News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 51

Scorecard 2C Outdoors Pro Hockey 3C Pro Football 8C Boating 10C Motorsports 10C NEWS-PRESS SUNDAY. OCTOBER 15, 1989 GOLF HOCKEY HERO LA's Wayne Gretzky returns to Edmonton tonight with a chance to break Gordie Howe's career points record. He needs one to.tie;twotobreakit. I PREPS Bishop Verot's Calvin Thomas leads Yr a 21-0 shutout of x- Ransom Everglades on Saturday9C Adolph Popp takes the lead at the Florida State Seniors Championship with a 4-under-par9C on SPORTS Ik Stewart allows only 5 hits as Oakland wins Game 1 The score World Series page 3C hits. Game 1: A's 5, Giants 0 Today: At Tueaday: At San At San Fran8 28 Thursday: At San Saturday: At Oakland8 28 "What he did tonight solidifies him ByMIKELOPRESTI Gannett News Service Sunday: At Oakland8 28 (Last three only if necessary) people to start recognizing Dave Stewart as one of the premier pitchers." Giants Manager Roger Craig: "We never seem to be able to do anything easy.

We always have to come from behind." A's Manager Tony La Russa: "The first game of a Series gives you a lift, but I'm not all that excited It doesn't end here." The next game Today (at Oak), 8:28 p.m. A's 5, Giants 0. The heroes Oakland pitcher Dave Stewart breezed through a potent Giants lineup, hurling a complete-game, five-hit shutout. The quotes Oakland's Dave Parker: "What he (Stewart) did tonight solidifies him as a great pitcher. It's time for as a great pitcher," teammate Dave Parker said.

"It's time for people to start recognizing Dave Stewart as one of the premier pitchers in all of baseball." Do the Giants have the starting pitching to stay In this? Game 1 suggested they might not. Scott Garrelts was gone after four innings, having given up five runs and seven hits. Rick Reuschel, the only Giants' OAKLAND The Battle of the Bay began Saturday night with a thrashing. And echoing in the aftermath of Oakland's easy 5-0 Game 1 victory against San Francisco were two crucial pre-World Series questions. Can Oakland's fine starters stop the big Giant hitters? Game 1 suggested that they can.

At least Dave Stewart can. He was masterful, mowing down the Giants on five TV coverage Tonight's game can be seen on local ABC affiliates (channels 10, 26, 40; cable channels 7 and 10) at 8. i i mm i i 1 i i his mnnsi 1 A Gators defy distractions Despite a tumultous week, Florida wallops Vandy, 34-1 1 1 re I 1 ByMIKEBIANCHI Gannett News Service GAINESVILLE As walls crumbled, a coach tumbled and administrators mumbled, the Florida Gators went about their 4 I SCOTT KORZENOWSKI Galen Hall just a distant memory GAINESVILLE -If the sporting world were a Dickens' play, football would play the part of Scrooge. Compassion? You'd have a better chance finding some at a punk rock convention than at Florida Field. Feelings? Hired killers have been known to show more than the University of Florida did in Saturday's 34-1 1 victory over Vanderbilt.

Saturday, the Florida Gators entered their game with the Commodores only six days removed from the loss of their coach to an overdose of paranoia. But you never would have known it. Galen Hall? Didn't he host a popular game show once? He might as well have. THERE WASNT A MENTION in the game program of the man who won 40 games in five years. There wasn't a notation in the pregame notes about the man who carried Florida through the tough times of probation.

There wasn't a single banner hanging from the stands about the man who owns the highest winning percentage among Florida coaches since 1924. And before the game in the locker room, there wasn't a single word spoken about the man who is largely responsible for Florida's present-day success. "There was no reason to bring that up," said quarterback Kyle Morris. "We still had to go out and play." And five years previous, when another Gator coach was shown the door for breaking rules the NCAA didn't even know it had, there was reason? Despite the fact he was responsible for the Gators' three years of probation, Charley Pell came back to Florida Field late in 1984 and the players saluted him from the sidelines. Saturday, the Gators couldn't even remember their former coach's name.

"We had to play a game," explained linebacker Jerry Odom, reminding us all once again how football and feelings just don't mix, "so we couldn't put up with any distractions. Distractions, those are the things that scare you in a game like this." Saturday's "game like this" offered an opponent so undermanned the Gators could have won with Norm Sloan coaching them. But after last year's loss to Vandy, when the Gators trudged into Nashville more intent on licking their wounds than their opponent, they took no chances. IN FACT, THE GATORS didn't even stop at the water cooler before getting do wn to work. The score was 1 0-0 only seven minutes into the game and 27-3 by halftime.

