The Town Talk from Alexandria, Louisiana • Page 13

COLLEG AUxaafcria Baila Zmn Sal Sunday, October 13, 1996 B-5 196 Late Cards' score tops Tulane n't" VM 1 yv. h- i i "IN, -r alive its hopes for a bowl bid. Tulane fell to 2-3 and 1-2, losing in front of a homecoming crowd of 17,561. Tulane tied the game at 20 on Brad Palazzo's 37-yard boot with 6:21 remaining. Each team traded punts to give the Cardinals the final possession, starting at their own 20 after Brad Hill's punt bounced at the 1 and couldn't be downed.

Redman was four of six on the Cardinals final drive for 61 yards. He finished 17 of 28 for 224 yards and one touchdown. Counting last night, in Louisville's last three games, Redman has passed for 949 yards and five touchdowns and just two interceptions. Payne was a respectable four of six for 51 yards. Akers, who came into the game l-for-7 on the year, gave Louisville a 6-0 lead early on field goals of 32 and 39 yards, but the Wave responded with 17 of the game's next 24 points for a 17-13 lead with 5:22 left in the third quarter.

Shaun King scored on a 2-yard bootleg 22 seconds before half-time to give Tulane a 10-6 half-time lead. After Redman hit Miguel Montano for a 26-yard score, the Wave responded by marching 80 yards in 10 plays with Jerald Sowell blasting his way into the end zone from 22 yards out. King finished 15 of 30 for 198 yards passing while Sowell rushed 14 times for 60 yards. Sowell also caught five passes for a career-high 80 yards. The Wave Florida State coach Bobby Bowden Tough times No.

2 Buckeyes struggle 'J Associated Press No. 1 Florida and No. 3 Florida State had it easy on Saturday. The same can't be said for No. 2 Ohio State and No.

4 Arizona State. The Gators (6-0), led by Danny Wuerffel's three TD passes and a running game that produced 308 yards, breezed to a 56-13 victory over No. 12 LSU. The Seminoles (5-0), with Warrick Dunn rushing for 163 yards, had little trouble beating No. 6 Miami 34-16.

The Buckeyes (5-0) sweated it out before Joe Germaine's 48-yard touchdown pass to Dimitirous Stanley with 8:51 left gave Ohio State a 17-14 win over Wisconsin. And the No. 4 Sun Devils (6-0) rallied from a 28-7 deficit at the Rose Bowl to beat UCLA 42-34. No. 5 Nebraska just keeps rolling along, this time beating Baylor 49-0 and looking like a national title contender again.

"I think we've got a good football team," Huskers coach Tom Osborne said after his team totaled 669 yards. "I think we're playing well." The same can't be said for Ohio State and Arizona State, which nearly saw their national title hopes end in upsets. The wins preserved the possibility the teams could meet in the Rose Bowl with unbeaten records. At Columbus, Ohio, after Stanley turned Germaine's short hook pass his only completion of the game into a 48-yard TD, the Buckeyes held off the Badgers (3-2) with two interceptions. Early in the fourth quarter, Kevin Huntley's 36-yard fumble return for a TD had given Tennessee's Joey Kent (11) slips past Georgia defender Kirby Smart (16) Saturday night.

Volunteers down Georgia; Alabama slips by NC State played the game without leading rusher Jamaican Dartez due to turf toe. Tailback Donnell Gordon gave the Cards a 20-17 lead with 11:47 left by sneaking into the right corner of the end zone from 2 yards. Gordon, a transfer from Kentucky, literally carried the load for Louisville, finishing with a career-high 30 carries for 68 yards. In the first half alone, Gordon ran 19 times. Tulane then stole that page from the Louisville playbook, using Adam Moorhead six straight times on a 13-play drive to work itself into Palazzo field goal range.

Moorhead picked up all but one of his 38 yards on the night in the drive, which Palazzo capped with his 37-yard kick to tie the score at 20-20. IS Associated Press Town Talk graphic bers were career highs. S. Carolina 25, Kentucky 14 at Lexington, senior Duce Staley rushed for a career-high 193 yards, including 58 on a touchdown with 8:17 left as South Carolina snapped a three-game losing streak with a 25-14 victory Saturday night over Kentucky. Staley, who also had a 1-yard TD run in the third quarter, has rushed for more than 100 yards in five games this season while gaining 862.

