Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 34

3 NFL 2 COLLEGE FOOTBALL 4-6 HIGH SCHOOLS 7 THE CLARION-LEDGER JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1990 elaware D) JSU defense burns UPBP iwm, win mi. i win. mil i i nmiipn The Tigers' Turner, Morehouse return interceptions for touchdowns in a 31-7 romp. W-'- H1 By David Cummings Clarion-Ledger Start Writer touchdowns. Turner's and Morehouse's scores extended the Tigers' 10-7 halftime lead to 24-7 with less than four minutes remaining in third quarter.

Their play, along with the rest of the defense had head coach W.C. Gorden and defensive coordinator James Carson feeling good. "If you would have seen those guys the first week of practice you wouldn't believe it was the same group," Gorden said, "I mean I'm elated at their performance, especially the defensive secondary." Carson echoed Gorden's words and added he was happy to see the defense stay with the game plan. "This was one of the most challenging offense's we've had to prepare for," Carson said, "But the guys looked good inpractice this week and I think they played well. They did good." While the offense struggled, the defense was hitting all cylinders.

Quarterback Shawn Gregory had an up and down night. The senior was 10 of 28 for 205 yards and one interception, but had several passes dropped. Gorden said if a couple of the passes had been caught, the offense may have looked as good as the defense. However, he admitted he was more than happy to see the defense play well. "I don't like to build a team around an offense," Gorden said.

"Because offense is like the weather it comes and goes." See JSU, 5D JSU stayed loose prior to its opener, 5D Considered the weakness of Jackson State's football team, the defensive secondary turned out to be the strong point in the Tigers' 31-7 season opening victory over Delaware State on Saturday night. On a hot and humid Mississippi night, JSU played sweltering defense in front of 19,700 people at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium. Defensive backs Robert Turner and Isaac Morehouse became the heroes in the third quarter with a pair of long interception returns for B.R. RascherThs Clarion-Ledger Jackson State's David Jones (80) cuts it too close and heads for the turf. nn 11 Myj 1W RICK CLEVELAND Executive Sports Editor The Clarion'Led9er LID Edwards, Statesmen give Golden Eagles all they can handle.

By Robert Wilson Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer fib7 HATTIESBURG Delta State's Division II All -American Tim Edwards said he wanted to prove the Statesmen didn't play "joke football." Ask Southern Mississippi. The Golden Eagles aren't laughing. I Division I-A USM fought off Di- vision II Delta State 12-0 Saturday night before 17,590 at M.M. Roberts Stadium in the season opener for both teams. Two Jim Taylor field goals and a 1 touchdown pass on a botched field- goal attempt was the difference.

"There isn't any doubt that those guys can play football. I don't care what division they are," USM senior free safety Kerry Valrie said. "They played hard. They came here to win, not just to play close." Delta State didn't win, but the Statesmen gave USM everything it-, wanted. "I'm happy with the win.

I don't care if it's two points, 10 points or 16, the bottom line is, we won the game," USM coach Curley Hallman said. "We knew Delta State would come in with a solid, veteran team. We were not at all surprised by how well they played. Give them a lot of credit." Especially Edwards. The 3, 264-pound senior defensive tack le from Philadelphia was everywhere.

Edwards had 11 tackles, two for losses and four sacks. "We knew he was good, but was all over the place," USM junior offensive tackle Chris Ryals said. "He lined up from tight end to tight-end. And he got in a lot. You can't" take anything away from him.

He is. a great defensive player." "We had a lot of offensive breakdowns," Hallman said. "But that Edwards kid created a lot of those breakdowns. To say the least, he is a dominating player." The Golden Eagles didn't feel comfortable until less than 8 minutes left when they scored the only touchdown. See USM, 4D Miracle eludes Statesmen, 4D You'd better call him Mr.

Edwards with respect HATTIESBURG The name is Edwards. Tim Edwards. That's Mr. Edwards, if you happen to play football for Southern Mississippi. Yes, the Golden Eagles gained a right healthy respect for Delta State's Edwards, a 264-pound defensive tackle who plays a great deal larger and quicker than that sounds.

But then USM players, coaches and fans exited Roberts Stadium here Saturday night with a great deal of respect for all the Statesmen. The shorter, lighter, outnumbered Deltans went chin-to-chest with the Eagles for four quarters, giving almost as good as they took. Division I-A USM won 12-0, but Division II Delta State was in the hunt until the end. As is so often the case and as is so often overlooked the Golden Eagles won in the kicking game. A USM fake punt here, a Delta State shanked punt there and a long USM punt return elsewhere were the difference those and a botched field goal attempt that turned into the game's only touchdown.

Had it not been for the bad field goal snap and a touchdown pass that resulted the heavily favored Eagles would never have crossed the goal line. Actually, if officials had noticed the 30-second clock at zero a split second before the rushed and errant snap, the freak TD play never would have happened. But then, it did happen a lucky break. Had the break gone the other way in a 6-0 game, well, you know. The big guy was bumfuzzling It should be noted here and now that USM outgained the visitors 263-152 and held DSU to just seven first downs.

USM moved the ball well between the 20's but always bogged down. Or got bogged down by Edwards, who lined up sometimes on the left and sometimes on the right. "That way, it messes up their blocking scheme if they're going to try and double-team him," Delta State coach Don Skelton explained. From either side, Edwards was brutal. One time, he would overpower the blockers.

