The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 164

THE TENNESSEAN Sunday, taptombw 19S3 9 SC a 6 Memphis St. shocks Miss State, 45-35 chael Davis' fumble on the second play of the game at the 23. The Tigers were pushed back two yards and settled for Joe Allison's 43-yard field goal. Mississippi State stuck to the ground until Jordan faked a re STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) Stpve Matthews, showing no ill effects from a strained thumb ligament, threw for two touchdowns and ran for one as Memphis State beat No.

23 Mississippi State 45-35 last night The left-handed Matthews sat out a day of practice last week and still had some soreness in his throwing hand, but set a school record by completing 29 of 45 passes for 340 yards. He completed eight of nine in the first quarter as the Tigers took a 10-0 lead in the season opener. The Tigers held off a late Bulldogs comeback threat for their second straight victory at Scott Field. Two years ago, the Tigers won 28-23 here, where Mississippi State is 9-3 under coach Jackie Sherrill. Memphis State, a slight underdog, scored 21 points after halftime before Mississippi State managed a first down.

The Bulldogs had just three plays, all incomplete passes, during the first 10 minutes of the second half. The Tigers opened the second half with a 90-yard scoring drive kept alive when Ray Patterson stripped an interception away from Kelvin Knight at the Bulldogs 44. Two plays later, passes for 222 yards in the fourth quarter alone. State had 211 of its 475 yards in the final 15 minutes. Memphis State had 479 yards.

Matthews escaped a certain sack after a 55-yard kick return by John Martin, and rambled 41 yards for a score early in the fourth quarter. After Jordan netted 22 yards on a first-quarter punt that bounced backwards, Matthews hooked up with Mac Cody for 22 and 19 yards to the 8. Porter took a pitch left for the touchdown and a 10-0 Tigers lead. Memphis State safety Jeremy Williams recovered Mi Matthews threw a 44-yard TD to Isaac Bruce, who spun away from Knight at the 20. Bernard Euell fumbled the ensuing kickoff, setting up a 35-yard TD pass from Matthews to Bruce.

Larry Porter added a 1-yard TD run to end a 12-play drive for a 38-14 score. Mississippi State, which has lost four straight games, made it close with three fourth-quarter touchdowns against a prevent defense. Todd Jordan threw TD passes of 8 yards to Euell and 15 to Kevin Bouie, who also had a 5-yard scoring run. Jordan completed 13 of 23 verse handoff and found Bouie open in the right flat for a 50-yard touchdown. Davis, who had 12 carries for 80 of State's 105 yards rushing, gave State its only lead at 14-10 when he bulled over a Memphis State defender for a 2-yard TD at 8:03 of the first half to end a 13-play, 92-yard drive.

Ma DETD WatH)( Donnelly looks forward to his homecoming By LARRY TAFT Sports Writer Ala. BIRMINGHAM, OVCSTATE Ohio Valley Conference and statearea teams Austin Peay clawed 42-10 at Cincinnati Tennessean Staff, Wire Reports CINCINNATI Craedel Kimbrough ran for two touchdowns and Lance Harp passed for two to lead Cincinnati to a 42-10 win over Austin Peay in the season opener for both teams last night Austin Peay scored first on a 32-yard field goal by Steve Munnell, but after that Cincinnati dominated. The Bearcats took advantage of a Nate Dingle recovery of a fumble on the Austin Peay 12, scoring on a 10-yard pass from Harp to Paul Blackwood. Cincinnati then scored on its next three possessions in the second quarter to build a 28-3 halftime lead. Chris Hewitt opened the second half by returning the kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown, and Kim-brough's second touchdown capped the Bearcats' scoring as reserves finished the game.

1 Austin Peay's lone touchdown came in the third quarter on a 9-yard pass from David Stootebury to Travis Sanders. That drive started on the Cincinnati 20 after the Governors took over on downs. I Darrell Harding carried 16 times for 97 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown run, and Kimbrough finished with 85 yards in 15 carries. Harp's other touchdown pass was a 20-yarder to Albert Sweet. "We came to win, not just play," Peay Coach Roy Gregory said.

"We have a long way to go. We made to many mistakes. We gave them 21 points because of wie two turnovers and the kickoff return. "But they also hurt us because they are a good football team." The Governors have a good chance to evert their record when they host Knoxville College at 6:30 p.m. next Saturday.

Cumberland 14, Clinch Valley 17 1 LEBANON, Tenn. The Herschel Moore era at Cumberland got off to a running start as the Bulldogs opened their third season since their revival with a 24-17 win vs. Clinch Valley. Quarterback Chris Jefferson, a junior college transfer, scored on runs of 3 and 35 yards and fullback Mario Porter added the winning 1-yard TD run as Cumberland gained 266 yards rushing on 64 attempts in their old-style Wing-T offense. Moore, 66, who had coached Nashville high schools teams for 20 years, said he was nervous in his debut as a college head coach.

