The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 9

'ifi 'nirinr-irii EDITOR: HARRY BRYAN PHONE: 582-4361 FAX: 582-7186 SCORES LINE: 582-4871 Haskins, Logan lead UK to 24- 21 win Cards rule in Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda John Schlarman said. "And when a guy plays like that, you want to open up as many holes for him as you can. By DAVE KOERNER The Courier-Journal LEXINGTON, Ky. For what might have been a first this season, University of Kentucky quarterback Billy Jack Haskins laughed yesterday when somebody asked if he felt challenged at his position. No, the challenger in mind wasn't heralded freshman Tim Couch, who remained on the sideline as Haskins continued his recent improvement.

The reference this time was to freshman tailback Derick Logan, who not only ran himself into the UK record book with 186 yards rushing but also threw a 55-yard, second-quarter touchdown pass on a halfback option as UK defeated Southeastern Conference rival Mississippi State 24-21. "You never know," chuckled Haskins, who completed 12 of 21 passes for 126 yards and two touchdowns. "We'll see." The victory before a crowd of 26,500 the second-smallest in the 24-year history of Commonwealth Stadium marked only the second time in three seasons that UK (3-6, 2-4) has won back-to-back games. UK scored the game-winner with 7:03 remaining when junior wide re ceiver Norman Mason caught his second TD pass of the day and career, this one a 24-yarder from Haskins. The Wildcats still had to weather a nerve-racking final 2:20 as Mississippi State (3-5, 1-4) moved into field-goal range.

But Brian Hazelwood's 50-yard attempt with 1:26 to play was wide left. "I think this was our guttiest victory of the season," said defensive end Chris Ward, who had a sack for the seventh game in a row and three for the day. The epitome of courage seemed to be Logan, who ran 41 times, equaling his career-high first set in a 24-17 victory against Georgia on Oct. 26, when he rushed for 140 yards. His 186 yards rushing broke the school's single-game record for a freshman, surpassing Moe Williams' mark of 159 set in 1993.

"This might sound weird to you, but he's really not at full speed," said UK coach Bill Curry, referring to Logan's slight knee sprain. "If he was at full speed, he might have had 250 yards." Logan had four runs for 10 yards or more and frequently made gains when he seemingly was stopped. "He's playing his heart out," guard But the good thing about him is that sometimes when you don't get your block, he runs through the tackles." "I think he's a good back, but he's not flashy," Mississippi State coach Jackie Sherrill said of Logan. "He plays hard for 60 minutes, and at the end of the game he's still strong." Logan also had two catches for 14 yards but really got the fans warmed See HASKINS Page 8, col. 1, this section CHAPEL HILL, N.C.

We can now crown the University of Louisville Cardinals champions of the SWC Conference. That's not the dearly departed Southwest Conference. That's the Shoulda Woulda Coulda Conference. There will be no Gatorade baths for winning the SWC. No trophies.

And certainly no bowl invitations. The only thing the champions of the SWC get is the opportunity to slap themselves in the of shoots itself in foot vs. Heels, 2840 iVi forehead from now until next September. So many chances, so little to show for them. Five times this of football team has lost.

And five times the players and coaches have come off the field saying things like: PAT FORDE SPORTS COLUMNIST ii i iii nip i i i m. i i iiiiiii i ill ii rmrnmniimn lUl ft By ASHLEY McGEACHY The Courier-Journal CHAPEL HILL, N.C. The freshman walked slowly, selfishly carrying the responsibility for the University of Louisville's 28-10 loss to North Carolina on his sore shoulders. As Ibn Green methodically made his way to the visitors' locker room at Kenan Stadium after the football game, he was met by of coach Ron Cooper. "Keep your head up," Cooper told Green, grabbing his left hand.

"You'll have plenty of other days." With 10 receptions for 128 yards, the former Male High School star didn't have a bad day against the nation's second-ranked defense. But with the Cardinals trailing 21-10 early in the fourth quarter, he had the opportunity to have a great day. On first down from the North Carolina 45-yard line, quarterback Chris Redman hit Green with a short pass near the right hash mark. Green broke one tackle, then scampered about 40 yards before safety Greg Williams stripped the ball from his right arm at about the 5. Defen mitted critical errors that made winning impossible.

As has been its tendency this season, of turned the ball over five times three interceptions, Green's fumble and another by Tendai Charasika in the first quarter and was penalized 10 times for 91 yards. North Carolina had two turnovers and just 20 yards rushing. Quarterback Chris Keldorf completed 21 of 43 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns. "Their defense is really good, and we knew that," said North Carolina coach Mack Brown, whose team improved to 8-1. "We didn't play very good.

