The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey • Page 29

The Courier-News C7 Friday, Sptmbr 4, 1 981 test dlers facing early Rutgers grid acuse coach Dick MacPherson says, "so they might be restricted there. I think the matchup there would go to our defense." Ted Blackwell, part of that RU offense last year, doesn't necessarily agree. "I think this offense has more potential than last year's," says Ted, cut by the Jets last month and staying in shape by working out In the Fieldhouse weight room. "I don't agree with this year's skill positions being that weak. In some ways, I see this offense being more exciting than last year's." Ed McMichael, last year's QB, was also watching practice yesterday.

He likes Leek, and agrees that RU followers are in for a surprise. "He'll do all right," nodded Eddie. "He can play the game. As long as he stays healthy, this team has a very good quarterback." "I feel a lot of people are underestimating this offense," says De-Leone. "As far as our defense, we have seven excellent people up front.

Two real good tackles in (6-3, 265) Mike Rustemeyer and (6-6, 265) Bill Pickel, and two good defensive ends in (6-3, 225) Andy Carino and (6-5, 220) Ken Bercier. "Our linebackers are (6-1, 200) Jim Dumont and (6-2, 215) Mike Knight, two real good kids. And we're very pleased with middle guard (6-3, 230) Ray Moore. "The secoudary is a critical area for us, and although they're not young kids, they don't have that game experience. They haven't been tested under fire." "Rutgers has a history of fine talent in the secondary," says the Syracuse coach, "and I expect to see the same thing.

Rutgers has an excellent interior line, and fine linebackers. Although we should have great running game, they'll definitely challenge it." All-America Joe Morris, 5-7, 180, has already surpassed the running records of Larry Csonka, Jim Nance, Floyd Little, Ernie Davis and Jim Brown. Last year he gained 732 yards In just six games. Running mate Glenn Moore gained 480 yards, Including 100-yard games in his last two outings. Quarterback Dave Warner threw for over 1,000 yards on 81 of 167, and also ran for another 532 yards.

Vil-lanova transfer Willie Sydnor, and Morris' little brother Mike will be the targets in the air. Both teams are hoping to move the ball, because their punting games aren't doing that great a job. Kick- around, an untested quarterback, untested receivers, and for the first time ever, seven freshmen on its traveling squad. One of them will start. Junior Ralph Leek, who threw only 19 passes last year, starts as QB and will be backing up into the shotgun quite frequently.

What he'll see unfolding is a pretty good tight end in senior Steve Pfirman, a freshman flanker in Andrew Baker and a Junior split end who caught one pass last year, Eric Johnson. "We'll know a heck of a lot after this game," Speranza acknowledges. "We do have an excellent blocker in (fullback) Bryant Moore, and a tailback (Albert Ray) who has speed and quickness. We know what they can do." Last year Ray picked up 778 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Moore 240 yards and one TD. Both averaged four yards a carry.

"We're confident In our line," adds Sperenza. "We think they'll play well." Center Frank Naylor, the only team member who can bench over 400 pounds, leads the experienced line. "Rutgers has lost a lot of great people at the skill positions," Syr Knights opening at Syracuse at 7 p.m. "This is like preparing for an exam," smiles offensive coordinator Bill Speranza. "Saturday Is the final exam, and like always, you have no idea how you're going to do." No idea? "Friends have been calling me the past couple of weeks, and ask 'what's I don't know! "We're going up there cold," adds defensive coordinator George De-Leone.

"But we'll find out real quick what we have." Actually, Rutgers does know what it has this year. "Question marks," grins head coach Frank Burns. "In one way I'm anxious to get going, to get a better idea of what we have. There are just too many unknowns. But in another way I'd like more time to prepare.

To be honest, I'm pretty apprehensive." Rutgers has half its starters settled back in fraternities and apartments, and, similar to Syracuse, the experience is in the offensive line, the running backs, and the defensive line and linebackers. Place kicking is also a strong point for both. Rutgers, 7-4 last year, is faced with a tougher schedule this time Bosox, Mariners go 19 Howser manages to beat Yankees XX i it i LH i V' ing-wise, Alex Falcinelli hit 27 of 30 PATs last year and 14 of 21 field: SU's Gary Anderson, 50 for 50. in PATs over the past two yean, hit-9 of 16 field goals last year, his longest being 42 yards. Continued on Page Cll GEORGE DeLEONE coordinator American League this year and the longest ever played in 69-year-old: Fenway Park, was to be resumed before tonight's regularly scheduled game.

"We should have bunted. We should have hit-and-run. Everything we tried didn't work," Seattle Man-: ager Rene Lachemann said after the marathon was interrupted by the AL curfew barring an inning from start-: ing after 1a.m. "That's better than losing," Bos-; ton Manager Ralph Houk said when asked if he minded such a long night, ending without a winner. Then, showing that even a veteran man-j ager can mistake one day for another; when a game runs over, he added: "We've got a shot at them tomorrow." The Mariners had runners in scor- ing position in five of the 10 extra innings and the Red Sox reached: second base twice in overtime, but neither team could score.

