The Akron Beacon Journal from Akron, Ohio • Page 33

Akkon Beacon Journal- PRO FOOTBALL I m. Denvr vs. Cleveland, Ch 7 IWhMhno), AKR (1SV0), WKNT-FM (100.1). 1 p.m. Houston vs.

New England, Ch. 21. 1 P.m. N. Y.

Giants vs. Washinsrton, Ch. 27. i P.m. Dallas vs.

Green Bay, Ch. 27. pm. Pittsburgh vs. Los Angeles, Ch.

23. 23. COLLEGE FOOTBALL 130 p.m. Highlights, Ch. 23.

PRO BASKETBALL 10 pm. Cleveland vs. Portland, WW WE (1100). For details, see TV Preview, page 26. Snorts -Sunday, November 12, 1978- SpoktsOnThe Ant- itn Woody oys Hayes explained the position swapping by admitting for the first time that Schlichter has been playing with severe shoulder, elbow and hand injuries all season.

"Art had to have some blood drawn off his elbow last said Hayes, "and we felt we better get Rod ready because we never know how long we're going to have Art. Yes, Gerald is definitely our No. 2 quarterback." Hayes played a lot more games Saturday, including giving Joel Payton, Ohio State's "forgotten fullback," a lot more playing time to get him legged up for the Michigan game, too. PAYTON, who scored 13 touchdowns for Ohio State last season but has been in Woody's doghouse this year, carried four times for 13 yards. And late in the afternoon, the See BUCKS, page D-6 when they unloaded 31 points in a game which ended in a gigantic yawn.

WOODY'S MOST shocking experiment surfaced in the first period when he derricked heralded freshman quarterback Schlichter for Gerald, the kid Schlichter had deposed this season after Gerald had led the Bucks to two straight Big Ten co-championships. Schlichter had just led Ohio State on a 50-yard scoring drive, capping it with a seven-yard touchdown run, when Hayes moved Gerald from his split end position and sent him in to call signals as in days of old. Gerald, obviously rusty, threw a terrible pitchout which resulted in a fumble a few plays later. But apparently, Hayes' move paid off in lighting a fire under Schlichter. The 18-year-old came back to play quarterback later and went on to score two more touchdowns on runs of seven and five yards.

He also completed four passes for 58 yards which led to a- last-second touchdown that gave Ohio State its 14-7 halftime cushion. For the day, Schlichter completed nine of 15 passes, with two interceptions, for 109 yards and added 37 yards rushing on 10 carries. GERALD, whom the grapevine said had been disenchanted with his change of position and recent inactivity, didn't flounder after his patchy start at his old position. He returned to the quarterback slot with 8:40 left in the game and moved Ohio State 43 yards to a score, running the final seven yards himself for a 38-7 Buck lead. His statistics for the day showed three carries for a net of three yards, a pass completion for seven yards and two pass receptions for 35 yards, one of which set up a' touchdown.

By JACK PATTERSON Beacon Journal Staff Writer COLUMBUS Woody Hayes used outmanned Illinois as a testing board Saturday in a 45-7 Ohio State frolic. As 87,719 looked on in Ohio Stadium, Hayes played games with the Illini, interchanging quarterback Art Schlichter and split end Rod Gerald at the Buckeye controls, substituting freely and obviously, gearing up for the annual Michigan game here Nov. 25. At the end, Hayes seemed almost apologetic. "Gentlemen," he said to the press, "I don't know what that game proved except that we got better as it went along and they (Illinois) got worse." That pretty well told the tale.

For while Illinois managed to hold the score to 14-7 at halftime, as Hayes was tinkering with his personnel, the Illini were no match for the Buckeyes down the stretch Buckeyes gang-tackle Illini back Larry Powell Comhuskers Sooeers averaging 414.7 yards per game. "Those big guys up front did a good job," Osborne said. "Oklahoma popped a few plays but they didn't get four, five and six yards a play on us. That's what we felt we needed to do to beat them." Oklahoma coach Barry Switzer felt the Sooners gave the game away by fumbling nine times and losing six of them, including costly bobbles at the Nebraska 20 and three yard lines in the final 8 minutes. "Fumbles beat us," he said.