We didn't block them very well on the run, we didn't block very well on the pass." The Cards, with primary tailbacks Donnell Gordon and Otis Floyd out with injuries, were even less effective running the ball than the winners, totaling just 1 yard on 27 carries. of came out fired up especially Green, who was jumping around during warmups and was told by assistant coach Greg Nord to settle down. The typically hyped-up, vocal of defense held Keldorf, who started the day sixth in the nation pass efficiency, to 2-of-10 passing (including Sam Madison's 16th career interception, breaking Ray Buchanan's school record) on North Carolina's first four possessions. See CARDS Page 6, col. 1, this section sive end Russell Davis dived on it ust outside of the goal line, robbing 6 ot ol a chance tor seven points.

"I was straightening the line (toward the end zone) too much," Green said. "(Williams) made the perfect play." Green's day symbolized the afternoon for the Cards (5-5), who played well at times against the eighth-ranked Tar Heels but com- The score shoulda been much closer. We woulda been right in it if not for those critical mistakes. We coulda beaten those guys. Yesterday, after a chaotic 28-10 loss to eighth-ranked North Carolina, the Cards were saying all three.

Here were of L's wistful thoughts for the day: Shoulda "TTiey weren't 28-10 better than us today." coach Ron Cooper. They wouldn't have been if the Cards hadn't been hit with a dirty half-dozen penalties: A dead-ball personal foul on H-back Ibn Green in the first quarter pushed of out of field-goal range. A marginal third-down interference penalty on Deran Wiley in the second quarter gave the Tar Heels a first down. On the next play quarterback Chris Keldorf launched a 44-yard touchdown bomb over Wiley's head to C. Stevens.

I A blatant clip by Jason Wyatt on a punt return put the Cards back on 1 their 4-yard line to start a possession I in the second quarter. Unable to move, of gave it back at its 38, setting up the Heels' second touchdown. A late hit by cornerback Sam Madison on Keldorf in the third I quarter furthered the Heels' drive to a touchdown for a 21-7 lead. An illegal-procedure call took a 43-; yard David Akers field goal off the board late in the third quarter. Pushed back 5 yards, he pushed the kick wide right.

An interference call on Madison (this one more accurate than the one on Wiley) in the fourth quarter took six points off the board. The senior who aside from penalties played an All-America game collided with the receiver as he deflected a pass that Courtney Dinkins returnee! for an apparent score. Woulda "We told the team, 'If we get them to turn it over twice and we don't turn it over at all, we're in the Cooper. Coop got his two takeaways, all right. But in the continuing saga of this season, his team gave it away five times.

Four of them by freshmen. Chris Redman threw two interceptions, the final one returned for a touchdown. Tendai Charasika continued his tenuous hold on the pigskin, coughing it up in North Carolina territory in the first quarter. And Green committed the fatal fumble as he steamed for the end ASSOCIATED PRESS of L's Carl Powell pressured North Carolina quarterback Chris Keldorf, who eluded the rush often enough to throw for two TDs. He entered the game sixth in the nation in passing efficiency.

Last-play FG lifts Murray past Eastern 17-14 36-yard field goal on the game's last play to give the Racers a 17-14 victory- The fourth-ranked Racers (8-1, 7-0) clinched their second straight Ohio Valley Conference championship with their 15th straight OVC victory. They snapped Eastern's 23-game home OVC winning streak and all but ended the hopes of the 24th-ranked Colonels (5-4, 5-1) of making the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs. nities in the third quarter and a bizarre interception-that-wasn't late In the fourth will bang around in the coach's brain for some time to come. But so will Murray State, a bunch that stands tallest at crunch time. After Eastern gagged on its chances, Murray mounted a drive from its own 11-yard line in the final 3:12, rumbling 70 yards to the EKU 19 as Rob Hart, a junior bare-footed kicker from Bath, England, made a They last missed in 1985.

"We've got a good football team," Kidd said. "We just haven't been able to win the close ones." The four losses have come by a total of 19 points. How painful was it? "Nothing else is close," EKU quarterback Greg Couch said. How joyful was it for Murray? "We work every day on our two-minute offense," Murray quarterback Mike Cherry said. "When the game's close, we know how to handle it." The Racers had moved to the 50 with less than a minute to play when Cherry dropped back.