"In a long ball game, I don't if the players know it, but the bats get heavy and it's hard to win after the 13th inning," Houk said. "What you need at that time, if you have it, is a fastball pitcher." Each team had 21 hits. The Mariners used seven pitchers and a-total of 26 players, while the Red Sox' used 20 players including six pitchers. Ironically the game, played' in a park known for easy home runs, lacked a single homer. The Red Sox scored three times in, the ninth to tie the game, and the-pitchers then took over.

The Red Sox had a chance to send their bleery-eyed fans home happy-when Jim Rice singled with one out in the 19th inning and Reid Nichols, attemping to sacrifice, beat out bunt for a single. But Dave Stapleton popped up for the second out and Joe" Rudi flied to center to end the The marathon eclipsed the old Fenway Park longevity record of 18 innings set Sept 5, 1927, when the Red Continued on Page C10 I t' 'y I rrv X.X.,,; By PAUL FRANKLIN Courier-News Sports Writer PISCATAWAY Classes began at Rutgers University Just two days ago. Final exams so soon? Tomorrow is test day for the RU football team, with the Scarlet klLL SPERANZA l.offensive coordinator. McEnroe doing just fine NEW YORK (AP) It's like an ever-shifting, ever-widening battle front. Yesterday, the powers of tennis came down on John McEnroe with a pair of fines for his conduct at Wimbledon, where he stormed about the court, broke a racket and berated an official, calling him an "incompetent fool." McEnroe and most of the tennis establishment had expected sone fines, but what was controversial yesterday was the timing of the announcement, coming as it did during the U.S.

Open. Officials of the Men's Professional Tennis Council had first indicated they would delay announcing their finding until after McEnroe's run for a third consecutive Open title. "I don't think it was fair," the 22-year-old McEnroe said after beating Tom Gullikson 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 last night. "Of course I wouldn't think it was fair. It's just a bad thing to have something like that happen in the middle of a tournament." But he said he was not surprised that the Council had made its announcement when it did.

"I don't think I really need this," McEnroe said in response to a question about whether such aggravations make him play better. "I don't need more reasons to win a tournament I think I've proved I can play under adverse conditions at Wimbledon this year. It's not in spite of people. I don't go around trying to spite people. "This (winning) is something I've dreamed about since I was a kid." McEnroe broadened his enemies list to include CBS, which has offended him by having a microphone on court.

The network has' a soundman seated on court with a microphone for all matches. Frank Chirkinian, executive Eagles said fifteen hundred times that we unit wind up being a better football team, but it seems that people want that defined constantly. I think it's better not to say that too many more l'l DICK VERMEIL annual challenge if Y'T A. I-- i ft4 John McEnroe bears down while U.S. Open tennis tournament.

producer for CBS's Open coverage, said the practice would not be changed. And true to his word, McEnroe refused an interview with a CBS reporter after his match and declined an invitation to the CBS booth for its late-night update. The Pro Council, the ruling body of men's tennis, announced early in the day that it had fined McEnroe $2,250 for three minor violations of its code of conduct during the Wimbledon fortnight. McEnroe had already paid for two of them. "There are some fines I've done I deserved," he said.

The Council was insisting he III I II I I Associated Press Photo working on a 6-3, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Tom Gullikson In the By The Associated Press Mike Jones and Dan Quisenberry combined for a seven-hitter last night to help new Kansas City Royals Manager Dick Howser post a 3-2 victory over the New York Yankees, the team he skippered to the American League East title last season. The victory was Kansas City's third in four games since Howser, who resigned under pressure from New York owner George Steinbren-ner after the Yankees were beaten by the Royals in the AL championship series last season, replaced JimFrey. Jones, a rookie left-hander now 3-1, surrendered a run in the first inning without yielding a hit, then outdueled veteran Tommy John, 7-5, who retired 13 Royals in a row through the middle innings. Quisenberry replaced Jones with one on and none out in the eighth and notched his 14th save. The Royals took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first.

Willie Wilson singled leading off and went to third when Frank White blooped a double to right. Wilson scored on a ground out and Amos Otis scored White with a single. Wilson doubled and scored on a single in the third. Jones walked Willie Randolph on four straight pitches in the Yankees' first. After stealing second, Randolph went to third on a ground ball and scored on Dave Winfield's sacrifice fly.

Bob Watson hit his third home run leading off the seventh for New York. Red Sox 7, Mariners 7 Boston, which brought you Paul Revere's midnight ride, has come up with some more late-night action, this time featuring its beloved Red Sox and the Seattle Mariners. For 5 hours, 39 minutes, the two teams battled, only to have the game suspended in the wee hours this morning after 19 innings with the score tied 7-7. The contest, the longest in the 240-pound Jerry Robinson." But despite his praise of the Giants, Vermeil knows that if his club were to play up to par and the Giants did the same, the Eagles would prevail. It's the playing up to par that has the coach concerned.

