Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • Page 19

SPORTS Tuesday, December 1, 1992 Albuquerque Journal Sportsline 821-1800 Page 1, Section ii i i tarft Your eaon obos Face Highlands In Opener By Andy Katz JOURNAL STAFF WRITER Tvc ft (' oL I Hi i- fis i Voo si' 1 I ji. I Weary Ags Get Home For ENMU By Dennis Latta JOURNAL STAFF WRITER LAS CRUCES After beating Illinois of the Big Ten, the New Mexico State Aggies might have a little trouble getting up to play Eastern New Mexico. After winning the Great Alaska Shootout the Aggies might have a tendency to overlook a Division II school, especially after hearing that the Greyhounds lost to Fort Lewis College 79-77 Monday night After moving up to No. 22 in the CNNUSA Today poll and cracking the Top Twenty-Five in the AP poll at No. 21, NMSU might find it difficult to get motivated for a small college team that had a 15-14 record last year.

Or, the Aggies might be smart enough to look at what the Greyhounds did to the last Division I team that thought all it had to do was show up for an easy win. For a long time ENMU fans will talk with pride about the 81-76 upset they enjoyed over University of New Mexico last year in the Pit The Lobos didn't take the Greyhounds seriously, and the result was an embarrassing loss. The Aggies must feel good with their 3-0 start on the season. NMSU has beaten Tennessee-Chattanooga, Oregon and Illinois while the Greyhounds had beaten Central Arkansas and Henderson (Ark.) State before losing to Fort Lewis. NMSU coach Neil McCarthy has been in this situation before, and lost In December 1986, Western New Mexico beat the Aggies 69-66 in overtime in the MORE: See AGGIES on PAGE 04 The embarrassment still lingers.

Eastern New Mexico 81, the University of New Mexico 76. Dec. 2, 1991. The Pit, Albuquerque. The Eastern players and coaches probably will cherish that moment for the rest of their lives.

For the Lobos, it's a game they want to forget "I don't even want to talk about it," New Mexico senior guard Ike Williams said Monday. "It was a tragedy. It was definitely a low point" That's why the Lobos are doing everything they can to avoid a similar slip against their legislature-mandated in-state opponent tonight (7:35 when they play host to New Mexico Highlands (0-2) in their season-opener. "We just didn't play together early last year," said senior guard Steve Logan, who scored a team-high 22 points against Eastern. "We've got to play everyone on the same leveL We've got to look at Highlands and teams like Texas Tech like they're BYU or UTEP." Eastern's victory over the Lobos last year gave hope to smaller in-state programs like helps but at the same time, I've seen it before," Highlands' coach Henry Sanchez said.

"I was down in Las Cruces scouting West-' ern at New Mexico State (during I the 1986-87 season) when Western New Mexico came into the Pan 'American Center and beat the tAggies (69-66 in overtime). "Obviously there is a talent disparity," Sanchez said. "But it means the world to these kids to just play in the Pit Most of them are New Mexico kids and everyone grows up trying to play in the Pit for the state tournament and it JOURNAL file photo journal file photo Dave Bliss begins his fifth year as UNM's head coach tonight Coach Neil McCarthy has led the Aggies to a 3-0 start Aggies Ranked 21st A4M on Thursday and travel to Arizona and New Mexico State next week. Last year, the Lobos won their first two games and then lost four straight in the Pit before snapping the losing streak at Texas "It's essential we start playing well right away," Williams said. "We've got to start the season strong.

Forget about what happened in the exhibition games because that doesn't count We've got to start fresh (tonight) and play hard." Bliss will make some changes for tonight's game. He will start junior MORE: Sm HIGHLANDS on PAGE C4 would be great to have the chance in college." The Lobos are 48-6 overall against Highlands, Eastern and Western. Prior to last year's defeat the Lobos hadn't lost to one of the three since 1958. New Mexico last played Division II Highlands in 1989, defeating the Cowboys 106-53. Saturday against Lithuania the Lobos showed some signs of regressing when they came out flat and fell behind by 18 points at halftime before rallying for a 79-72 exhibition victory.

