The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 46

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1986 The Palm Beach Post SECTION PORT 'Canes barely break a sweat, 58-14 I A- Dan Moffett SPORTS EDITOR Hurricane quarterback Vinny Testaverde had another big afternoon. Testaverde, who was replaced by Geoff Torretta after the first series of the second half, moved to within three touchdown passes of Bernie Kosar's career record of 40. Testaverde was 14-of-20 for 188 yards and three touchdowns. "We've been successful in the past blitzing good quarterbacks," said West Virginia tackle Brad Hunt. "We blitzed Doug Flutie a couple of years ago and it worked." But it didn't work Saturday.

Please see HURRICANES7C By TOM D'ANGELO Palm Beach Post Staff Writer MORGANTOWN, W.Va. The University of Miami obliged the Mountaineer Field homecoming crowd of 63,500 by sending it home by the end of the first quarter. hhh Little did West RJQ 4 Virginia know it would be facing Miami the No.l-ranked team in the country when the Mountaineers decided to pick Saturday's game as the focal point of homecoming weekend. After Saturday's 58-14 rout, Miami did nothing to boost the Mountaineer program in the eyes of its boosters. The Hurricanes scored three touchdowns in the first 5:05 and led 28-0 after one quarter.

By that time, many of the alumni were returning to their campers to grill more than just hot dogs. "We try to get the crowd out of the game by putting points on the board early," said defensive tackle Jerome Brown. "At the same time you kill two birds with one stone by taking the team out of the game." With the Hurricanes ahead 42-7 at half time, about half of the Mountaineer faithful had lost faith. The only thing they missed was a meaningless West Virginia touchdown with 51 seconds to play and the most points scored by an opponent at Morgantown since the first game in West Virginia's history in 1891, a 72-0 loss to Washington Jefferson. "It was really embarrassing giving up 58 points on homecoming," said West Virginia linebacker Darnell Warren.

"We came out here fired up and they just busted our bubble." Miami is 6-0 for the fourth time in its history and has won 16 consecutive regular-season games. West Virginia lost its fourth consecutive game after two victories. It was the worst loss in coach Don Nehlen's seven years at West Vir ginia. The Hurricanes held a huge advantage in total yards 526 (263 each passing and rushing) to 226 and first downs 29 to 14. The Mountaineers were held without a first down for 19 minutes.

"We got some breaks early in the game," said Miami coach Jimmy Johnson. "I don't think the score is any indication of the difference in the two teams. They are a much better team." "There is no way you can turn the ball over to the number one team in the nation three times in the beginning of the game and expect to win," said Nehlen. 9 ii Dykstra HR lifts Met in Rally gives Mets 6-5 victory in Game 3 The Associated Press NEW YORK Instead of setting the table, Lenny Dykstra cleaned it Saturday for the New York Mets. Dykstra hit a two-run homer into a stiff wind to right field in the ninth inning off Astros relief ace Dave Smith as the Mets rallied to win Game 3 of the National League playoffs over the Houston Astros 6-5.

"The last time I hit a home run in the bottom of the ninth to win a game was in Stratomatic baseball against my brother," said Dykstra. "That's the baseball game where you throw dice." The victory gave the Mets a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Not only was it a pivotal game, it represented a departure from past form in a series that had been dominated by pitching. i li 1 4 i ff'f -'fit A I'" A vVa': The Astros scored two runs in each of the first two innings against Ron Darling, including two on a homer in the second inning by Billy Doran, and the Mets starter lasted only five innings. Darryl Strawberry capped New York's four-run sixth against Bob Knepper National League Championship Series Mets vs.

Astros THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A weird year in Dolphinland It is a central law of the universe that a bad situation that cannot be immediately improved at least can be made weird. Laughter rises from the dungeon. The Parcheesi board is passed throughout the foxhole, and the line between real and surreal is patrolled by the angels of desperation. Weirdness has become a tantalizing but somewhat unsettling appetizer for today's meeting between the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills. A year ago, such an encounter in the Orange Bowl would have been regarded as little more than a Dolphin bye; now it stands as a virtual push.

Parity is an ornry little virus, isn't it? You don't really appreciate how taxing this season has been on Don Shula until you see him on late night television doing commercials for veterans' term life insurance can be turned down dial 1-800 The commercials were taped long before the season started, before Shula's face became a troubled barometer for the Great Dolphin Decline of 1986. Some things you can't insure. What a bizarre turn of fate it was Tuesday to have owner Joe Robbie summoned to Dolphin camp to deliver your basic "get this one for the Flipper" pep Robbie was summoned by Shula. Weird. Robbie was asked by Shula to talk football with the Dolphins.