"Our problem is depth; we have guys hurt" he said. "We were kind of in the dark as far as how we were going to come out." The Bulldogs didn't come out terribly strong as Clinch Valley's inside defensive players dominated the line of scrimmage. But Cumberland, which tied the game 10-10 at half-time on Trapper Wooten's 29-yard field goal in the second quarter and Jefferson's first score with 33 seconds left in half, got its running game in gear by going with sweeps in the second half. Jefferson's second score put the Bulldogs up 17-10 with 7:23 left in the third quarter, but the ensuing kickoff was returned 82 yards to tie it again. But NO.

national Their 1992 is 4L championship season "It'd be real easy for me to say that it's like any other game, but it's not. I can't wait. I'm excited." CHRIS DONNELLY Alabama free safety behind them. Their somewhat lackluster 31-17 season-opening win over Tulane is in the books. Next is Vanderbilt, a Southeastern Conference team, an opponent which members of the Alabama Crimson Tide say will cause them to increase their intensity.

Chris Donnelly acknowledges Saturday's game in Nashville will have special meaning for him. "It'd be real easy for me to say that it's like any other game, but it's not I can't wait I'm excited," said Donnelly, Alabama's starting senior free safety who transferred from Vanderbilt to Alabama three years ago. "Last year's game was real special, and this one will be even more so. It'll be the first time that Fve been to Nashville since I left Vanderbilt "I'm curious about how the fans will accept me, how I'll be greeted. Once the game starts, though, it'll just be football, but I'm anxious." Vanderbilt not regarded as an SEC contender, has Alabama players excited because it is a conference game.

"Everyone saw today where we have to make a lot of improvements," said defensive end Jeremy, Nunley of Win Barker said. "Our offensive line did a great job for us, but this was a game builder." "Jay threw the ball pretty well," Bama Coach Gene Stall-ings said. "I was pleased overall with his performance. I thought he made some nice plays. He showed some toughness, which I was pleased to see." Not everything about Bama's game, however, pleased Stall-ings.

"On third down we wern't quite as good as I want us to be, on both sides of the ball," he said. "We failed to contain a time or two." The most frustrating moment on the Alabama sideline came early in the final quarter. With the Tide in front 31-10, punter Bryne Diehl dropped a punt inside the Tulane 10 and it was downed at the two. With the pro-Tide crowd cheering loudly for a strong defensive stand and possible safety. Tulane Quarterback Craie u( 4 AP chester, Tenn.

"We saw that too but tin" Randall twice asked referee for time because of his team's Alabama running back Chris Anderson, who scored two touchdowns in yesterday's 31-17 victory against Tulane, gets past Jerald Sowell. Porter's score with 13:33 left in the game clinched it Cumberland's defense held on the rest of the way as Wooten missed 27- and 35-yard field goal attempts later in the quarter. The Bulldogs intercepted six passes, with Doug Bink-ley getting three of the pickoffs. Arlanders Cole gained 98 yards on 15 carries and Porter added 66 on 18. Cumberland visits Campbellsville at 12:30 next Saturday afternoon.

Marshall 56, Morehead State HUNTINGTON, W.Va. Todd Donnan threw for 225 yards and two touchdowns as Marshall, last season's Division I-AA champion, rolled to a 56-0 victory against Morehead State of the Ohio Valley Conference in both teams' season-opener. Donnan moved Marshall 65 yards in 24 seconds for a touchdown, just seven seconds before halftime. The Thundering Herd led 21-0 at the half. Morehead was closest to scoring at the end of the second quarter.

The Eagles were at the Marshall 31, but lost possession on a failed pass by Ray Williams. Donnan, coach Jim Donnan's son, had 18 completions on 26 attempts when reserve Chad O'Shea took over three seconds into the fourth quarter. O'Shea fired a 25-yard touchdown pass to Tim Martin, with 12:54 remaining. He hit Andre Womack on a 30-yard touchdown pass for the final score of the game. David Merrick had two 38-yard field goals for Mar- shall and six extra points.

Free safety Roger Johnson recovered a fumble at the Morehead 32 in the third quarter and returned it for a touchdown. Melvin Cunningham had 49-yard punt return for a touchdown with 6:07 remaining in the first half. Illinois St. 23, Tenn. Tech 18 COOKEVILLE, Tenn.

