The Des Moines Register from Des Moines, Iowa • Page 33

wytf 'y iiyyuyawjyEijfrHi iyil DES MOINES SUNDAY REGISTER September 14, 1986 If if Individual Statistics differeiif views of 0 igSain and Oriner eaoSi hay Iowa-Iowa State BUSMIWO loot Stilt No. Vdt. Iowa No. Vdt. Jackson 10 26 Hudson 20 120 Henderson 9 12 Harmon 6 34 Tsginwa 8 50 Baylest 7 41 2 -l Bass 4 26 arren 1 2 viaS(C Ring" 4 14 Goodman 2 24 hartlieb I 5 Collon 2 9 McGwire 2 31 Davit 1 I) 'it PASSING low Suit Comp.

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Yds. Viasic 15 25 1 286 Jta'Nieb 5 6 0 51 1 17 McGwire 0 10 0 RECEIVING Register Photos by Bob NANDELL, GARY FANDEL and HARRY BAl'MERT Iowa's 43-7 victory over Iowa State on Saturday left Hawkeye Coach Hayden Fry and Cyclone Coach Jim Criner with differing viewpoints. Fry called the victory a confidence builder for his team. "We were very honestly scared of Iowa State," Fry said. In the opposite locker room, Criner was telling his team it would have to learn from defeat.

"It's important that, as much as we wanted to play well and win, we learn from it, put it behind us, and get ready for our next game," Criner said Asked if his team might have been psyched out because of the NCAA investigation and other distractions, Criner said, "If you had asked me before the game how they would respond, I would have said we were ready, we could handle the pressure and that we'd make the right reactions. I just felt good about our concentration and our preparation for the game. I didn't think we'd play as poorly in some areas as we did. We just played tight. We didn't play up to our abilities or my expectations." GAME STARS.

Jim Mauro, the former West Des Moines Dowling wide receiver who entered the Iowa record book as the fourth player to catch ti. a. V' f.H' If three touchdown passes in a single game, was part of a unique Register all-state football team in 1983. There were three ends on the team because Chuck Burdick, The Register's late prep writer, could not settle on just two; they were that close in ability. The other two were Mike Flagg of Cedar Falls and Kerry Burt of Waterloo West.

Flagg is now Iowa's starting tight end, Mauro is the starting wide receiver and Burt the starting stror.g safety One bright spot for the Cyclones was the punting of Rick Frank 12 for a 42.6-yard average. He bad one for 65 yards and another for CO yards. Iowa quarterback Mark Vlasic, who completed 15 of 21 passes, said the pressure he felt in taking over from Heisman Trophy runner-up Chuck Long came mostly in practice last week. By game day, the nervousness was gone, he said. Criner liked the play of his freshman linebacker, Darrln Trieb.

"He's going to play a lot of ball. He's a dandy," Criner said Fullback David Hudson was the Iowa workhorse in the first half. For the game, Hudson had i if, Jowe State Minor Sulfren 'Jackson Brown No. Ydi. loa 4 66 Mauro 4 44 Smith No.

tit. 5 149 2 5 Bayless 21 Mjn Watkins Fiagg Marciano Coppinger Cotton Cook Green Ringer Hudson 1 21 1 12 TACKLE LEADERS Iowa Statt Refiner Moore Gibson Manning .1. 1. Iowa 4 Davis 2 Puk 1 Smile I Gear 4 Burt 3 Drust 3 Sistrunk A. 3 2 j.udm icy joskins Iwthusen Jtheftey Anthony s1; 7 i A- I i the distractions: "It's really bean frustrating.

You try to get ready fo play football, and everybody asks you about something else." ODDS AND ENDS. Criner had an omen of trouble Friday night at the team's headquarters at the Cedar Rapids Sheraton. Some team members said they had trouble sleeping because they kept hearing speeding cars. The noise, which lasted past 11 p.m., came from the Hawkeye Downs Race Track: At times, Iowa had three tight ends in the lineup at the same time. Fry said he has so many good ones he is trying to get them some playing time.

Getting the most time was Mike Flagg, Greg Clark and Marv Cook. Iowa's highly touted freshman quarterback, Californian Dan McGwire, was blind-sided and sacked in his first college pass attempt Fry has once again painted the visitors' locker room pink, which he says is a passive color. Most visiting coaches pasted white paper on the walls. Iowa State trainers added such slogans as, "This is our year!" and "Iowa State pride! Go State!" The new policy prohibiting kegs at tailgates seemed to be passively enforced. 2.

v- I ,4 i Color ISU blue end zone were opening holes even I could run through." One of the bulldozers was preseason all-American tackle Dave Cros-ton. "If anyone had questions about our offense, we got some of them answered in this game," said the 280-pound Croston. "The fact that we were moving the ball gave everyone confidence. We got some great blocks, and I can't say enough about David Hudson. It's a luxury to have him in there." The Iowa fullback gained 120 yards in 20 carries and had a touchdown, but his blocking was just as valuable.

"He doesn't just get guys out of the way, he knocks them down," Croston said. "He's a great blocker. His running ability takes care of itself. He catches the ball. Put all of that td-gcther and, geez, he's a luxury." "I enjoy blocking," Hudson admitted.

"When I first came to Iowa I didn't. But it was OK once I got used to it, and I feel I'm pretty good at it now." i sive line, which he said is as good as last year's. GAME PLAN. Because the game was on regional TV, with all the commercial breaks it was one of the longest in Kinnick Stadium history. It lasted iVt hours.