The next, he would out-quick them. Seldom have defensive linemen so thoroughly dominated a contest as did Edwards on this night. His numbers: 11 tackles, four sacks for 34 yards in losses, two more tackles for losses and one fumble recovery. If he was chewing gum, USM quarterback John Whitcomb knows what flavor. The last time these eyes saw a lineman so dominant was, well, last November when Edwards made 17 tackles, intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble for a touchdown in a 17-7 conquest of Mississippi College.

The MC Choctaws, who couldn't do anything with Edwards, went on to win a national championship. USM coach Curley Hallman lamented USM's offensive mistakes post-game but was quick to add that Edwards caused several on his own. He went so far as to say that USM's sidelined standout Brett Favre might have faced much the same fate as Whitcomb, given 'Edwards. Hallman was right. It's difficult to throw when you are being bear-hugged.

Skelton put it another way: "Tim had them pretty bumfuZzled." See RICK CLEVELAND, 4D i Tom RosterThe Clarion-Ledger Delta State running back Theron Ward. No. 20, is stood straight up on a hard tackle by USM defensive back Derrick Hoskins, No. 29. Back in shape, Dupree wants one more shot Once one of the best, Dupree tries to overcome injury and personal problems.

By Billy Watkins Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer cus, you could play in the NFL if you would just get yourself in Bud had been saying it all along. "So I said I'll give it one last shot. I'm 26 years old, and if I'm ever going to do it, do it now. "I just made up my mind to start working out, and I made a vow to be consistent with it." For the next three months, Dupree worked out as he never had before. "I started out running on the track over here at Northside Park," Dupree said.

"I'd run the straightaways, walk the curves. See MARCUS, 3D High School, nine long years ago. His stomach was flat. His chest, arms and legs bulged at all the right places. Incredibly, only four months earlier, Dupree had weighed 270 pounds.

"Should've seen me," Dupree said, shaking his head. "Hanford Dixon (the former NFL cornerback) invited me down to Hattiesburg to work out with him. That was April 28th. Bud Holmes (Dixon's longtime agent) has a ranch down there, and there's a one-mile road we ran on. "Hanford ran five or six miles.

I couldn't even run an 880. It was sickening. "The next day, Hanford-told me, 'Mar "Too high," Dupree said, shedding his shorts and stepping back on the scales in his underwear. "Hurry up, Dupe," his friend Spuds said. "A couple of girls are coming around the corner." Patiently, Dupree waited for the scales to come to rest.

"Two twenty-five," he said. "Two weeks ago, I weighed 219. A lot of it is water weight. I drunk a lot of fluids yesterday. I'll lose three pounds working out today." Dupree slipped his pants back on and walked toward his mother's house.

He looked fit and powerful, much like he did as a senior running back at Philadelphia PHILADELPHIA Marcus Dupree, wearing only a pair of blue walking shorts and a black New Orleans Saints cap, stepped up on a set of doctors' scales he had placed in the shade of his mother's driveway. The scales' needle circled twice, then vibrated back and forth for a couple of seconds before settling on 226. TV today Saturday sports by the numbers The Best: It's Sunday, football sea Hawaii 13 Kansas 10 UTEP 10 Ohio 3 Kent State 24 jj son. So the best is NFL, right? Nah. That's another week.

So take a break and search for alernatives. The Southern 500 auto race Inside Jennifer Capriati gets another chance to dethrone Steffi Graf when the two meet in the U.S. Open tennis championships Monday, 3D. St. Joseph's Bill Raphael has been known for getting outmanned teams to reach their full potential.

And to win, 7D. Former Mississippi State star Bobby Thigpen of the White Sox tied the major league record for saves with his 46th, 9D. The fishing is fine. All the charter fishing industry on the Mississippi Gulf Coast needs is more customers, 1 2D. American League Red Sox 15 Yankees 1 White Sox 9 Angels 5 Rangers 3 Athletics 2 Blue Jays 8 Indians 0 Tigers 9 Twins 5 Brewers 4 Orioles 3 Mariners 3 Royals 0 NFL preseason Raiders 34 Chargers 7 Giants 28 Browns 10 Steelers 20 Eagles 10 Oilers 27 Cowboys 6 No.

13 Texas 28. No. 15 Virginia 59 No. 16BYU30 No. 18 Pittsburgh 35 No.

25 West Va. 35 BASEBALL National League Mets 6 Reds 8 Phillies 3-3 Braves 4 Expos 6 Astros 2 COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEC Kentucky 20 C. Michigan 17 SWAC Grambling 42 Alcorn 13 Valley 14 C. Arkansas 10 Alabama State 24 Samford 24 Jackson State 31 Delaware St. 7 Texas Southern 28 Hampton 16 Top 25 No.

7 Nebraska 13 Baylor 0 No. 8 Tennessee 55 Pacific 7 No. 10 Clemson 59 L. Beach St. 0 is on ESPN at noon.

U.S. Open tennis is on Channel 12 in Jackson at 11:30 a.m. Either or both are good choices. The rest: Try a little pennant fever. The Reds and the Cubs play at 1:20 on WGN.

Complete listings, 1 1D. Giants 5 Cubs 1 Padres 2-0 3 Dodgers 0 Pirates 1 3 I.