The Pittsburgh Press from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 81

0 2 Fulfill), llg) yLa) Late Steeler Panthers Blow 22-0 Lead Gutty Rally Pirn, mm jjg Rally Falls Harris' Gallop fl'7CIuCvA4WA: 'Mm til JPl Press photo by Edwin Morgan. Tulane Rally Pulls Out Win TULANE PITT 1 First downs rushing 14 10 First downs passing I 0 First dawns by penalties 1 12 Total first downs 23 18 Yards rushing 260 Yards lost rushing 15 34 Net yards rushing 265 13-23-0 Passes 12-35-2 268 Yards passing 100 302 Total yardage 373 1- 41 Punts 7-44 2- 34 Penalties 7-5 5 Fumbles 2 3 Fumbles lost 2 99 Return yardage 104 By RUSS FRANKE Just when Pitt was getting up a good head of steam, everything conked out in the second half at the Stadium yesterday against a Tulane team that finally ran out of bad luck. Tulane's clutch passing beat Pitt, 26-22, ending Pitt's modest two-game winning streak as the Panthers blew a 22-0 lead. Tulane came in with an 0-4 record and a reputation for tough-luck defeats, but this time the Green Wave washed up the Panthers on a 32-yard scoring pass with 43 seconds left in the game. As expected, slightly favored Pitt hammered away for good yardage on the ground and got the better of it physically with its punishing defensive front.

Tulane could get only 34 yards rushing, but two long bombs in the last quarter were enough to cost Pitt its third defeat in five games. Pitt had a 22-20 lead with less than two minutes left in the game but was forced to cough up the ball because of a clipping penalty. Joe Spicko, who outpunted the nation's leader, Ken Sanders of Tulane, booted the bail to the Tulane 30, and Tulane required only 33 seconds to get the ball across Pitt's goal. Quarterback Rusty Lachaus-see threw a pass to this wing-back, Steve Barrios, good for 34 yards to the Pitt 36 and after Lachaussee ran four yards and threw an lncomple-tion, he fired 32 yards down the middle to Max Leblanc for the winning score. Charley Hall tried to inter cept at the 10-yard line and almost did, but Leblanc picked off the ball cleanly.

It was the third time this year Pitt was beaten by a first-year quarterback. Also, it was the third straight week the Panthers seemed to lose their momentum in the second half. "We were holding them up pretty well on their passes at the end," said Pitt Coach Carl DePasqua, "but we went for the interception and that kid (Leblanc) just caught the ball. "We also had a punt blocked and there were some foolish mistakes that turned the game around and Tulane just took it away from us." It all started out like a picnic for Pitt for the second straight week, and the 23,784 fans began celebrating early when Pitt recovered two Tu Toone's Max UBIanc 114 picks off winning Tulane Bombs touchdown pass after Pitt's Charley Haff 121) missed interception try. Knock Out Panthers pointer would have helped." Carl knows that the second-guessers always coach a better game but they don't bother him.

"It was those bombs those bombs he kept saying. And, another thing, he said, way toward a "return to respectability." "These kids are improving all the time. They keep hitting hard they keep banging in there Were they really hitting hard? "Hell, yes," answered Tulane "We gave up the ball too freely we let the game slip away just slip away." If Pitt had suffered a let-up in the second half and it sure looked that way the coach was not letting up in his confidence and pride in the team that has this defeat notwithstanding taken Pitt a long Penguins Battle Short, 42-31 Shiner Injured, Hanratty Stars Against Browns By PAT LIVINGSTON Press Sports Writer CLEVELAND Quarterback Terry Hanratty, coming into the game in the fourth quarter, was too little and too late for the Steelers last night as they dropped their fourth straight game, a 42-31 verdict, to the Cleveland Browns. The former Notre Dame Ail-American, taking over at a time when the Steelers were demoralized by a series of fumbles and errors, rallied the losers in a brilliant passing display. Hanratty threw two touchdown passes, for 15 yards to fullback Earl Gros, and a like distance to Roy Jefferson, and he also spearheaded a third drive that resulted In a 10-yard touchdown pass, Kent Nix to Jefferson.

The reserve quarterbacks were in the game following an injury to Dick Shiner, who was forced to the sidelines with a broken jaw in the second quarter. For a time the Steelers made a game of it, trailing only 14-10 at halftime, but a series of interceptions in the third quarter set the Browns rolling. Although quarterback Bill Nelsen could not lead the winners to a first down in the first 20 minutes of the second half, the Browns broke the game apart on a pair of interceptions. Erich Barnes started it, running Nix's pass back 55 yards ta give the Browns a 21-10 lead and three minutes later Walt Sumner, hauling in Hanratty's second pass, raced it 40 yards for another Cleveland score. The Steeler defense disintegrated, worn out obviously by the fumbles and interceptions which plagued the Steelers all night, Nelsen connected with a 48-yard pass to Gary Collins, his second touchdown of the game.