Weird and unprecedented. It was like Gen. Douglas MacArthur calling on President Truman to inspire the troops. Robbie's frugal approach to ownership has not endeared him to a number of the veteran Dolphins most recently Doug Betters and Woody Bennett who have squabbled with considerable bitterness over contracts. Veterans aren't the prime concern anymore, however, and the owner's visit reaffirmed that.

Robbie's call to arms was aimed more at the young Dolphins, those who as yet have no serious disputes with management, those who must shape Miami's future. The commitment to youth and dare we say it rebuilding, also surfaced in something that didn't happen last week, and something weird that did. The St. Louis Cardinals traded running back Ottis Anderson to the New York Giants. This of course made no sense.

Very weird indeed. Anderson remains one of the top backs in the league, and to trade him to a powerful rival in the same division for a couple of ho-hum draft choices is lunacy on the part of the Cards. Dallas' Tex Schramm and Washington's Bobby Beathard, the two prime talent merchants in the NFC East, are still in a state of angry shock. A couple seasons ago, Shula and the Dolphins would have beaten the Giants to the punch. Miami didn't hesitate to go after Pete Johnson, or even the amiable Chuck Muncie.

Anderson, returning to the Orange Bowl where he starred for the University of Miami, could have revitalized a non-existent Dolphin running game. But the draft picks it would have taken to obtain Anderson are too precious now. They are the vehicles for dare we say it rebuilding, and the reluctance to spend them prematurely runs deep. In these past three weeks, Shula has criticized himself more than he has been criticized from the outside in his 15 previous seasons in Miami. Part of the reason for these self-inflicted denouncements is to take some of the pressure off his players.

Part is personal frustration over the self-imposed high standards of a perfectionist coach. To hear negative words from any source on Shula's command of his profession is always a strange, unsettling revelation downright weird. For Robbie, the ultimate paradox of this troubled season is its timing. This is the year of the new stadium and its $90 million price-tag. It is also the year of Dan Marino and his $9 million pricetag.

From an economic standpoint, the Dolphins' owner cannot afford the empty seats he will see today and the prospect of empty coffers from post-season revenues that are lost in a losing record. Just when all seemed in place, the ground has shif'ed. Every relationship the Dolphus have constructed over the year, iow seems askew ad 'unu Lenny Dykstra guesses right and tags Astros finisher Dave Smith for the game-winning home run in bottom of 9th inning. AL playoff characters are a class act with a three-run homer that tied the score, and the Astros broke the 4-4 tie in the seventh with an unearned run, scored by Doran. "We started off bad.

Darling was a little tentative and not very aggressive, like he has been," Mets manager Davey Johnson said. "But we battled back, and that's the big thing. We got the big hit from Strawberry and had the miscue in the seventh, but I really thought that we had the momentum in the ninth inning." Smith, 1-1 with an ERA of 15.00 against the Mets during the season, said he was trying to get Dykstra to hit a ground ball "This is as bad a feeling as I've had as a player," Smith said, who entered the game when the Mets came to bat in the ninth. "I threw a bad pitch to him a forkball changeup I didn't do my job." Mike Scott, Houston's Game 1 winner, will face left-hander Sid Fernandez in the fourth game tonight. Wally Backman, who entered the game as a defensive replacement in the top of the ninth, led off the bottom of the inning with a bunt single to first, hooks-liding around first baseman Glenn Davis.

Danny Heep, pinch hitting, tried twice to bunt, the second time dodging out of the way of a high and tight Smith fastball that got past catcher Alan Ashby for a passed ball. Backman was on second, and after Heep Please see NLCS14C Flash of success: Brewer, Gators beat Kent State an ear? If these were just silly nicknames, the kind high school players give each other, it wouldn't matter. But they are not. They're emblematic of the vividness and individuality of the key players here. This playoff between the California Angels and the Boston Red Sox is profoundly rich in the commodity we seek most in sports and savor longest when we find it: true characters.

Not since the Dodgers and Yankees met in two World Series in the late '70s have we had a post-season matchup with so many complex, vivid, funny, sad mixed-up human characters. Fourteen Angels and 11 Red Sox have By THOMAS BOSWELL (c) 1986 The Washington Post ANAHEIM, Calif. Every day, the matinee day here at the Big Bijou far outstrips anything down the street at Disneyland. There, you only have Goofy, Tinkerbell and Pluto. In the American League playoffs, you've got The Rocket Man and The Chicken Man; you've got Candy and The Can.