"You don't fumble here in the fourth quarter and win. If we hold the ball, we win the game. We had two drives right down the field without any points scored. "I'd rather they stopped us for a field goal. Two field goals and we win.

Field goals would have put us in the Orange Bowl. "Nebraska is as good as any team in the country." OKLAHOMA quarterback Thomas Lett said, "We stopped ourselves. We lost the game because of fumbles. We killed ourselves. If we had played any team like we did today, we would have got beat." Todd's field goal, following short touchdown runs by Rick Berns and I.

M. Hipp, clinched at least a tie See CORNHUSKERS, page D-6 LINCOLN, Neb. OP) The Nebraska dressing room was subdued at. halftime. The fourth-ranked Comhuskers had battled top-rated Oklahoma to a 7-7 tie, but they had blown a chance to take the lead near the end of the half when Billy Todd's; 21-yard field goal hit the right upright and caromed away.

"It was quiet, but nobody felt we couldn't win," said coach Tom Osborne. "We did some good hitting that first half and we just told the players to go out and do that again." And that's just what Nebraska did. And when Todd was given a second chance, he kicked a tie-breaking 24-yard field goal with 11:51 remaining to give Nebraska a 17-14 triumph and end six years of frustration against its arch-rival. It was Nebraska's ninth consecutive victory following an opening game loss to Alabama and put the Comhuskers in the lead for an Orange Bowl berth. With one game remaining against Missouri, they have a one-game lead over unbeaten Oklahoma the Sooners also are 9-1 over-all.

Bowl bids cannot be announced until Saturday. "THE BIG key was our defense," Osborne said after the Comhuskers held Oklahoma to 339 yards, all on the ground. The Sooners, the nation's top rushing team, had been Beacon Journal photos by Lew stamp Dejected and alone, Canton McKinley end Ron Rankin contemplates loss as final seconds tick away massuion rips cAiniey as ujj enoecner Keys rally By MILAN ZBAN Beacon Journal Staff Writer MASSILLON John Brideweser thought he was witnessing the making of a miracle. His Canton McKinley Bulldogs were holding a 10-0 lead with little more than five minutes remaining in the game and he hadn't won a game against Massillon in four previous trips to Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. But it was Massillon quarterback Brent Offen-becher who provided the miracle.

Offenbecher threw a pair of touchdown passes within 1:25 of each other for a 13-10 triumph in this ancient classic before 21,592, which is 400 above seating capacity. Offenbecher, who was sacked five times for 27 yards in losses in the first half by a ferocious McKinley defense, fired scoring passes of 12 and six yards to wide receiver Curtis Strawder to complete the comeback and put Massillon's record at 46-32-5 in this classic. "I THOUGHT I was ready mentally before the game," said Offenbecher, "but McKinley came out in a defense which we hadn't seen before and it blew my mind. In fact we all blew our minds. We couldn't get together on anything and they got to me a lot.

"After we made some offensive adjustments and after a couple of big defensive plays, we played the way we were supposed to," he said, smiling broadly. Offenbecher, who hit only six of seven first half passes for 67 yards, clicked for 11 of 13 in the second half for 112 yards. He wound up with 17 of 19 for 179 yards. The completions are a single game record for Massillon. He set the mark a year ago with 15 completions and matched it several weeks ago.

MASSILLON coach Mike Currence, dripping from a premature shower given by his players, said he never gave up on his team, even with time running out. "The tougher the going gets, the tougher these kids become," he said. "I don't know what it is, I just know it happens. I've seen it here too many Asked if he thought McKinley borrowed a page from Warren Harding's defensive book, Currence said, "No, they fired (rushed) different people, but it was just as effective. "We mapped out some things at the half which See OFFENBECHER, page D-13 Ham.

