The Kerrville Times from Kerrville, Texas • Page 10

SPORTS Outburst By Broncos Beats Dallas, 29-14 Sforruttb MONDAY OCTOBER 6, 1986 PAGE 10 DENVER (AP) In a span of 3:23 of the second quarter it was, for all intents and purposes, over. A 16-point Denver Bronco outburst, keyed by the offensive heroics of John Elway and Gerald Wil- Ihite and a defensive gem from end Rulon Jones, got the Broncos started toward a 29-14 NFL victory Sunday over the Dallas Cowboys. Some, however, would say the outcome ceased to be in doubt last week when Dallas quarterback Danny White went down with a practice-field injury, joining tailback Tony Dorsett on the sidelines. As defensive tackle Randy White limped off the field in the first quarter with a hamstring pull, so did the Cowboys' realistic hopes of knocking the Broncos from the ranks of the unbeaten. The Cowboys, who had tied an NFL record by scoring at least 30 points in their previous four games, must have known things were going to be different on this bright afternoon before a record Mile High Stadium crowd of 76,082.

In 17 drives inside the opponents' 20-yard line this season, the Cowboys had scored each time. On their first scoring threat against Denver, Dallas reached the Bronco 4-yard line, but quarterback Steve Pelluer was intercepted by cornerback Louis Wright, who returned the theft 56 yards to the Dallas 43. Several minutes later, Willhite caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Elway for the game's first score with 9:38 left in the second quarter. Less than a minute later, Pelluer dropped back to pass in his own end zone and was sacked by Jones. It was the third safety-causing tackle of Jones' career, one short of the NFL record.

Gaining possession on the subsequent free kick, the Broncos went 58 yards in five plays, highlighted by Elway's on-the-run, on-the-money 50-yard heave to rookie Mark Jackson. Willhite dived over from one yard out for the TD with 6:15 left. The Broncos made it a 22-point quarter with an 30-yard drive in the closing minutes of the half, Elway passing 15 yards to Willhite. DaUas found some life in the third period, as Pelluer passed 30 yards to Timmy Newsome to help set up Herschel Walker's 3-yard scoring run. But the Broncos countered with an 80-yard drive that consumed seven minutes, with Elway passing 12 yards to Gene Lang for a 29-7 advantage.

Pelluer threw four yards to Newsome for a consolation Cowboy TD with 5:12 remaining. Pelluer completed 24 of 44 passes for 271 yards, but was intercepted three times and sacked.five times. More damaging was the inability of the Cowboys to run against the NFL's top rushing defense. Dallas managed just 41 yards on the ground on 21 carries, with Walker limited to 33 yards on 15 carries. "Our defense did a super job shutting down the running game," said Denver Coach Dan Reeves.

"We felt if we could stop Herschel in the backfield before he got up his head of steam, we could control the running game. That was a key." Reeves, a player and assistant coach for 16 years in Dallas, called the victory over his mentor, Tom Landry, "extra special." However, he also said he sympathized with Landry. "He did not come in at full strength, and I'm sure they would have done better with a complete team." Elway said the Broncos intentionally disregarded Dallas' injury problems. "You never think about that," he said. "You have to prepare for the team that you're playing as if they are at full strength.

We have to play hard and concentrate on our own play, and that's one of the reasons for our success." Landry described his team's play as "dull." "When you ose a player of Randy White's caliber, it's bound to hurt your defense," he said. "We played Mark Tuinei the rest of the way and he did a credible job, but he's no Randy White. Few people are. Lions Lick Oilers, 24-13 Houston Loses Despite Big Game By Moon PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) Houston quarterback Warren Moon had just completed the best passing performance of his NFL career, but he was not in a celebrating mood following the Oilers' 24-13 loss to Detroit in the Silverdome.

"There is no sweetness in a loss, no matter what you do as an individual," Moon said following Sunday's defeat. "You have to win to be happy with stats." Moon bombed the Lions' secondary for an NFL career- high 398 yards, including an 81- yard touchdown strike to Drew Hill. The former Canadian Football League MVP completed 21 of 38 passes. The Lions, meanwhile, were feeling fortunate to have survived the air attack. "We probably gave up 900 yards, but they were really something as far as offense goes," said Detroit Coach Darryl Rogers, whose team broke a three-game losing skid with the victory.