Collins' touchdown put the Browns ahead, 35-10, but instead of permitting the game to turn into a rout, Hanratty suddenly started to hit his receivers. Completing his last five passes, Hanratty fired a 15-yard pass to Gros and then, after an onside kick, hit Jefferson with a 41-yard pass to the Cleveland eight-yard line. As he went to the bench for repairs, Nix came in to finish the drive, hitting Jeffeerson under the goal posts from the 10. After Reece Morrison had scored for the Browns in the last minute of the game, Hanratty passed to Jefferson for 18 yards, to Marshall Cropper to 11 and then hit Jefferson from the 15 for the score. A crowd of 84,078, the seventh consecutive sellout of a Steeler-Browns game, sat stunned in the third quarter as the Steelers' defensive platoon was taking the play away from the Browns.

But after the offense continued to make mistakes, the outcome was inevitable. The Steelers, trailed, 14-10, at the half, but it was their own stupidity rather than any overpowering play on the part of the Browns, that was responsible for the deficit. Having tied the score, 7-7, on a four-yard smash by Dick Hoak, a squirming run in which he wrestled out of the arms of a couple of Cleveland linemen, the Steelers appeared ready to take command of the game. They stopped the Browns after the ensuing1 kickoff, forcing them to punt, but Cleveland turned Don Cockroft's kick into a plus for the home team. This time it was Sam Davis who made the faux pas.

Davis, captain of the special teams, wandered into the bouncing kick at the Steeler five and when guard John De-maris recovered the ball at the six the Browns were back in business. Kelly blasted across on third down-at least the officials thought he was over the goal line to put the Browns out. front, 14-7. They had scored first on an-ether fluke play as Jpe Greene (Continuetd on Page 5) FA v. Inside This Section Page Sports News 1-13 Press Box 2 Football Contest 9 Gresjt Outdoors 12 Garden News 14-16 Halts Great Bid By Syracuse PENN STATE SYRACUSE 9 First downs 11 147 Rushing yardage 237 47 Passing yardage 14 44 Return yardage 701 e-19 3 Passes M0 1 8 44 Punts 7-30 1 Fumbles Lost 2 20 Yards Penalized 52 By PHIL MUSICK Press Sports Writer SYRACUSE, N.

great football team beat a good football team on a bad day, and everyone agreed as a character builder, Joe Paterno has few peers. After giving a classic performance yesterday of that old, old football exercise "sucking in your guts" the Nittany Lions to a man pointed to pride as the raison d'etre for Syracuse's sudden and unexDected demise before a record Homecoming crowd of 42,491 that really didn't believe what' it saw. When it was over and Penn State had jammed 15 points into a hectic 3:17 of the fourth quarter to whip the inspired Orangemen, 15-14, the fans stood and gave Coach Ben Schwartzwalder's dead-game troops a standing ovation. Paterno would have stood and applauded too had he not been in the Lion dressing-room and drinking deeply of the sweet, sweet essence of victory. "I wish someone would say how great our football team really is," he said of his Lions, who made Syracuse their 16th consecutive victim and protected the a i 's longest non-losing streak, 24 games.

"When you beat a good football team on a bad day you're great. They were awful strong awful strong." Craggy old Archbold Stadium a concrete inner-city bowl that leaves you expecting the Christians vs. the Lions at any moment hummed from beginning to end. Punt returns of 61, 46 and 46 yards by a sophomore back whom Schwartzwalder says "always runs out of gas," Greg Allen, allowed the Orange to completely dominate the first half. But the Lions' character came to the fore in the final two quarters, along with a defensive effort that finally turned off Syracuse's electrifying attack.

"I told our kids at halftime that I didn't care if we won or lost, but that they would find out something about themselves as men in the second half," Paterno said. Knute Rockne, himself, couldn't have said it better. Inspired, the Lions took it to Syracuse in the fourth quarter after being totally stymied in the first three periods and being down, 14-0, going into the last 15 minutes. "I was really worried if we could ever move the ball on them," Paterno admitted after Penn State had won its third straight Homecoming encounter and handed Syracuse its second loss in five games. "We practiced all week on the big play." That practice paid a dividend in the fourth quarter when sophomore fullback Franco Harris roared through a block by guard Charlie Za-piec and outran a Syracuse defender 36 yards for the touchdown that tied the game, 14-14.

Mike Reitz' extra point untied it and Penn State's hopes for its second straight undefeated season received a shot in the arm. "A run like that's instinctive," said Harris, who went all the way at fullback be- (Continued on Page 3) Sports On Air Radio TODAY NFL, Baltimore at New Orleans, 2:30 p. m. WHJB. Penguins at Boston, 7 p.

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53. Coach Jim Pittman in the victors' dressing room. "They were the toughest team physically punishing that we have faced. Our guys were hurting from that rugged defense." But there's "no cure for that like winning," he smiled. Tie, 3-3 Bruins Blow Early Lead away from us," he said.