Illinois State handed Tennessee Tech a season-opening loss last night 23-18 at home. main thing Is that we got a check mark in the win column. "We're definitely ready to get into conference play, and that'll step up our level of play, to get opponents of that nature. I'll have a lot of people there at the game, so it'll be a big one for me." Tide players and coaches have lived with an almost haunting joy of a national championship since defeating Miami in the Sugar Bowl. In this football-crazed state, there seems to never be enough football hype.

Yesterday's game provided relief. "It's good to get back to playing and concentrate on that without all the distractions," return specialistwide receiver David Palmer said. "Now we can think about football and the next game Vanderbilt" Yesterday's triumph over Tulane was not a textbook victory, although the Crimson Tide enjoyed several flashes of brilliance. Quarterback Jay Barker made his 18th consecutive start, his 18th consecutive winning start, and completed nine of 10 passes for 158 yards, including a 59-yarder to Kevin Lee that set up the Tide's second touchdown. "The game was sort of a humbling experience for us," inability to hear signals.

After being denied, Randall got the ball and handed off to fullback Jerald Sowell, who broke over through the right side for a 98-yard touchdown run, the longest in the 100-year history of Tulane football. "We had several opportun-ites to put 'em away, but we didn't do it" Stalling? said. "I guess the most disappointing thing was that we were down there cheerleading and let 'em run 98 yards. "We've got a job to do on the field and the people in the sents will take care of cheer-leading." Though Bama played 78 players including eight pure freshmen, it was that kind of defensive letdown that kept Tulane from being blown away. "A lot of what we did wrong today was fundamentals mistakes we shouldn't be making," Nunley said.

"If you keep making them, somewhere along the way it's going to cost you. Coach Stall-ings commented a little about the long runl but I'm not sure what happened. "I know we're a little disappointed in our performance. Going into SEC play, we have to improve in many aspects of our game'B phi iwuiiii whim-' lj.ujh X- 1 Stallings like the Bear More and more, Alabama Coach Gene Stall-ings's style is coming to resemble that of the legendary Bear Bryant. Stallings is his own man, and he refuses to be drawn in to comparisons of players or opponents.

During yesterday's postgame news conference, Stallings was asked if he could compare starting quarterback Jay Barker (9-10-0, 158 yards) and his backup, Brian Burgdorf (4-10-0, 19 yards). His reply: "I could, but I won't. That's not my style." Next question. LARRY TAFT 7 3-e-O 10-36 3-3 -S7 mo 13S 21-29-0 3-2 1-1 -43 3M0 AP Cumberland 24 Return Yarns Clinch Valley 17 rEM'w OMiVafev 7 7 017 pIS'vvds Cumberland 0 10 3 7 J4 TVe rt PoSSuon CV-FG Sakko 24. CU-FG Wooten 19.

CV-Marshal run (Sakko kirk) Derrick Franklin's 23-yard TD reception over Tommy Johnson pulled Tulane into a 7-7 first-quarter tie. CU-Jeflerson 3 run (Wooten kick). CU-Jetferson 35 run (Wooten kick). CV-MarshaH 12 kickoff return (Sakko kick). CU-Porter 1 run (Woolen kick) Cincinnati 42 Austin Peay 10 1 Spurrier: No QB controversy Firit downs Rushes-yards Passing cv cu 17 24 30-104 64-266 180 64 15-35-6 6-W-O 3-38 5-34 2-1 4-1 5-50 3-X Austtn Peay 8 7 8-W Cncirna 7 21 8-42 AP-FG Murmel 32.

On-Black wood 10 pass form Harp (Dotal kick). Cm Kimbrough 5 run (DaHen kick). Cai-Harding 11 run (DaMen kick). Cm-Sweet 20 pass from Harp (Deken kick). Cm-Hewitt 87 kickoff return (Dallen kick).

CM-Kimbrougn 8 run (Dallen kick). AP-Sanders 9 pass from Stooks- Comp-AN-Inf Punts Fumbles-Lost Penalties-Yards INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING-Cnnch Valley. Thomas burv (Mumea luck). 8-31. Castle 1-24, Marshall 12-37.

Cumberland, Cole 15-98, Porter 18-66. Jeffer AP son 11-46, Rowe 8-33. PASSING-Clinch Valley. Nar 15-34-5-180. Richards 0-1-1-0 Orrvw- land, Jefferson 6-10-0-64.

RECEIVING Clincn Vav JumK On 22 41-190 175 39 17-31- 5-34 2-1 2-29 2859 First downs 11 Rushes-yards 55-163 Passing yards 45 Return yards 3 Passes t-B-4 Punts 8-39 FumblesHosI 5-2 Penalties-yards J-21 Time of Possession 311 8-76, Richards 3-49, Marshall 3-35. Cumberland, McClain 2-24, Porter Ml 12 of 26 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown in yesterday's 23-21 victory at Georgia, wasn't totally happy, as he was sacked five times and threw two interceptions: "I was discouraged with myself. I didn't play very well." DEJA VU: South Carolina's scramble to get the winning touchdown run by Brandon Bennett off before yesterday's game vs. Georgia ended was reminiscent of last year, when the Bulldogs held on to beat Auburn when the Tigers were unable to get off a play from the 1 in the closing seconds. "All I could remember was the Georgia-Auburn game last year," South Carolina Coach Sparky Woods said.