"I think Moon is an excellent quarterback, I always have," Rogers said. "He has a quick release and strong arm." Oilers Coach Jerry Glanville was less enamored by Moon's aerial display. "Yardage doesn't mean any- thig if you don't get points," Glanville said after his team's fourth straight loss. "We didn't WARREN MOON Good Enough do it when we got down close (to the end zone). "A lot of people played harder.

Unfortunately, if you don't win, it doesn't matter." It was Moon's eighth NFL game with more than 300 passing yards. He once had a 555- yard game for the CFL Edmonton Eskimos in 1983. Wide receivers Ernest Givins, Willie Drewrey and Hill accounted for most of the total. Givins finished with five catches for 155 yards, Hill two for 93 and Drewrey two for 53. "We have not seen the quickness of receivers like we saw today," said Rogers.

"Their outside receivers Hill, Drewrey and Givens were extremely quick." Detroit defensive coordinator Wayne Fontes also was amazed at the ability of Moon and his three wideouts. "That quarterback has a great arm," said Fontes. "We blitzed him and he threw a couple of passes sidearm. (The receivers) were beating our people. We had a zone in and they just ran by it." The Moon-Hill TD hookup in the first quarter was Moon's longest NFL scoring pass and Hill's longest reception.

Detroit had just taken a 14-3 lead when Hill got a step ahead of Lions cornerback Bruce McNorton, caught the pass at the Detroit 42 and coasted for the score. "That was a good play (by Hill)," said McNorton. "I was running with him and I didn't see him catch the ball. When I saw he had it, I tried to get it from him and I fell. I take full responsibility." Givins victimized McNorton for a 60-yard catch on the Oil- ers' second series of the second half.

"I was back-peddling out and I saw (Moon) throw the ball, but it didn't seem like it was going to be as far as it was," McNorton said. "All of the sudden, I looked up and there was the ball over my head." NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE ROUNDUP Speedy Receivers Ignite San Francisco, Chicago Dll I t) A DMA A i By BILL BARNARD AP Sports Writer Keith Ortego and Jerry Rice don't settle for small potatoes when it comes to catching passes. The second-year NFL wide receivers, Ortego for Chicago and Rice for San Francisco, took turns embarrassing the opposition with long pass plays Sunday, catching six passes each. "He had the adrenaline going," Bears quarterback Jim McMahon said after teaming with Ortego for 157 yards and one touchdown in a 23-0 victory over Minnesota. "I knew he was fast, but not that fast." "We've always wanted a big- play receiver and we certainly have him, and we have to take full advantage of him," 49ers Coach Bill Walsh said of Rice after he combined with Jeff Kemp for 172 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-21 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

Ortego caught a 49-yard pass to set up a two-yard touchdown by Walter Payton in the second quarter, putting Chicago ahead 7-0. McMahon also hit Ortego for a 58-yard bomb in the fourth quarter. Rice caught scoring passes of 45, 58 and 16 yards from Kemp. The former Mississippi Valley State star now has six touchdowns this season, four of them for 45 or more yards. In other games Sunday, it was Cincinnati 34, Green Bay 28; Cleveland 27, Pittsburgh 24; Detroit 24, Houston 13; Los Angeles Raiders 24, Kansas City 17; New England 34, Miami Philadelphia 16, Atlanta New York Giants 13, St.

Louis Washington 14, New Orleans Los Angeles Rams 26, Tampa Bay 20; Denver 29, Dallas 14; and New York Jets 14, Buffalo 13. In tonight's game, San Diego is at Seattle. Eagles 16, Falcons 0 Philadelphia held Atlanta to 228 yards, 195 under their league-leading average, to hand the Falcons their First loss. The Eagles stopped the Falcons from scoring when they went inside the 10 on their first two possessions, snapping a streak of 16 consecutive times that Atlanta had scored when it got inside the 20. Philadelphia's offense struggled early, but Junior Tautalata- si and Ron Johnson turned short passes into long gains that set up a touchdown and field goal late in the first half.

Ron Jaworski's eight-yard pass to Mike Quick accounted for the only touchdown of the game. Paul McFadden kicked three field goals for the Eagles. Raiders 24, Chiefs 17 Los Angeles started a rally from a 17-0 deficit with a touchdown pass from Marc Wilson to Dokie Williams that the replay official tried to disallow. Jack Reader, the official in the video replay booth, ruled that Williams was out of bounds on a 12-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. But umpire Jim Keck misunderstood Reader and mistakenly let the play stand.

