Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 40

REPUBLIC KEPUBLIC CITY MAIL The Arizona Republic Sunday, September 27, 1987 NFL strike College football Prep football On the air Golf, update NBA Outdoors D5-12 D8.13 I is. D15 017 AMERICAN LEAGUE NATIONAL LEAGUE Blue Joys 10, Tigers 9 Cardinal! 5, Cubi 3 Royals 7, Twins 4 Pirates 8, Mets 2 White Sox 3, Athletes 2 Expos 7, Phillies 4 Brewers 3, Red Sox 2 Astros 5, Reds 3 Indians 11, Angels 10 (10 innings) Dodgers 3, Padres 1 Yankees 2, Orioles 0 Braves 10, Giants 5 DETAILS, D3 SPORTSLINE: 258-1212 1 I 'Kln (OTtaCsr tylosis Nebraska QB runs for 122 yards; late TD secures victory By BOB EGER The Arizona Republic Nebraska showed Saturday why it is considered one of the favorites for the national championship. Arizona State had the second-ranked Cornhuskers set up for the kill in the fourth quarter, but the Huskers had other ideas. Nebraska zipped 82 yards in four plays for the winning touchdown and beat the Sun Devils, 35-28, in i I II jjl fill mil I i Hi mi 1 I irwnry i i miwiii. peim i m.i ii -u Ia -a v-ha aaaaaa i Jt It As lVi a jftf aa a4 'vA vv jt A1 AV A iA 4,: 1 a 'V rft Ha uf; a a jli i ii4 IVi yA wlv pur Jva ih ii front of 71,264 Defense Irks Cooper D11 Taylor-made victory D11 Daniel Ford blames self 1 1 fried fans at Sun Devil Stadium.

Quarterback Steve Taylor scored the winning touchdown on a 3-yard run with 3:37 remaining as the Cornhuskers (3-0) survived one of the few legitimate hurdles in their path toward an unbeaten season and possible national title. It was fitting that Taylor, a junior from Fresno, scored the winning touchdown, because he was the difference in the game. Though he completed just 6 of 16 passes for 69 yards and one touchdown, Taylor drove the Sun Devils crazy with his lightning feet. Taylor carried 19 times for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Some of his runs came out of the playbook.

Some were improvised. "Taylor is a great athlete," ASU coach John Cooper said. "I can't imagine anyone having a better athlete at quarterback." The 12th-ranked Sun Devils (2-1), who shook off a 14-3 second-quarter deficit, battled back to tie the score at 14-all, 21-all and 28-all. Their last touchdown came with 4:55 left on a 1-yard run by tailback Darryl Harris. Freshman defensive back Nathan LaDuke, who was playing because Jeff Joseph suffered a first-quarter knee injury, set up the TD by picking off a fumble by Taylor in midair at the Nebraska 13-yard line.

Defensive end Rick Zumwalt caused the fumble. On Nebraska's next possession tailback Keith Jones ran for 12 yards on first down, then rambled 62 yards to give the Huskers a first-and-goal at the ASU 8. Two plays later Taylor scored from the three. "When we're tied and kicking off in Sun Devil Stadium with the crowd behind us, we feel like we're going to win," Cooper said. "Nebraska didn't panic.

They took the ball and did what they had to do. That's the mark of a great football team." When asked if he expects to play a better team than Nebraska this season Cooper replied: "I do not. I honestly do not see anybody beating them the rest of the way. They play Oklahoma at their place. "If they're the No.

2 team in the nation, and they probably are, then we have a chance to go on and improve and be a pretty good football team." Cooper said the Sun Devils "played hard, but we didn't play real good." Nebraska coach Tom Osborne called the Sun Devils David PetkiewiciThe Arizona Republic Nebraska l-back Keith Jones struggles for extra yardage as ASU defenders Bernard Jones (13), Greg Clark (36) and Eric Allen (25) close in for the tackle. New maturity could emerge for Devils, Huskers oaches claimed it wasn't a make-or-break game. Not a conference game. No bowl trip at Bob Hurt Republic Columnist coordinator, did not try to sugarcoat the problems of his quarterback. He indicated redshirt freshman Paul Justin would see action Saturday against Texas-El Paso.

He would, not speculate if the ASU brain trust would consider changing quarterbacks. The mind wanders back a year ago to the third game, a 21-21 tie with Washington State, which was the turning point of the season. Starter Jeff Van Raaphorst was benched briefly in that one, but came back to lead ASU to the Rose Bowl. Colletto said the Sun Devils lined up and played a "pretty damn good football game" against a "pretty damned good team." Colletto confessed he had wondered about the personality and courage of this year's offense. He wonders no more not even about sending his team against Washington at Seattle two weeks hence.

"I know these kids can go into a hostile stadium and face a good team eye to eye," Colletto said. "These kids can play against anybody." Ford's hit 15 of 34 passes for 200 yards, but had three intercepted. As the game progressed, he gained some poise. He sensed trouble approaching, scrambled well once from a three-point stance. Unfortunately, the poise wavered at the end.

Two of his interceptions were the worst kind with receivers wide-open. -Hurt, mi stake. Too early to have an impact on national polls. The coaches were half right. What happened this sunny Saturday before 71,254 fans did not break anyone.

But it did, I strongly suspect, make both teams. Nebraska won, 35-28. But the loser, Arizona State, resembled a winner in many ways. Rough edges surfaced. Most can be smoothed.

