Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan • Page 25

Lansing State Journal Sunday, November 4, 1 984 mm. Scoreboard 3C Pro Football 7C Timeout 8C Tii 1 Spartan cagsrs hold intra-squ'ad scrimmage Page 2Cv SECTION- Sports Editor, Ed Senyczko Ph. 377-1071 1 IIIIILIIIIIIll I II ll. I. Hi Staff photo by GREG OaRUITER Michigan State's Kelly Quinn (93) and Jim Hinella (57) sack Northwestern quarterback Mike Greenfield during the Spartans' 27-10 win Saturday.

WM 7 Jm Jack Ebling Spartans savor win for future Saturdays 1 cold it was this week, I was a little scared about my performance. But I just kept working hard and hoping Coach Perles would keep giving me the ball. Last week against Minnesota helped. I told myself to forget about all the fumbles and be more relaxed. The first touchdown felt great.

I wanted to keep the ball." He hugged the ball all day, after replacing starter Carl Butler on MSU's second series. White's rushing output, coming mostly on cutbacks behind fullback Keith Gates, was the best by any freshman in Spartan history, the best by any MSU back since 1980 and the school's 15th-best effort of modern time. "WE COMMUNICATE a lot in practice on the blocks, and Lorenzo really has it down now," said Gates, who also caught a 5-yard TD pass from quarterback Dave Yarema. "It's just like blocking for Carl. He keys the fullback's block and cuts either way.

But he created most of the yardage himself He created 143 of those yards in the second half, after MSU had been outplayed throughout a comically-inept first two periods. But Yarema's See SPARTANS, Page 2C By JACK EBUNG Staff Writer Michigan State played up a storm in a sunny second half Saturday. It whipped Northwestern with Kelly Quinn's quarterback-crunching thunder and several cracks of Lorenzo White's broken-field lightning. Behind the pair's big plays, MSU turned up the voltage and surged to a 27-10 Big Ten victory over the Wildcats before a Spartan Stadium crowd of 63,619. "I'VE BEEN practicing Toss 38' and 'Toss 39' all year, just trying to do it the best in the country," said tailback White, who rushed 26 times for 170 yards and two touchdowns a 14-yard blast off left tackle and a 1-yard vault.

"I've been waiting a long time for this." So have Spartan fans, who've, watched White's occasional bursts and inopportune bobbles through a 5-4 season that finds MSU and Michigan tied for fourth at 4-3 in the conferences "I had a couple of bad points, like the fumble at the end against Notre Dame," said the freshman from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "When I saw how The pressure was off, and the press was gathered for Michigan State Coach Qeorge Perles' weekly post-game pearls. But his first wet-eyed words weren't meant for them. They were pitches to the dozen or so prize prep prospects gathered in the back of the room. "You win with players, and we'll go to the Rose Bowl when guys like this all decide they'll come to MSU.

We need them!" he said, motioning toward this week's crew of recruits. "WE'RE NOT where we want to be, but we've got something going. You'll never understand how bad I want to turn this around for a lot of people." Perles' players only climbed to 4-3 in the Big Ten and 5-4 overall with Saturday's 27-10 victory over Northwestern. But that "something going" is the school's best ninth-week standing since 1978 and the same November record as Michigan for only the second time in 17 seasons. Maybe that's why he seemed so excited about chances for: 1) MSU's first winning season in six years with a split against Iowa and Wisconsin in the final two games, 2) a probable first bowl appearance since 1966 if he can coax out another pair of victories, and 3) a recruiting harvest that ranks with the best in Spartan history.

"We're ready for some embarrass-, ment in the years to come, but not right now," he said about the impor- tance of the latest victory. "Any upset loss here would really hurt what See PERLES, Page 2C As i-y iL- Staff photo by GREG OaRUITER Lorenzo White rambled for 170 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns against the Wildcats. short scoring passes to Paul Jokisch, Triando Markray, Catholic Central, Ithaca playoff-bound! Two mid-Michigan high school football teams will Idin 30 others in next weekend's state playoffs, Lansing Catholic Central and Ithaca earned Class qualifying berths with regular-season ending victories this weekend. Catholic CentraL 8-1-0 beat Haslett Saturday afternoon, 22-0, to grab the top spot in Region I of the computer poll while Ithaca, 9-0-0, slipped into the No. 2 spot ahead of Perry in Region 3 to qualify for a trip to Grand Rapids Friday to face host South Christian at Houseman Field.

South Christian wound up the.year as the leader in Region 3. (See Page 4C for details on Catholic Central's victory.) Ithaca beat Fulton, 37-8, Friday night. Catholic Central is scheduled to play its opening-round game of the playoff at Marshall High next Friday at 7:30 p.m. against the winner of the Manches r-Unlon City clash late Saturday night. "We're elated to be in the playoff," said Ithaca Coach Jim-Ahem, a leading figure behind the state coaches' association drive to convince the Michigan High School Athletic Association to expand the number of qualifying teams to 64 for the 1985 season.

"We've had a great season and the kids have earned the right to get into the playoff. We're excited about that." Under the present playoff format, only the top two teams in the state's four regions of Classes and qualify, leaving some unbeaten teams out of the playoffs because of weak schedules or not enough bonus points. 1 The State Journal will have a complete wrap up of the playoff pairings Monday. By STEVE HERMAN AP Sports Writer WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. Coach Leon Burt-nett called Purdue's first-half offense "phenomenal," but it was Michigan's furious fourth-quarter rally that turned a seemingly safe 24-point lead into a narrow 31-29 Big Ten Conference victory for the Boilermakers on Saturday.