After Williams' controversial catch, Napolean McCallum scored his first NFL touchdown on a 12-yard run and Jim Plunkett, off the bench when Wilson suffered a hand injury, put the Raiders on top with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jesse Hester. JETS' KEN O'BRIEN TDPass Patriots Dolphins 7 Tony Eason threw two touchdown passes before suffering a rib injury and New England scored on five of its first six pos- sesssions as Miami fell to 1-4 for the first time since Don Shula became coach in 1970. Eason, who completed 12 of 16 passes, threw touchdown passes of two yards to Willie Scott and 38 yards to Irving Fryar in the first half. Eason left the game in the final minute of the first half and may not play next Sunday against the New York Jets. Dan Marino was intercepted three times before his four-yard pass to Lorenzo Hampton in the fourth quarter let Miami avoid its first shutout since 1982.

Redskins 14, Saints 6 George Rogers pounded his former New Orleans teammates for 110 yards on 31 carries, including a touchdown, giving him seven for the season. Jay Schroeder hit Art Monk with a two-yard scoring pass in the second quarter for Washington's other touchdown. New Orleans' scores came on two field goals by Morten Andersen. Broncos 29, Cowboys 14 Denver also stayed unbeaten with the help of a swarming defense, the passing of John Elway and the all-around play of Gerald Willhite against Dallas. Willhite scored three touchdowns in the second quarter, running one yard and catching two of Elway's three touchdown passes for nine and 15 yards.

Gene Lang caught the other scoring pass, from 12 yards in the fourth quarter. The Broncos held Herschel Walker to 33 yards in 15 carries while Cowboys quarterback Danny White and Tony Dorsett sat out the game with injuries. Jets 14, Bills 13 Mickey Shuler's 36-yard touchdown reception from Ken O'Brien with 57 seconds remaining lifted New York over luckless Buffalo. The Bills, whose only touchdown was a 40-yard pass from Jim Kelly to Greg Bell, has led in the fourth quarter in all five of its games and has been outscored by a total of 11 points in its four losses. The Jets, trailing 13-7, went 80 yards in five plays for the winning score.

O'Brien's third-and-1 pass found Shuler behind strong safety Martin Bayless. Rams 26, Bucaneers 20 Eric Dickerson ran 42 yards for his second touchdown of the game 2:16 into overtime, lifting Los Angeles over Tampa Bay. Dickerson, the NFL's leading rusher this season, ran for more than 200 yards for the fourth time in his career, finishing with 207 yards on 30 carries. He also scored on a 40-yard run in the first quarter. Tampa Bay, which lost its second overtime game in a row, had forced the overtime when Donald Igwebuike kicked a 37- yard field goal as time expired in regulation.

Giants 13, Cardinals 6 New York improved its record to 4-1 despite a listless performance against winless St. Louis. The Giants netted only 144 yards in total offense, while Pro Bowl quarterback Phil Simms managed only eight completions and 104 yards in 24 passes. In their 55-yard drive to the game's only touchdown in the third quarter, 31 of the yards came on a pass interference penalty against St. Louis cornerback Lionel Washington.

Joe Morris finished the drive with a one-yard scoring run. Phil McConkey's 20-yard punt return set up the first of two field goals by Raul Allegre in the second quarter as the Giants overcame a 3-0 deficit. Browns 27, Steelers 24 Cleveland won in Pittsburgh for the first time since 1969 and for the first time ever at Three Rivers Stadium. Ernest Byner ran four yards for the deciding touchdown following a fourth-period fumble by the Steelers. Gerald McNeil scored on a 100-j yard kickoff return as the Browns withstood fumbles that led to Steelers' scores.

Bernie Kosar threw a 16-yard scoring pass to rookie Webster Slaughter. Lions 24, Oilers 13 Detroit won easily despite being outgained 454-234 against Houston. Oilers quarterback Warren Moon connected on 21 of 38 pass attempts for a career-high 398 yards, including five for 155 yards to wide receiver Ernest Givins and an 81-yard touchdown bomb to Drew HiU. But Moon was intercepted three times. The Lions scored all three of their touchdowns in the second quarter as James Jones scored on two one-yard dives and Eric Hippie teamed with Herman Hunter for an 18-yard scoring pass play.