"They (Penguins) are an improved team. You can't come in here and just take out two points." Boston was forced to settle for half that much because Briere lifted the sagging Penguins early in the second period when he split the Boston defense and forced goalie Ed Johnston to make a save at the goalmouth. In desperation, defenseman Don Awrey tripped Briere from behind, but the 160-pound centerman scrambled up in time to shoot. Awrey went to the penalty box and while he was away, Nick Harbaruk, a 26-year-old right winger, rammed a 35-foot screen shot, giving the Penguins their first goal. Midway through the period, the Bruins were forced to play for two minutes while two men short, but Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Dallas Smith and Johnston fought off the Penguin challenge.

Dean Prentice, who had set up Harbaruk's goal, fed a pass to Ken Schinkel, who moved the Penguins to within one goal of Boston at 6:04 of the final period. They broke into the Boston zone on a two-on-one break. Finally, Briere made his best move of the night, setting up McCreary for his third goal of the season. The comeback overshadowed the play of Orr, who probably gave the best one-man performance at the Arena since the Penguins joined the league. But one man wasn't enough to halt the Penguins.

Goalie Joe Daley did give a one-man show in the final minute of play as he made two goalmouth saves on Esposito, who has such a knack for scoring that he led the league last season with 126 points. The Penguins are winning their points one at a time this season. After three games, they have three ties. They will face the Bruins tonight in Boston, opening a four-game road trip. Sinden said that McKenzie probably will not play because of a (Continued on Page 11) Georgia Wins Rout NASHVILLE, Quarterback Mike Cavan tossed three touchdown passes as Georgia routed Vanderbilt, COAL TRY by Penguins' Keith McCreary goes bouncing off cage above head of Boston goalie Ed Johnston.

By RALPH MILLER Bombs are tough to brush off. "Desperation thrown up in the air with a prayer and they hit they hit they hit." Pitt Coach Carl DePasqua stood in front of the mirror in the coaches' dressing room twenty minutes after his Panthers had lost that heart-breaker to Tulane, 26-22. He kept brushing the long gray hair at the side up toward the crown where it's let's say thinning. But as much as he brushed, he couldn't brush the pain from his fighting heart. "Sure it's a tough one the breaks of the game interceptions that fumble cross-ups in defense He shrugged, his expressive eyes still a little glazed from shock effect.

Somebody mentioned that perhaps the Panthers got a bit conservative or did they subconsciously let up after hanging 20 points on the scoreboard so early in the game? "No, no," the coach said. "They didn't let up my boys never let up they just got bombed out." Some fans felt the Panthers should have gone for the first down on fourth and short yardage plays late in the game. The coach said, "The one from the 33-yard line was within Spicko's range another time and he'd probably have made it. At that point we had them 22-14 and a three- SMU Pops Rice HOUSTON Tiny Daryl Doggett scored three touchdowns as Southern Methodist beat Rice, 34-14. Rony Zur 291 of piilifililli Back To their equipment, but Coach Harry Sinden made some observations.

"We let them take the play token out of pay Briere Stars In Comeback By BILL HEUFELDER Michel Briere is a rookie in the National Hockey League and he won't be 20 years old until tomorrow, but he made some moves last night that the Boston Bruins still can't piece together. Briere turned the Bruins into a glum hockey club when he stole the puck in the Boston zone, then fed a pass across the goalmouth to Keith Mc-Creary, who scored the goal at 15:36 of the third period that gave the Penguins a 3-3 tie. A crowd of 5572 at the Civic Arena, who had absorbed the agony of Boston's three-goal first period, showed their ec-stacy by littering the ice with debris and holding up the game for five minutes after McCreary's goal. Ken Hodge, John McKenzie and Wayne Cashman register-ed the Boston goals before the 11-minute mark of the opening period The Bruins then turned the game into a laugh-in. "They were laughing and giggling at us," said one of the Penguin players.

"That's what they do when they get a Syracuse 50ns 25 yards as lane fumbles and Jim Friedl threw a pair of touchdown passes to George Medich, the split end, in the first period. Thai tackle John Stevens, who had recovered one of the fumbles for Pitt, came up with a play that sent the crowd into ecstasy. With Pitt leading by 14-0 in the second period, Sanders went back to punt with the ball on the Pitt 48. He was unable to field a low snap from center, and with Panthers swarming after him, he picked up the ball and kicked it on the ran. It was a line drive that Stevens caught on the fly at Tulane 42, the 242-pounder lumbered all the way for a score behind a half-dozen blockers.

It appeared the Panthers had the game in the bag and would be able to hold their lead by playing control ball. Pitt ran off a staggering 98 plays, and the tank-like rushes of Tony Esposito enabled Pitt to almost double Tulane ir first downs. Esposito rushed for 168 yards in 30 carries and was voted the top player on the field. Esposito made a particularly strong impression on one pressbox VIP, namely West Virginia Coach Jim Carlen, who was at the Stadium with five of his assistants. Pitt plays West Virginia on the Morgantown Astroturf next Saturday.

"I saw a lot of things that scare me," Carlen said afterward. "Some people might think this is hogwash, but I believe Pitt and West Virginia are about equal in strength and material." Pitt got its first touchdown when Lachaussee dropped a Contused on Page 3) quick lead." The Bruins weren't saying a word, funny or otherwise, to each other in the Bruin dressing room as they stripped off Penn State's Sfeve Smear fs.