"We've got to come out of the chute a lot faster against Highlands," coach Dave Bliss said. The Lobos play host to Texas 3-0 record. The Aggies didn't crack the AFs Top 25 last year, getting as high as 27th. New Mexico State hadn't been ranked since the last 12 weeks of the 1990-91 season when it reached as high as 11th. Michigan remained No.

1, as it had been in the preseason and first regular-season polL But the Wolverines' lead is a mere two points over Big Ten rival Indiana, which jumped from fourth to second. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS New Mexico State broke into the Top 25 in this week's Associated Press college basketball polL The Aggies won the title in the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage over the weekend and jumped from the 27th spot among the also-rans into 21st place. NMSU beat Tennessee-Chattanooga, Oregon and Illinois to start the season with a Broncos Fall in Overtime game behind Kansas City. Before the late surge, it appeared the Broncos would coast to victory behind rookie Tommy Maddox's first NFL touchdown pass and two field goals by David TreadwelL Maddox, a first-round draft choice from UCLA who passed up his final two years of college eligibility, subbed for Elway for the second straight game. He gave the Broncos a quick lead with a 6-yard scoring pass to Mark Jackson 4:19 into the game and Treadwell added a 28-yard field goal just over five minutes later.

Elway was made inactive just before the game because of a sore right shoulder. Maddox quarterback-ed Denver in a 24-0 loss to the Raiders in Los Angeles last week in his first pro start Denver made it 13-3 with 5:26 left in the third quarter on Treadwell's second field goal, a 36-yarder that was set up by Wymon Henderson's interception and 33-yard runback to the Seattle 20. Seattle's starting quarterback Kelly Stouffer threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, giving him eight turnovers in his past two games. The Seahawks replaced Stouffer with Gelbaugh with 9:27 left, and he gave the offense a spark. Gelbaugh got the Seahawks inside the 20, but Doug Thomas dropped an 18-yard pass in the end zone with 6:09 left, forcing Seattle to settle for Kasay's 33-yard field goal that cut the deficit to seven points.

Gelbaugh finished 12 for 21 for 164 yards and one TD. Maddox wound up 11 for 26 for 127 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Maddox's TD pass was set up by Tyrone Braxton's 40-yard interception return to the Seattle 9. On third down, Maddox found Jackson, who managed to keep both feet inbounds for the score. Denver went 52 yards in eight plays to position Treadwell for his first field goal.

Battle of Sputtering Teams Won by Seahawks 16-13 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SEATTLE John Kasay, whose extra point tied the game after regulation time expired, kicked a 33-yard field goal with 3:56 left in overtime to give the Seattle Seahawks an improbable 16-13 victory over the Denver Broncos on Monday night Seattle (2-10) trailed 10-0 after one quarter and 13-3 well into the final quarter, but tied it after Kasay kicked a 33-yard field goal with 5:20 left and Stan Gelbaugh hit Brian Blades on the final play of regulation. Kasay's kick sent the game into overtime. Kasay missed a 33-yard field goal 4:47 into the extra period, hooking the kick wide to the right, but got a second chance after Gelbaugh drove the Seahawks from Denver's 38 to the 14, helped by a pair of penalties against the Broncos, including an illegal contact call that negated an interception. Seattle got a last chance in regulation when Chris Warren returned a punt to the Denver 45 and Victor Jones drew a 15-yard penalty for grabbing his facemask, putting the ball at the 30 with 1:02 remaining. With second-and-goal at the 10, the Seahawks were called for holding, but Gelbaugh hit tight end James Jones for 17 yards on third down, then found Blades for only the eighth touchdown the Seahawks have scored all season.