South Carolina (3-3, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) put the game away when Anthony Wright completed a 27-yard scoring pass over the middle to Corey Bridges with 3:16 to go for the final score. Kentucky (1-5, 0-3), suffering its third consecutive loss, led 14-3 at the half and appeared in control until Staley went to work in the second half by rushing for 125 yards on 16 carries. He had 16 rushes for 68 in the first half. Vanderbilt 19, North Texas 7 at Denton, Texas, Damian Allen threw for a career-high 251 yards and Brett Speakman kicked two 43-yard field goals as Vanderbilt defeated North Texas 19-7 Saturday for its first victory of the season. The Commodores (1-4) snapped a six-game losing streak by winning for the first time since Nov.

11, 1995. The Eagles (2-4) dropped to 4-13 since Joining Division I-A last season. Both teams were very sloppy in the first half, but Vanderbilt overcame its woes to lead 10-0 at halftime behind a 5-yard touchdown run by Jason Dunnavant and Speakman's first 43-yarder, a low line drive into the wind. By John Marcase Staff reporter NEW ORLEANS Louisville coach Ron Cooper may have started senior Jason Payne at quarterback, but with the game on the line, Cooper turned to freshman redshirt Chris Redman. The 1994 Parade High School Player of the Year marched the Cardinals 57 yards in the closing 2:36, setting up David Akers' 39-yard field goal on the game's final play to give Louisville a hard-fought 23-20 Conference USA victory over Tulane Saturday night at the Superdome.

Louisville, one of the preseason favorites to win the conference crown, improves to 3-3 overall and 1-1, in C-USA, keeping -w- 0 St 61 paces USL win By Glenn Quebedeaux Town Talk correspondent LAFAYETTE Darren Brister picked the perfect time for his coming out party. Southwestern Louisiana's freshman running back, who had gained only 127 yards in limited action in his first five collegiate games, exploded for a record-breaking 204 yards and three touchdowns Saturday, to help the Ragin' Cajuns turn back Arkansas State, 42-31, in USL's 1995 Homecoming game. "I've been talking about him all year," said USL coach Nelson Stokley of his 5-9 12, 176-pound running back from Independence, La. "Because of who we've played, he hadn't gotten that many opportunities to really show what he could do, but I saw it in practice. "I think he's really something special and, hopefully, he can continue do do some of things he did tonight." Brister's final touchdown, a 6-yard run with 4:27 to play, sealed the victory for the Cajuns, who had been clinging to a precarious four-point lead (35-31) after having to rally from a 31-28 deficit.

His performance was the best ever by a USL true freshman, topping the previous mark of 191 yards in 1986 by now Washington Redskin Brian Mitchell. "I didn't think I'd have this kind of game, but I always go out playing for a big game," said Brister, who carried 33 times as the Cajuns rushed for a season-high 293 yards. "The first time I scored, I felt I was into the game and the more I touched the ball, the more confidence I got." Brister's first touchdown, like his second and third, covered six yards. It enabled the Cajuns (3-3) to take an early 14-0 lead. But Arkansas State (2-4) rallied back to tie the game on a 1-yard run by Corey Walker and a 21-yard pass from Brent Pettus to Sean Cockrell.

The Cajuns regained their 14-point lead on a pair of Jake Delhomme touchdown passes to Kenyon Cotton (3 yards) and Brandon Stokley (42 yards) for a 28-14 halftime lead. But ASU answered with 17 unanswered points in the third quarter to go ahead 31-28 and silence USL's Homecoming crowd of 25,246. Walker, who rushed for 85 yards on the night, started the Indians' blitz with a 28-yard run. Jeff Caldwell followed with a 33-yard field goal and Chappell Mitchell put ASU ahead when he returned a Delhomme interception 95 yards for a touchdown. USL finally went back on top with 1:06 to play In the third quarter on Delhomme's second touchdown pass of the night to Brandon Stokley.

The 12-yarder came on the heels of Mitchell's interception return. Twelve minutes later, the Cajuns sealed things on Brister's final touchdown run. Although Stokley was pleased with Brister's effort, he was not pleased with his team's overall play. "We've got to get it together and play much, much better," he said. "We were real fortunate to win tonight.