There's old Mr. October showing the superstar ropes to Wally Wonder, just passing the mystique along. The Groove is holding court while Big Foot and Dewey razz him. Is the Silent One talking to Rooster while the reclusive Ducky lends been picked for a total of 75 All-Star games. This championship series may be graying at the temples, but it's a class act.

If either of these teams meets the Mets in the World Series, it's only going to get better. If someone brings a match too close to Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd, will he explode? He's 144 pounds of nerve ends challenging the world to a freestyle brawl. You wouldn't let my father or generations of my baseball-loving family in your game, his whole attitude says, but I'm here now, playing for all the Boyds. Here (jerks down the cap) is a screwball, straight Please see BOSWELL 14C McManus rolls Seminoles over Tulane 54-21 Miami-West Virginia Inside Miami-West Virginia side lines Miami-West Virginia statistics Some injuries for the Hurricanes Rough homecoming for Mountaineers Tulane-Florida State Inside 7C 7C 7C 7C Tulane-Florida State side lines Tulane-Florida State statistics 8C 8C 8C Kent State-Florida Inside 9C 9C 9C Kent State-Florida side lines Kent State-Florida statistics No goat this time for Brewer By JEFF SNOOK Palm Beach Post Staff Writer TALLAHASSEE Entering its game against Tulane, Florida State had managed only one victory and 69 points in four games and had given coach Bobby Bowden a month-long headache. Saturday night, the Seminoles almost matched that output and eased Bowden's pain by scoring 40 second-half points in a 54-21 victory over the Green Wave in front of 53,701 at Doak Campbell Stadium.

The blowout ended a 43-day dry spell as the Seminoles (2-2-1) were winners for the first time since a 24-0 victory over Toledo in the season-opener. Tulane falls to 1-4. "A lot of people said we needed a big win," Bowden said. "We just needed a win. We've been so long without one." It's also been a long time since the Florida State offense, which entered the game averaging only 17 points per game, moved the football consistently.

The Seminoles rolled up 419 yards and scored almost every way possible. Points came on a 77-yard kickoff return by Keith Ross, a 20-yard interception return by linebacker Fel-ton Hayes and a blocked punt for a safety by sophomore John Parks. And a new leader provided the spark. Junior quarterback Danny McManus made the most of his first start of the season, completing 16-of-25 passes for 171 yards. He also scored one touchdown on a quarter- Please see SEMIN0LES8C By PATRICK McMANAMON Palm Beach Post Staff Writer GAINESVILLE Forget the opponent.

To the Florida Gators, this victory was sweet. The team that had struggled through four consec- utive losses got a 52-9 homecoming victory over Kent State Saturday in front of 73,718 at Florida Field. "I had said all along that if we believed in what we were doing and concentrated on it we would turn it around," coach Galen Hall said. "I think this is the start of us turning around and being the team we know we are." Florida (2-4) simply was too big, too strong, too talented and too dominant for Kent State (3-3). That the Golden Flashes aren't Miami or Alabama didn't matter to the Gators.

"After four straight losses I don't care if we were playing Buchholz High School," wide receiver Ricky Nattiel said. "We had to take our frustration out on somebody. Somebody had to pay." "A win's a win, man," linebacker Ron Moten said. "It wasn't like we only beat them 14-0." Quarterback Rodney Brewer, making his first start in place of injured Kerwin Bell, engineered the victory, completing 13-of-16 passes for 230 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. "In football this is definitely my biggest thrill," said Brewer.

"This was my first start and I did pretty good, which was what I wanted to do." GATORSf iC COLLEGE SCOREBOARD (1) Miami 58, West Virginia 14 1C (2) Alabama 37, Memphis State 4C (3) Nebraska 30, Oklahoma State 10 6C (4) Michigan 27, Michigan State 6 6C (5) Penn State 23, Cincinnati 17 5C (6) Oklahoma 47, Texas 12 3C (7) Auburn 31, Vanderbilt 9 4C Texas Tech 17, (8) Arkansas 7 3C Washington State 34, (9) Southern Cal 14 2C (10) Iowa 17, Wisconsin 6 6C UCLA 32, (11) Arizona 25 2C (12) Washington 24, (18) Stanford 14 2C Southern Methodist 27, (13) Baylor 21 3C (14) Texas 19, Houston 7 3C (15) Arizona State 37, Oregon 17 2C (16) LSU 23, Georgia 14 4C Georgia Tech 59, North Carolina St. 21 4C (19) Mississippi State 24, Arkansas State 9 4C (20) Clemson 31, Virginia 4C.