"Barring injuries I can see us being very competitive for 16 weeks, but it doesn't mean we're going to win the division. I think our division will be tougher," Vermeil said. Vermeil, in assessing his 45-man squad said, "I was concerned in coming to training camp that the attitude might not be as hungry as it was in striving to achieve what we have in the past," said Vermeil, starting his sixth season with the Eagles. "But I haven't read that in this squad at all." He attributed the offensive problems to injuries that prevented the unit from developing continuity during the 2-2 pre-season schedule. The key to the offense will be the ability of two young guards, Petey Perot and Ron Baker, and fullbacks Perry Harrington and Hubie Oliver to block for running back Wilbert Montgomery and quarterback Ron Jaworski.

Perot spent most of the training camp nursing a. strained back while out to stretch streak against Giants Baker has started just four games in three seasons. And the backup situ-' ation isn't bright. Dean Miraldi, a No. 2 draft pick, is on the injured pay for a third.

Then the Council said it was fining him another $5,000 for what it called "aggravated behavior." Council administrator Marshall Happer did not say exactly what that entailed but that the second stiffer fine was for McEnroe's conduct in general. According to the Council's rules, McEnroe may now appeal the second fine. He said after his match that he had not decided whether to do so and that he did not want to talk about it. In a less turbulent arena, McEnroe easily dispatched seven months earlier after a great season in which they won the NFC East and the NFC overall championship. They amassed a paltry 189 yards of total offense against one of the more pourous defenses in the NFL last season and 169 of them came in the second half.

He didn't care much whether the Birds beat the Jets haven't won our final pre-season game since I've been here," said Vermeil), but he did expect the team to perform better than the week before when they embarrassed the Saints, 36-7. They never came close. "Even if we hadn't played so badly," said Vermeil moments after that game, "that still doesn't mean we would have won. The Jets are a helluva club and they have enough talent to win their division, I firmly believe that." So this week, you would have expected Vermeil to put his troops through shock treatment in preparation for Sunday's opener withthe Giants. Four years ago, that would have been the case.

Vermeil has actually mellowed. Or has he? "Hell, we've been so banged up that I couldn't work 'em too hard even if I wanted to," barked Vermeil. We really went easy ith Gullikson, who threatened only once, breaking serve for 2-5 in the final set. On this day of reckoning for his Wimbledon sins, it was mildly ironic that he should be playing Gullikson. Gullikson was his first-round opponent at Wimbledon when the trouble started.

LastThursday night's match went as smoothly as McEnroe's matches ever do. Both players had brief disagreements over line calls, no battles royale. And the crowd was, as usual, divided in its sentiments toward Continued on Page C12 them this week. They're grown men and I think they'll be ready. If you can't get ready for opening day in the NFL, then you don't belong on the field." Vermeil is no dope when it comes to the Giants.

The law of averages really dictates a Giant win. The Giants have not beaten the Eagles in 10 straight games, going back to opening day in 1975. And in the past 16 games between the clubs, the Eagles enjoy a 14-1-1 mark. "Hell, it's no jinx," insisted Vermeil when presented with those figures. "They've played us tough in most of our games and they could have won a few of them." Vermeil has a very high opinion of Giant coach Ray Perkins.

"I think Ray is in the process of turning that program around," claimed Vermeil. "Their fans must be patient with him. What do I think of the Giants this year? "Well, they are definitely a better football team this year. They're playing with real intensity and enthusiasm and it really looks like they're having fun playing. Their linebacking corps is excellent, and that young linebacker (Lawrence Taylor) is the best no.

1 choice I've seen on film this year. To nfe, he's a 7 times and just allow my players to prove it when they play on Sunday." Eagles coach Dick Vermeil By JOE CALABRESE C-N Executive Sports Editor PHILADELPHIA There it is folks. The annual Dick Vermeil challenge to his players. And come Sunday afternoon, we'll find out how the Eagles respond when they play the Giants in East Rutherford. That 14-3 loss to the New York Jets last Saturday night has left Philadelphia Eagles fans in a tizzy.

Are the Eagles that bad? Are the Jets that good? Is the offensive line that banged up? Was Ron Jaworski just a flash in the pan? "Hey, don't think for a moment that I am not concerned about our offensive performance and how we'll play against the Giants Sunday," said Vermeil earlier this week, "but I can guarantee you that we'll be ready to play up there (at Giants Stadium). I'm not saying we'll win, but I am saying that we won't play like we did against the Jets." Against the Jets last week, Vermeil was an embarrassed man. His team had reached the Super Bowl rM: Continued on Page Cll RAY PERKINS Giants sfound? I 1 0 1 1.