"If we hadn't scored right after that interception return I would like to think that we would have still won if we hadn't, but probably not." Offensively, the Cajuns were impressive, accounting for 585 total yards. In addition to Brister, Delhomme passed for 292 yards and three touchdowns and Brandon Stokley had seven catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns. HOW THEY FARED Associated Press hugs Wayne Messam (89). Top 25 Wisconsin a 14-10 lead. "I told the team, I'm proud of the way they battled back," Buckeyes coach John Cooper said.

"A lot of.teams would have found a way to lose that game. The mark of a good football team is not playing your best football game and still coming out with a At Pasadena. Jake Plummer threw a 23-yard TD pass with 7:24 left to cut the Bruins' lead to 34-28, then caught a go-ahead 16-yard TD pass from running back J.R. Redmond 51 seconds later. Plummer added a 1-yard TD sneak with 1:18 left after the Sun Devils recovered a fumble by UCLA freshman Durell Price at the ASU 30.

Plummer was 19-of-36 for 275 yards and three TDs. UCLA's Cade McNown was 22-of-41 for a career-high 395 yards and three TDs. "This team is focused," Plummer said. "We are talking about winning them all and being No. 1.

We want to play the best teams and get victories." In other Top 25 games, it was: No. 7 Tennessee 29, Georgia 17; No. 8 Alabama 24, North Carolina State 19; No. 10 Penn State 31, Purdue 14; No. 11 Notre Dame 54, No.

16 Washington 20; No. 13 North Carolina 38, Maryland No. 15 Northwestern 26, Minnesota 24; No. 18 Auburn 49, Mississippi State 15; No. 19 Brigham Young 63, UNLV 28; No.

22 Kansas State 35, Missouri 10; No. 24 Wyoming 42, Western Michigan 28; and Oklahoma 30, State ahead score. Rob Baldwin kicked a 30-yard field goal late in the first quarter to get the Cowboys (2-4, 0-1) on the board first, then added a 35-yarder midway through the second period. But the Trojans drove 60 yards in five plays to score on a two-yard run by Donelson, and Matt Huerkamp's extra point put them ahead. McNeese State quarterback Tim Leger kept the Cowboys ahead at halftime, connecting with Chris Fontenot on a 78-yard touchdown pass.

The two-point conversion attempt failed, making it 12-7 at halftime. After Donelson's TD pass to Hammond, the extra-point kick failed. But Huerkamp got in a 28-yard field goal after defensive end Pratt Lyons forced a turnover at the McNeese State 17-yard line with 2:46 left. Miss. Valley St.

19, Grambling 10 at Itta Bena, Terry Houzah picked up a Grambling fumble and returned in 67 yards for a touchdown to lead Mississippi Valley to a 19-10 victory. The win was the fourth for Mississippi Valley (2-4) in a 40-game series with Grambling. Mississippi Valley's last win was a 38-20 victory in 1990. Grambling (1-4) is off to its worst start in this half-century. Mississippi Valley took control early, scoring the first 12 points of the Southwestern Athletic Conference game.

The Delta Devils went up 6-0 with 4:33 left in the first quarter when Keith Poindexter hit a wide-open Sean Davis over the middle for a 24 yard touchdown pass. LSU's Schedule This week Outcome Houston Sept. 7 Memphis Won 37-30 Auburn Sept. 21 at Mississippi St Won 49-15 New Mexico St. Sept.

28 Utah St. (late) Vanderbilt Oct. 5 at North Texas Won 19-7 Florida Oct. 12 No. 12 LSU Won 56-13 Kentucky Oct.

19 South Carolina Lost 25-14 Mississippi St. Oct. 26 No. 18 Auburn Lost 49-15 Alabama Nov. 9 at North Carolina St.

Won 24-19 Ole Miss Nov. 16 idle Tulane Nov. 23 Louisville Lost 23-20 Arkansas Nov. 29 Louisiana Tech Won 38-21 Arkansas' rally able to beat Dogs 38-21 Associated Press Peyton Manning threw for 371 yards and two touchdowns and No. 7 Tennessee broke open a defensive struggle by reaching the end zone on its first three drives of the second half for a 29-17 SEC victory over Georgia Saturday night in Athens, Ga.