Iowa coaches expected Iowa State to come out with a version of the run-and- shoot offense. But it wasn't used until late in the game. "We practiced agains that for three weeks, then they came out in pro set formations, something we've worked against In practice since day one," said Iowa linebacker George Davis. Iowa State had a minus three yards rushing in the first half and minus 11 for the game, but Espinoza getting sacked eight times for 50 yards in losses didn't help those totals. In 1985, the Cyclones had only 72 yards in 42 carries; in 1984, it was 28 yards in 39 carries; in 1983, it was 31 yards in 30 carries ISU linebacker Chris Moore said the defense was hurt by mental mistakes.

The same was true of the offense, said center Ckannon Mawdsley, who added, "We were mentally prepared, but our blocking schemes broke down, it just didn't go our way." ISU linebacker Dennis Gibson, about i a ajttlWe parted all-American Larry Station. "I felt like 1 was moving real good today," said Davis, who started at strong-side linebacker alongside Station last year. "It was a good game for me. I'm not trying to fill Larry's shoes. I'm trying to do my own thing, get the job done and lead the defense." Davis was pleased with the overall performance of the defending Big Ten champions.

"We have a lot of things to improve on," Davis said. "But a win is great, a great thing to build on. It will give everyone a lot more confidence." Vlasic, a fifth-year senior, was making just his second career start. "At times it was tough getting to sleep this week," he said. "But once I got on the field, I felt real good about things." He completed 15 of 25 passes for 286 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

"Our offensive line gave me all the time in world," Vlasic said. "And they 123 yards on 20 carries arid a touchdown. "The kid is a tremendous athlete," Fry said. "And he should get just better and better." Fry said Hudson was held out after losing three yards early in the second half. "You can see if he plays 60 minutes, what his stats might be," Fry said.

COACHES CORNER. In response to surpassing Forest Evashevski as Iowa's winningest football coach, Fry said, "I'm glad that thing's over with. It's really a tribute to my staff. They are all the best." Fry, in his eighth season at Iowa, now has 53 victories. For the record, Fry is now 53-30-1 at Iowa.

Evy was 52-27-4 from 1952-60. Howard Jones won 42 games from 1916-23 and Eddie Anderson won 35 in the 1940s. Both coaches were passing out compliments to the other. "I hope they (Iowa State go on and win the rest of their games. Obviously, watching them today, that's going to be difficult, but it's a nice thing to say." Fry also praised Cyclone quarterback Alex Espinoza for his courage.

He said Espinoza took a lot of hard hits but each time came back, stayed in the pocket and made his passes Criner said the big difference in the game was Iowa's defen ft. share a lot of things. He's a very positive person. He told me to relax, be ready to play and do the best I could do. "I just came out ready to play, and I'm glad I did as well as I did.

I was really nervous at first, but after the first catch it all started coming together." Early's lots was Mauro's gain, but he played with his teammate in mind. "I knew as soon as Quinn was hurt that I was starting," Mauro said. "I dedicated this game to Quinn, because I know how much he wanted to be out there and how hard he had worked to get there. I was definitely ready to play." With the game well in hand in the second half, Mauro and Davis stood together on the 50-yard-line laughing and joking. "I told him, 'great Davis said.

"He had a great game." Davis performed equally well, making eight solo tackles and three assists after moving to weak-side linebacker as a replacement for de i. -I iy v. I- if quarterback Mark Vlasic looks for a receiver Iowa State's Keith Sims faces pain and frustration one shot' lands walk-on Mauro, Hawkeyes in 4Million to By RICK BROWN Raaliler Staff Writer IOWA CITY, IA. Three years ago, Jim Mauro took a self-descrited "million -to-one shot" and transferred from Missouri Western to Iowa. Saturday, the change of scenery paid dividends in the Hawkeyes' 43-7 victory dver Iowa State in Kinnick Stadium.

Mauro tied a school record with three touchdown receptions in the ason-opening victory. The wide receiver, who moved into the starting lineup after Quinn Early separated a shoulder last week in practice, caught five passes for a whopping 149 yards. Not bad for a walk-on who got no vision I offers as a senior at West Des Moines Dowling. "When I was at Dowling, playing or Iowa was nothing more than a dream," said Mauro. "I wanted a Chance to play, but everyone told me I wasn't big enough or fast enough." Mauro headed for Missouri Western, an NAIA school in St.

Joseph, Mo. But he injured his shoulder in the Second game and missed the rest of he season. At the same time, his dream of a in practice, Mauro watched and learned. When his turn came Saturday, he was ready. "I knew Jim was capable of playing like that," said Happel after watching his successor.

"He had a great attitude last year, he worked hard and he really wanted to play. That's the key." "Jim had a great game, but going into it I had every bit of confidence that he could get the job done," said Iowa quarterback Mark Vlasic. "He has good moves, great hands and the ability to find the open area. He can do a lot of the things Scott and Bill did." Mauro, who caught scoring passes of 43 and 47 yards from Vlasic and a 17-yarder from wingback Robert Smith, played for Bob Nizzi at Dowling. Nizzi's successor was Don Mauro.

Last night, his Dowling team beat second-ranked Ames, 21-0. Jim called home to find out the score, and got a' final bit of advice from his dad. "I talk to my dad every night, and we're really close," said Jim. "We playing major college football still burned inside. "I talked to George Davis, our linebacker and a former teammate at Dowling, and he told me I should take chance and walk on said Mauro.

"He said I could play, but I wasn't so sure. "My dad Dn, the head coach at Dowlingl also talked to Coach Bill Snyder and Coach Del Miller about me coming here. I knew it was a one-in-a million shot, but I decided to give it a go." "I knew he could play at any big school he wanted to," said Davis. "He just had to iniike up his mind that he wanted to transfer." Mauro came to Iowa in the fall of 1984 and was redshirted that season Last year he saw limited action, catching four passes for 115 yards and one touchdown, also against Iowa State. It was Bill Happel and Scott Hel-verson, another walk-on from Des Moines, who were the outstanding possession receivers.

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