"In the first half, we did a super job on offense. That was the greatest game I've ever seen a quarterback play," Burtnett said of Purdue's Jim Everett, who hit 23-of-32 passes for 290 yards and two touchdowns. BUT MICHIGAN, trailing 24-7 going into the fourth quarter, got 206 yards and 22 points in the final seven minutes of the game to make it close. "That doesn't worry me. I'm not going to let it worry me," Burtnett said of the apparent Purdue letdown.

"We beat Michigan, and I'll take that. But tomorrow our defensive kids are going to hear about it." The victory marked the first time Purdue has beaten Michigan, Ohio, State and Notre Dame in the same season. Only Michigan State had done that previously. "This meant so, so, so much to this team," said Burtnett. "We played well for three quarters; we just didn't play well in the fourth quarter." Michigan Coach Bo Schembechler said, "When a team gets down as far as we did, it's very difficult to come back.

I can't believe the team I saw play the first half was Michigan." IT WAS Purdue's first victory over Michigan in five years and kept the Boilermakers in second place in the conference race. Michigan, which entered the game with the top scoring defense in the Big Ten, had allowed only one passing touchdown in 25 quarters and only four all season. But Everett broke that string on Purdue's first possession, and the Boilermakers dominated the game until the final period, when the Wolverines scored three times in the final four minutes. Sophomore quarterback Chris Zurbrugg accounted for all of Michigan's touchdowns with vince Bean ana aim rseison. The late Michigan rally was a reversal of the first half, inwhich Purdue, now 5-2 in the Big Ten and 6-3 for all games, scored on each of its possessions.

The Boilermakers built a 24-0 lead and held Michigan to a net 32 yards offense in the first two periods. Michigan's first scoring drive came on its first possession of the second half, with Jokisch making a diving catch for a 15-yard touchdown reception. THE WOLVERINES threatened early in the fourth quarter, but Rod Woodson intercepted a pass by Zurbrugg at the Purdue 2. The Boilermakers then countered with an 87-yard drive capped by Rodney Carter's 16-yard touchdown run. But Zurbrugg then hit Markray on a 13-yard touchdown pass and the Wolverines recovered an onside kick.

Bean scored on a 15-yarder with 3:26 left, and Nelson scored on a fr-yarder with three seconds to go. Zurbrugg finished with 259 passing yards, 202 of those in the fourth quarter. at Ferris ice rs nip SciTios 4-3 in soccir crown with win BIG RAPIDS Sophomore right wing Paul Lowden scored his fourth goal of the season just 49 seconds into overtime here Saturday night as the Ferris State hockey team edged Michigan State, 4-3, in Central Collegiate Hockey Association action. The loss was MSU's second of the season against six wins, but the No. 3-ranked Spartans remained in first place in the CCHA with the setback.

Ferris improved to 3-3 and 4-4. Lowden's game-winning goal, said MSU assistant coach George Gwozdecky, came as the result of a broken play in the Spartan zone. "WE WERE anticipating icing on the play when Ferris shot the puck from their own blueline, and we sort of relaxed on the play," said Gwozdecky. "But one of the officials waved the icing off, the puck went into the corner, and it came right out in front after Bobby (MSU sophomore goalie Essensa) made the first save. He (Lowden) was right there to put it under Bob's stick." Ferris, which dropped an 8-2 decision to the Spartans See SPARTANS, Page 3C Bath harriers land girls' 'C state title BIG RAPIDS The Bath High girls' cross country team ran away with the Class state title here Saturday, while the Bees' Ingham County League compatriot, By WILL KOWALSKI Journal Correspondent FLINT From club sport to state champion in just four years.

"I should be Irish, I'm so lucky," joked an elated Okemos High soccer Coach John Picone Saturday afternoon after his Chieftains beat Hudsonville-Unity Christian, 6-3, in overtime at Flint Atwood Stadium to win the 1984 Class B-C state soccer title. Good fortune came to Picone's Chieftains Saturday in the form of senior Aaron Smith. The 5-foot-9, 145-pound forward set a Michigan High School Athletic Association state title-game record by scoring four goals, the second coming with but 5 minutes, 27 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime. SMITH, WHO also netted the Chieftains' initial goal of the game midway through the first half, went on to score Okemos' first two goals of the 20-minute extra session to clinch the Chieftains' triumph. Junior forward Dave Hart, assisted by Smith, and senior Curt Wallin also scored for Okemos, which finished its season with a record of 20-1-2.

Hudsonville (16-5), which fought back from a 2-0 first-half deficit, got two goals from junior forward Mike Bouma and one from senior Don DeVries. "We got those two quick goals, but then we had a let-down of sorts and we weren't playing our game. We began to play their game," said Smith, who along with brother and junior center halfback, Kirk, transfered to Okemos from Waverly High this season. 14 i -4 4 v. Photo by TOM LANG Perry, placed rourtn.

Bath was led by Alicia Witchell's eighth-place finish in 20:14, while teammate Laurie Wentzel placed 10th. Other finishers for Bath were LeAnn House (16th), Debbi Nichols (17th) and Christina Abendroth (18th). See BATH, Page 4C Okemos High's Aaron Smith heads in the game-tying goal in regulation past Joel Wonder of Hudsonville-Unity Christian during Saturday's Class B-C state soccer title game. Smith scored See OKEMOS, Page 4C three other goals in the Chieftains 6-3 overtime win..