Tennessee (4-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) led only 9-3 at halftime, but Manning took matters into his own hands and guided the Volunteers to their sixth straight victory over Georgia (2-3, 1-2). Jay Graham scored the game's first touchdown on a 1-yard dive early in the third quarter, pushing Tennessee to a 15-3 lead, then it was left to Manning to come up with one brilliant play after another. He scrambled away from a heavy rush and found Joey Kent wide open in the end zone for a 31-yard touchdown to give the Vols a 22-3 advantage midway through the third period. After Georgia scored its first touchdown on Robert Edwards' 2-yard run, Manning left the sellout crowd of 86,117 in awe with a couple of plays on Tennessee's next possession. First, he stepped on the foot of a blocker and was stumbling backward but still managed to loft a 16-yard pass to Jeremaine Copeland before he hit the ground.

That bit of athleticism, however, was just a warmup for what came three plays later. On third-and 1 at the Georgia 5, Manning attempted a sneak into the line and was stopped. Instead of going down, he escaped from the pile and rolled out almost 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage before gunning a pass to Marcus Nash for the touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. Manning, already on pace to become the most accurate and least intercepted quarterback in SEC history, completed 3l-of-41, with no interceptions, for the sixth 300-yard passing game of his career. Kent, his favorite receiver, continually got open over the middle and wound up with seven receptions for 110 yards.

No. 8 Alabama 24, N. Carolina St. 19 at Raleigh, N.C., Alabama struggled against North Carolina State for the sec- Associated Press Pete Burks hooked up with Anthony Eubanks on a 35-yard touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter as Arkansas rallied from a 15-point deficit to beat Louisiana Tech 38-21 Saturday night in Little Rock, Ark. Chrys Chukwuma added a 28-yard scoring run with 3:44 to play and Cory Nichols went 42 yards for a TD 100 seconds later for Arkansas (2-3).

Tech (3-4) led 21-6 in the second quarter and 21-17 at the half. Jason Martin, the Bulldogs' strong-armed quarterback, sprained his left knee when he threw the 45th touchdown pass of his career in the first quarter. Chad Burks, a senior who had thrown only seven passes all year, tossed two touchdown passes in relief. Martin, the Bulldogs' career leader in attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns, completed 10 of 13 passes for 115 yards in two possessions. He was hurt at the end of an 80-yard drive.

Arkansas' first touchdown drive included Burks' 18-yard pass to a leaping Eubanks and Chukwuma's 11-yard run. Oscar Malone's 55-yard run cut the lead to 21-12 and P. Burks threw to Hubert Loudermilk for the two-point conversion. Troy State 16, McNeese State 12 at Troy, tall-back Tony Donelson hit Jeff Hammond with a 43-yard touchdown pass late In the fourth quarter to give Troy State a 16-12 victory over McNeese State Saturday In a Southland Football League game. The Trojans (5-1, 2-1 SFL) were trailing 12-7 with about three minutes left when Donelson and Hammond connected for the go- ond straight year, but Dennis Riddle ran for 154 yards and three touchdowns to lead the eighth-ranked Crimson Tide to a 24-19 victory Saturday.

Riddle carried 33 times, scoring on runs of 3, 4 and 14 yards to help Alabama (6-0) overcome another strong showing by N.C. State (1-4). The Wolfpack out-gained the Crimson Tide last year, but lost 27-11. This time, N.C. State had 418 yards against a defense that came in ranked second in the nation, allowing an average of 174 yards.

The Crimson Tide did not seal the victory until an interception by Fernando Bryant with 90 seconds remaining. Alabama, which won the previous four games in the series by an average of 17.5 points, found the going much tougher Saturday against an N.C. State team that featured a new quarterback and a banged-up tailback. No. 18 Auburn 49, Mississippi St.

15 at Starkville, Dameyune Craig threw for 375 yards and four touchdowns as No. 18 Auburn tuned up for its shot at the No. 1 team with a 49-15 victory Saturday over Mississippi State. Coach Terry Bowden shook up Auburn's running game during the week, but the Tigers (5-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) stayed primarily in four-wide sets against the blitzing Bulldogs (3-3, 1-2). Craig, who left the game with 12 minutes left, responded by completing 27-of-40 passes with no interceptions.

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