No one ever said Scrooge wasn't efficient. "It was on with business," said offensive tackle John Durden, a fifth-year senior who's among the handful of Gators remaining from Hall's first recruiting class. But what about the memories? Just five weeks ago, after the Gators had sunk to new depths by losing at home to Ole Miss, the entire state was ragging on the Gator program. Hall couldn't coach. Morris couldn't throw.

And the players couldn't play. But did Hall get down? Did he join the bandwagon and rag on his players? Did he scream and holler and pull out what little hair he has left? No. He gathered his players, told them they were good, convinced them they could win and reminded them they were his. "He said, 'Guys, I believe in Odom said. Added Durden: "He could have gotten on us, or he could have complimented us.

That he took the side he did, I believe helped us out a lot." ENOUGH, THAT TODAY the Gators are a legitimate SEC contender. Thanks to Galen's patience, thedefensehas developed into one of the nation's best Thanks to Galen's insight, the Gators finally have an offense that best features running back Emmltt Smith. And thanks to Galen's staunchness, Morris has developed into an adequate, if not good, college quarterback. "He's the one person that has stood by me through all the booing and criticism," said Morris, "and he caught a hard time for that I don't know if there's any other coach who would have stuck by me and given me a second chance, but he did, and I'm grateful." Too bad so few others are. Chances are, Haley's Comet will return to Florida Field before Hall does.

An outsider from the beginning, Hall was never appreciated when he was here, and if Saturday's game is any indication, he'll quickly be forgotten now that he's gone. On that, Scrooge offers us the best comment. "Baahh humbug." Scoff Korzenowski is a News-Press Insids Miami quarterback Gino Torretta passes for a school-record 460 yards, as the second-ranked Hurricanes dump San Jose State 41-86C. Raghib 'Rocket' Ismail scores on a 56-yard punt return and a 24-yard reverse as No. 1-ranked Notre Dame subdues previously undefeated Air Force 41-274C.

business Saturday afternoon they humbled. In a week that contained more emotional upsand downs than an episode of General Hospital, the Gators coasted to a stone-faced 34-11 victory over Vanderbilt Saturday in front of 69,121 at Florida Field. Distractions? What distractions? So what if Coach Galen Hall was asked to resign Sunday? So what if an NCAA investigation was officially announced Tuesday? So what if headlines in the lo 4 Colorado 52, Iowa St. 17 Texas 28, Oklahoma 24 Auburn 10, LSU 6 Tex. 17, Houston 13 cal newspaper streamed the possibility of an NCAA death penalty Saturday morning.

The red-hot Gators (5-1, 3-1), winners of five consecutive games, seemed to pay no attention. They focused in on Vanderbilt (1-4, 0-3) and vented a week's worth of frustration. "When you're out on the football field, you don't have reporters haggling with you, and you don't have people See GATORS, page 6C DEDE SMITHNews-Press left, follows the blocking of fullback Cedric Smith (39), on his way to a Florida running back Emmitt Smith (22), 202-yard rushing day. FSU swafls away Va. Tech Michigan holds off Mich.

St. Willis: 308 yards passing in rout 7 As, By DAVE DYE Gannett News Service EAST LANSING, Mich. Michigan State wasted numerous second-half opportunities to allow Michigan to escape with a 10-7 victory Saturday at Spartan Stadium. The Wolverines didn't score in the second half, but Michigan State was its own worst enemy. The Spartans' last hope to complete their late comeback ended when Michigan cornerback Lance Dottin intercepted a pass on the final play.

Michigan (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten) dominated the first half with Its running attack. The Wolverines took a 10-0 halftime lead on a 1-yard run by fullback Leroy Hoard on fourth-and-goal and a 35-yard field goal by J.D. Carlson. The Spartans (2-3, 1-1) finally scored on a 4-yard touchdown See MICHIGAN, page 5C By BILLVILONA Gannett News Service BLACKSBURG, Va. The weather was postcard perfect Saturday in this picturesque setting, and 19th-ranked Florida State matched the occasion.

Any flaw was hard to detect after the Seminoles destroyed Virginia Tech 41-7 before 41,832 sun-baked fans at Lane Stadium. Another road game, another challenge And another blowout Staring at Tech's highly touted defense ranked third nationally in total yardage prevention and pass defense that was yielding 193 yards a game the Seminoles finished with 534 408 passing. That was the most passing yards Tech has allowed in its 96-year history. "We knew they had a good defense, but we weren't scared," said senior quarterback Peter Tom Wil- See WILLIS, page 7C Associated Press Virginia Tech's Vaughn Hebron (4) is tripped up by Florida State's Dedrick Dodge (left) and Terrell Buckley, during the first quarter..