Denver (7-5), playing without starting quarterback John Elway for the second straight week, fell into a tie for second place in the AFC West with San Diego, one JEFF ALEXANDER JOURNAL Albuquerque's Jamie Galles: "It's time for me to move on." Jamie Galles To Take Step Up By Dennis Latta Byrd Might Walk, Someday JOURNAL STAFF WRITER Local Driver Plans To Race Indy Lights no formal association with Galles Racing, but his garages will be located in Broadbent Parkway, where Galles long has been. "We're going to be based just around the corner on the same estate. We'll be bringing some of our team and looking for more," Synge continues. The Indy Light series is being restructured for next year. All cars will use a new Lola chassis and a Buick engine.

"This is a great time to get into Indy Lights. With all the changes, people who have been in it before don't have an advantage," the younger Galles says. Madgwick will be a two-car team. "We haven't decided who will be driving the second car," Synge says. "It might be a European driver.

Our driver from last MORE: See GALLES on PAGE C4 Race driver Jamie Galles is moving up to the Indy Lights series next year with a new team that will be based in Albuquerque. Galles, 20, has driven on the Toyota Atlantic series for two years. He has decided it's time to step up to Indy Lights, which is just below IndyCar racing. "I'm ready to go to Lights," says Galles. "With the new cars it looks like the speeds for the Lights will be close to what it is for the slower Indy cars." Jamie is the son of Rick Galles, the owner of the IndyCar team of Galles Racing.

The Indy Lights run on Saturdays or Sunday mornings in conjunction with IndyCar races. They will compete at 13 of the 17 IndyCar sites in 1993. "Atlantic was a good series, but the way things were it was real band that attaches to the head and is steadied by four metal rods projecting from a plastic vest The vest is keeping Byrd's spinal column stable. Dr. Patrick O'Leary, an orthopedic surgeon who is heading the team of physicians treating Byrd, tentatively plans to operate on his neck on Wednesday.

He said he will use metal plates and bone grafts to stabilize the vertebra. Hershman said doctors should know more about Byrd's prognosis one to two weeks after the surgery. -That's when a lengthy rehabilitation will begin. While refusing to make any predictions, the doctors said they had seen patients with similar injuries walk again. All agreed that perhaps best ally is his attitude.

"He has a wonderful spirit" O'Leary said. said. "It can change day to day." But Hershman and a team of neurosurgeons and other spinal experts at the hospital did point to some developments that suggest the 26-year-old may recover. For one, Byrd has some feeling in his legs, and has demonstrated slight movement in his toes and fingers, the doctors said. Also, a battery of tests showed that while there is some bone and spinal cord damage, there is no constant pressure on the cord another positive sign.

Byrd also is benefiting from recent advancements in the treatment of spinal injuries including special steroids that help reduce swelling in the spine. Byrd was injected with "massive doses" of the drug shortly after the injury, Hershman said. The doctors have fitted Byrd with a "hala vest," consisting of a metal THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK There is hope for Dennis Byrd. The day after the New York Jets defensive lineman was carried off the field with a broken neck, his doctors would not rule out the possibility that he may walk again. "We're looking at this with guarded optimism," Dr.

Martin Cammins, a neurosurgeon, said Monday during a news conference on Byrd's condition at Lenox Hill Hospital. The 6-foot-5, 266-pound Byrd fractured his C-5 vertebra Sunday in a violent head-first collision with teammate Scott Mersereau. His legs and lower arms remain paralyzed, and officially his prognosis is unknown. "There's no way at this point to predict his degree of recovery," team physician Elliot Hershman hard to make those engines last It's time for me to move on. Indy Lights are so much more professional, they get so much more track time," says Galles, a sophomore at the University of New Mexico.

He plans to transfer to Arizona State next semester. Galles will be driving for Madgwick International, which is moving' from England to Albuquerque and switching from For-, mula 3000 to Indy Lights. "This is really our first venture in the U.S.," says team owner Robert Synge. "In Europe, we've found it hard to raise sponsorship. The economy is more stagnant and the costs of Formula 3000 are probably double of what they'll be in Indy Lights." Synge said Madgwick will have -4.