the game, William Covington took a 54-yard punt back 89 yards for a touchdown to tie it at 13-13.

Coleman led (he Trojans, rushing for 102 yards while quarterback Kelvin Simmons ran for 82 yards and 151 yards passing on 10 of 21..