A screen pas was called, but Eastern defensive end Ty Ward sniffed it out and hung back in the flat. See LAST-PLAY Page 7, col. 3, this section By JIM TERHUNE The Courier-Journal RICHMOND, Ky. As Roy Kidd stomped down the corridor after a visit to the officials' locker room yesterday, each harsh step seemed to be rbolically trying to flatten each of blunders his Eastern Kentucky football team made yesterday. He couldn't stamp out all of them.

A shocking set or missed opportu Cigar, always inspired, is finally Twin Spired 1 wJ 'Mfik. A Trainer Bill Mott raised his left thumb and waved it toward the sky. All 12,443 racing fans waved back. When Mott and groom Juan Campuzano brought Cigar to the finish line, they stopped and guided the horse around in a tight circle, finally letting him pass under the Churchill Downs wire. It was the first time Cigar ever got to the finish line first on a pass.

Now he was drawing the As Cigar finally made the long, solitary walk from the barn area toward the Twin Spires the walk that Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Spectacular Bid and so many other great horses have made the frozen racing fans came to life, surging to the front of the Churchill Downs grandstand the way they always do when great horses approach the wire. But instead of holding mutuel tickets, they were pvhV SHARE YOUR VIEWS ON SPORTS ISSUES What do you think about lo- I cal teams' chances this college basketball season? About who 1 should replace Bill Curry at Kentucky and Bill Mallory at -Indiana? About what our col- umnists are writing? About any other sports subject? We want to know, and we want to share your thoughts with other readers. Beginning soon, Courier-Journal Sports will begin its own readers' forum, where you can share your views on any sports topic. Letters must be original, including the writer's signature, address and daytime phone number. Editors reserve the right to condense or reject letters and limit frequent writers.

Send your letters to: Readers' Corner Courier-Journal Sports P.O. Box 740031 Louisville, Ky. 40201-7431 Letters also can be faxed to 502-582-7186, or sent to our e-mail address: cjsportslouisvil.gannett.com RICK BOZICH SPORTS COLUMNIST zone in the fourth quarter, negating a great effort and sullying a superb game by the Male High School product. Coulda "We felt like we coulda beat the No. 8 team in the nation." Madison.

The SWCs just kept coming from the Cards. They were right, but they were trite. The sayings have gotten old. It's true that of played hard and often played well against a superior opponent. It's true that the defense put on a punishing display of its might, shutting down North Carolina's running game and forcing Keldorf to the limit of his considerable ability.

It's true that those six critical penalty flags and five critical turnovers were pretty much the only difference between Louisville and North Carolina. But an inch might as well be a mile. When the same mistakes keep being made from week to week even by a young offense it's tough to keep listening to the SWC mantra. Fact is, this of team has underachieved. This loss is nothing to be ashamed of, but the cumulative effect of five losses (and maybe six when all is said and done) is a very disappointing season.

Pat Forde's column normally runs Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in Sports. You can reach him at 582-4373. applause you expect for a horse who won 16 consecutive races (including 14 stakes), earned nearly $10 million, was voted Horse of the Year and did more than any equine since Secretariat to keep racing on the front page. It was a brisk, 38-degree autumn afternoon, covered by clouds. People See CIGAR Page 12, col.

1, this section holding cameras, camcorders, posters, books, programs anything to prove they were there to say goodbye to the finest horse of his generation. "I just wanted to say I saw Cigar," said Louisvillian Kathy Cook, furiously punching the shutter button on her camera, "I saw John Henry at the Kentucky Horse Park, but this is better than that. Cigar was simply great." BY JAMES H. WALLACE, THE COURIER-JOURNAL Jerry Bailey watched owner Madeleine Paulson kiss Cigar during the tribute at Churchill Downs. "He knew It was a celebration, not a race, and he enjoyed every minute of It," Bailey said.

INSIDE MBA RESULTS INDEX Sanford's record run Fast Catch too fast Philadelphia 112, Phoenix 95 Milwaukee 100, Charlotte 98 Indiana 103, Wash. 100, OT Boston at Chicago Miami at Dallas Utah at Houston Portland at Sacramento NBA roundup, notebook, how Kentuckiana players fared, C3 High Schools 2, 10 ScorecardLotteries 4 College Basketball 5 Golf 7 Outdoors 1 1 Horse Racing 12-13 Pro Football 13 Fast Catch, a 32-1 shot, barreled past favorite Serena's Song in the final furlong to win the Grade II Churchill Downs Distaff. Serena's Song still set the earnings record for a North American distaffer. CI 2 Southwestern Pulaski's Rachel Sanford only in eighth grade won an unprecedented fourth straight state girls' cross country title. Pulaski County (girls) and Trinity (boys) won team titles.

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