The game swung, as experts had suspected it might, on the quarterbacks. Nebraska's Steve Taylor, who scrambles better than eggs, has experience. Arizona State's Daniel Ford doesn't. Ford had moments, but lacked consis- tency and couldn't find the open receiver at the end. Don't blame Ford.

Blame his inexperience. New quarterbacks need a break-in period. A shakedown cruise against the nation's No. 2 team is not a pleasure trip. Jim Colletto, the ASU offensive Arizona blows lead as UCLA's offense dominates 2nd half Blue Jays rally in ninth, knock Tigers back ZVi Republic Sports Wires TORONTO Juan Beniquez hit a pinch, bases-loaded triple in the ninth inning to give Toronto a 10-9 comeback victory over the Detroit Tigers, stretching the Blue Jays' lead to ZVi games in the American League East on Saturday.

It was the second straight day that Toronto scored three runs in its final at bat to beat Detroit. The victory was also Cards boost lead to 3 'a D3 Santiago's streak at 28 D3 Twins' magic number is 3 D3 the Blue Jays' seventh straight. "I said after the first inning By BOB YOUNG The Arizona Republic PASADENA, Calif. In a game that must have seemed like a recurring nightmare to Arizona, UCLA came from behind Saturday to beat the Wildcats, 34-24 at the Rose Bowl. It was the Pac-10 opener for both teams, but Arizona (1-2, 0-1) might have lost much more.

Quarterback Bobby Watters suffered an apparent thumb injury late in the game. Watters completed 6 of 13 passes for 97 yards. He was intercepted three times. Arizona could not stop UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman or tailback Gaston Green. Aikman, who completed his first nine passes, finished with 256 yards and three touchdowns.

He completed 19 of 25 and also ran for the go-ahead touchdown with 6:30 to play. Green carried 39 times for 149 yards. The Wildcats stunned the Bruins (3-1, 1-0) early. On UA's first possession, the Wildcats drove 51 yards to set up Gary Coston's 28-yard field goal with 8:44 to play in the first quarter. Then the Bruins gave the ball back when Aikman completed a 16-yard pass to Willie "Flipper" Anderson.

UA safety Chuck Cecil slammed Anderson from the blind-side, and the ball came lose. UA linebacker Jerry Beasley recovered at the UCLA 27, and on first down, Watters fired to slot-back David Eldridge for the score. Coston's kick gave UA a 10-0 lead with 7:56 to play in the first quarter. The '3ruins put together three sustained drives and outgained UA, Ohio State, LSU tie D5 Auburn, Tennessee tie D5 Miami swamps Arkansas D5 Oklahoma bombs Tulsa D7 ,226 yards to 183, in the first half. But the Bruins trailed, 17-7, for their effort.

They scored with 8:51 to play in the half when Aikman capped an 80-yard drive with a 17-yard pass to Anderson. UA answered by driving 65 yards on the ensuing possession to take a 17-7 lead. Fullback Charles Webb crashed in from 3 yards on fourth down. UCLA's Alfredo Velasco missed field-goal attempts of 46 and 45 yards in the half. A year ago, UA blew an 18-0 halftime lead and lost to UCLA, 32-25 here.

This time, the Wildcats led by 10 points, and again it slipped away. The second half was all UCLA. The Bruins trimmed the margin to 17-14 when Aikman hit tight end Charles Arbuckle from 2 yards. Arizona went up, 24-17, with 4:19 to play in the third quarter on Webb's 1 -yard dive. UCLA scored early in the fourth quarter to tie the score at 24.

This time Aikman hit fullback Mel Farr from 7 yards. UA, which hasn't scored in the fourth quarter this season, could not respond. Watters was intercepted on the ensuing possession, and injured his thumb when he hit Doug Kline's helmet. Aikman guided the Bruins into position, and dived in from 1 yard for the go-ajhead touchdown with 6:30 to play. Honor.

i 1 1 1 A Urnmitmen! 1 htum A 1 4a i -As M' "pH when I came in this is going to be a slugfest," said Jesse Barfield, who 'started the ninth-inning rally with his third double of the game. "One of my teammates said it's going to take double figures to win this one." Barfield's double was a short fly ball that dropped in front of a diving Chet Lemon in center and bounced over his head. Willie Upshaw singled and reliever Mike Henneman (9-3) hit Rick Leach with a pitch to load the bases with no outs. Right-hander Dickie Noles, the fifth Detroit pitcher, relieved Henneman, and Beniquez hit for shortstop Manny Lee. "It's a big game.

Beniquez has been in there," said Toronto manager Jimy Williams, explaining his choice to let the right-handed hitting Beniquez face Noles. "He's been in situations like that. It's not a knock on the others, it's a pat on the back for Beniquez." Noles threw three straight balls before running the count full. Beniquez then lined a shot over the glove of leaping shortstop Alan Trammell, and the ball rolled to the left-center wall. "As soon as I hit it, I said at least it's going to score one run," Beniquez said.

"Then I saw it go past (Kirk) Gibson and I said, 'Oh, thank Then I realized I'd better start running." The Tigers had runners at second and third with none out in the top of the ninth. But manager Sparky Anderson gambled with one out and let Henneman hit. Henneman, in his first major league at bat, struck out on three pitches, then Juan Nunez (5-1) retired Lemon on an infield fly to end the inning. Compiled from reports by United Press International and The Associated Press. Baby-sitting Jets quarterback Ken O'Brien attempts to cheer up a tearful Jake Klever, the 22-month-pld son of team- The Associated Press mate Rocky Klever, while working the picket line near New York's practice facility in Hempsteted, N.Y.

Story, D4..