Massillon's Sam Hill (49) gets hit in a midair collision with a Bulldog Zips' defense unable to stop E. Kentucky Miami's big 2nd half gives Flashes record fpFIse top 2m) vr 1 Here's how the Associated Press' top 20 major college football teams fared Saturday: 1. Oklahoma (9-1) lost to Nebraska 17-14. 2. Perm State (10-0) beat North Carolina State 19-10.

3. Alabama (9-1) beat Louisiana State 31-10. 4. Nebraska (9-1) beat Oklahoma 17-14. 5.

Southern California (8-1) beat Washington 28-10. S. Texas (6-2) lost to Houston 10-7. 7. Michigan (8-1) beat Northwestern S9-14.

8. Houston (8-1) beat Texas 10-7. 9. UCLA (8-2) lost to Oregon State 15-13. 10.

Louisiana State (6-2) lost to Alabama 31-10. 11. Georgia (8-1) beat Florida 24-22. 12. Purdue (7-1-1) tied Wisconsin 24-24.

13. Maryland (9-1) beat Virginia 17-7. 14. Notre Dame (7-2) beat Tennessee 31-14. 15.

Clemson (8-1) beat North CaroUna 13-9. 16. Arkansas (6-2) beat Baylor 27-14. 17. Michigan State (6-3) beat Minnesota 33-9.

18. Navy (7-2) lost to Syracuse 20-17. 19. Washington (6-4) lost to Southern California 28-10. 20.

Pittsburgh (7-2) beat West Virginia 52-7. By JIM DERENDAL Beacon Journal Staff Writer RICHMOND, Ky. Maybe the University of Akron can propose at the next NCAA convention that the first half of football games be abolished. Or, if that doesn't work, maybe the Zip football team could be put under mass hypnosis, making believe there is no such thing as a first half. Of course, there is a third possibility that the Zips just play better football in the first half of their games.

That last idea is the only thing likely to have saved the Zips Saturday as Eastern Kentucky laid a 35-14 setback on them before an estimated 8,800 at Hanger Field. AND FOR THE second week in a By JOHN SEABURN Beacon Journal Staff Writer OXFORD Ron Blackledge joined the ranks of the believers Saturday, those who are convinced that the Miami Redskins are a second-half football team. Blackledge, Kent State's first-year coacb, said, "We played them reasonably well in the first half but in the second half we couldn't get past them to keep drives going on." Blackledge's remarks came on the heels of a 38-13 loss to the Redskins that extended Kent State's modern-day record losing streak in road games to six. The defeat dropped Kent to 3-7 over-all and 1-6 in the Mid-American Conference with only next Saturday's season finale against MAC row, the Zips were folded, spindled and badly mutilated in the first half as Eastern ended any suspense about the game's outcome by scoring the first four times it had the ball to take a 28-0 halftime lead. It was only a week ago that the Temple Owls outscored Akron 42-0 in the first half of what turned out to be a 56-21 triumph.

For those weak in addition, that means Akron has been outscored 70-0 in the first half of its last two games. It also means the Zips' record drops to 5-5. "We're a .500 team now and that's how we've been playing, like a .500 team," said an obviously unhappy Jim Dennison, Akron's head coach. "There's no way I can explain that first half. They're a See AKRON, page D-10 foe Toledo at Dix Stadium to be played.

MIAMI, playing before a record crowd of 18,428 at Miami Field, improved its record to 7-2-1 and 5-2 in the MAC. Kent's six losses on the road this season marks the first time the Flashes have gone winless away from home since 1970, when they dropped four road decisions. Modern-day records date to 1949. Tom Reed, Miami's first-year head coach after a stint at Michigan as an assistant, could throw no light on how his team has managed to come on so strong in the second half in at least six victories this season. "We seem to have a second-half See REDSKINS', page D-10.