Bengals 34, Packers 28 Boomer Esiason threw three touchdown passes and James Brooks ran for two touchdowns in a 27-point second quarter as Cincinnati handed Green Bay its fifth straight loss. Esiason completed scoring throws of 13, seven and 15 yards. The first two of those touchdown passes were to Cris Collinsworth. Brooks, who rushed for 94 yards on 20 carries, scored on touchdown runs of nine and eight yards in the second quarter. Astros Wind Up With Record 96 Wins Brilliant Pitching By Knepper Brings 4-1 Win Over Atlanta HOUSTON (AP) Houston's Bob Knepper couldn't have picked a better time to throw five perfect innings.

After struggling in recent weeks, Knepper set down 15 Atlanta batters in a row Sunday and the Astros defeated the Braves 4-1, wrapping up their most successful regular season in history with 96 victories. Knepper's performance continued a pattern of pitching success over the past 12 games that will carry the Astros into the National League playoffs Wednesday against the New York Mets. "It was important for the club to see me pitch well," said Knepper, 17-12. "Everything felt good today. My rhythm is getting better." Over the past 12 games, the Astros pitching staff has recorded six shut outs, allowed 61 hits, 17 runs, 32 walks and struck out 106 batters.

Included in the string was Mike Scott's no- hitter against San Francisco to clinch the NL Western Division title. Knepper is scheduled to start Saturday's third game of the playoffs in New York. "Knepper had great rhytlun and control Astros Manager Hal Lanier said. "He should be encourged. He is one of the main reasons that this team won the division despite a few rough outings recently.

"Knepper had great rhythm and control today. He should be encouraged. He is one of the main reasons that this team won the division despite a few rough outings recently. I never lost confidence in him. He would have started game three regardless of the outcome today." Astro Manager Hal Lanier "I never lost confidence in him.

He would have started game three regardless of the outcome today." Lanier removed Knepper after five innings, although the veteran had retired 15 batters in a row. "I expected to come out regardless of what happened," Knepper said. "That was the game plan." The Astros scored four runs in the first three innings off Rick Mahler, 14-18. Consecutive singles by Glenn Davis and Kevin Bass and a double by Jose Cruz, accounted for two runs in the third inning and Craig Reynolds' single then scored Cruz. In the fourth, Bass delivered his second of three singles to score Davis with the final Astros run.

The Astros won their last five regular sea- son games and won 15 of their last 19. The Braves finished last in the Western Division with a 72-89 record under first year Manager Chuck Tanner. "I like the Astros (in the playoffs) becasue they are a great club in the Astrodome and they have th home field advantage," Tanner said. "Both pitching staffs are outstanding. "But a major key to success could be what happens when runners get on base.

Can they steal a base or take the extra base on a hit to the outfield? "The pitchers who can hold runners on base will definitely help themselves in this series." Braves pinchhitter Chris Chambliss said "The Astros seem to have more momentum going into the playoffs and if pitching dominates like I think it will, I give the edge to the Astros." Astros third baseman Phil Garner says the Mets' hype won't bother the Astros. "We're ready to play," Garner said. "So what if we haven't gotten the publicity they have? When you walk out between the white lines that's where it counts." Lanier doesn't expect any slugfests. "I look for low scoring games," Lanier said. "The first game is a classic pitching matchup with Scott and (Dwight) Gooden." Orioles Hire Ripken BALTIMORE (AP) Cal Ripken bypassed for the job twice previously, was to be named manager of the Baltimore Orioles today, The Associated Press lias learned.

The American League club called a 10 a.m. news conference apparently to name a replacement for Earl Weaver, who retired Sunday for the: second time in four Weaver had announced his de-i cision to step down last month, The Orioles scheduled the news conference after the house had been cleared follow-: jing Sunday's final game, a 6-3 jlpss to Detroit, saying only that a major announcement will be 'made. Ripken, reached later at his home Aberdeen, declined to comment directly, but added: I have an invitation to attend a pre confere nce in Baltimore on Monday." Ripken, who like Weaver never played in the major leagues, is a veteran of 30 years in the Baltimore organization. He managed for more than 13 seasons, the last time in 1974. Pirate Boosters Meet Tuesday Center Point athletic boosters will meet on Tuesday night at the high school library.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss Center Point's home- coining game this Friday night against Nueces Canyon Aggie Alumni Meet Tuesday The Texas alumni will meet on Tuesday to watch a film of the Aggie victory over Texas Tech. The film will be shown at 12 noon and 7 p.m. at Mr. Gatti's..