TOUGH TIGERS: Louisiana State didn't allow No. 5 Texas to convert until 42 seconds left In the. first half after five misses. deepest first-half penetration was to the LSU 36. Marshall 56 Morehead St.

BAD START: It didn't take long for Florida to commit its first mistake of the season. On the opening kickoff, with Jack Jackson and Harrison Houston back to receive, the pair let the ball bounce around before Houston picked it up with Arkansas State's coverage bearing down on him at the 2. He gained two yards before being tackled. Florida's special teams were even worse on the second opportunity, when Willie Jackson elect-i ed not to fair-catch a punt with Arkansas State's Marcel Jefferson nearly on top of him. Jackson caught the ball just as Jefferson crunched him, causing a fumble.

But all's well that ended well, as the Gators romped 44-6. ON A ROLL: South Carolina quarterback Steve TaneyhiU is 6-1 since taking over as the starter last year after the Gamecocks lost their first five games. But TaneyhiU, who completed fect Dean played rwc-and-a-half quarters, leading the team to four touchdowns. He completed 16 of 22 passes for 237 yards and two touchdowns. He finished the game with 11 straight completions.

It was his rough beginning, though, that had Florida Field buzzing after Arkansas State took a 6-0 first-quarter lead. The Gators failed to make a first down on their first possession. He threw one interception in the first quarter, and it could have been three. He also un-derthrew several passes. "It was kind of what I expected," Dean said.

"We had to calm down after that first series and make ourselves feel comfortable, but after that it went pretty good." On the Gators' second possession, Dean underthrew a ball that was intercepted by the Indians' Brad Davis. That came 10 minutes before the first touchdown of his career, a 35-yard pass to Jack Jackson. "I wanted to try not to throw an interception in my first start," Dean said. "And I wanted to throw a lot of touchdowns. I was just a couple of inches short of really having the game I wanted to." Besides his pass to Jackson, he also directed Florida on two other second-quarter scoring drives, a one-yard run by Er-rict Rhett and a 40-yard pass to Willie Jackson.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. Before it ever started, Steve Spurrier stopped it No, there is not a quarterback controversy at Florida. No, there never was one. Terry Dean remains as solid as he ever was as the Gators starting quarterback. "Terry was fine after a little bit of a shaky start," Spurrier, the Gators' coach, said yesterday after Florida ripped Arkansas State 44-6.

"He's still our starter. You don't even need to ask about that" In his first start at Florida as the heir to Shane Matthews, Dean's numbers were only adequate by Florida standards, while his backup, Danny Wuerffel, was very nearly per tMertheadSt 8 8 8 8 -8 Marshal 11 -56 MAR FG 38 Merrick. MAR FG 38 Merrick. MAR M. Cunningham 49 run (Donnan pass to H.

MAR W. Brown 19 pass from Donnan (Mernck kick). MAR-Johnson 32 fumbw recovery WDTvTOUAl. LEADERS RUSHIMG Austin Peay, Sfooksbury 12-51, Jody Smith 11-29, Morton 8-24, Uofon 5-18, Jesse Smith 2-9, Booker 3- 8, Soicer 2-7, Mickey 5-7, Sanders McDuffia 2-3, D. Davk 1-2, Wiggins 3 (minus 6).

Cincinnati, Harding 16-97, Kimbrougti 15-85, Britford 2-4, Patterson 1-M, Blackwood VS. VOert 2 (minus 3). Harp 4 Imjnus 8). PASSHeG-Austin Peay. Stooksbury J-6-8-1-45, Wiggins 9-1-0-0, Horton 0- 1-0-8.

Cindnnafi, Harp 14-22-0-158. Vfcherts 3-9-0-17. RECEIVING-Austin Pwav. Wlson 1- 36, nort 1-9. Cincinnati, Jerkins 4- 58, Sweet 3-43, Blackwood 4-, Har-n( 1-15, Hamm US, Jackson no, Udd l-M, Guidi 1-e.

(Merrick kick). MAR W. Brown 20 pass Donnan (Merrick kick). MAR Parker I run (Merrick kick). MAR Martin 25 pass OSnea (Merrick kick).

MAR-Womack 30 past from asnaa (Merrirk kick) Ffr4l downs Rushes-yards 8 46-127 30 25 43-139 282 Passing.