Daily World from Opelousas, Louisiana • Page 9

lfp)r it; LtTS i kit 'MS rj By ROGER BRANDT (Daily World Sports Editor) BATON ROUGE Western Kentucky, hungry for a national championship, struck early and the Hilltoppers then counted on their defense. Western Kentucky's defense did its job in gaining a 14-3 semifinal triumph over mistake-prone New Hampshire in the annual Rice Bowl before a small turnout of only 6,000 at LSU's Tiger Stadium here Saturday afternoon. The win sends Western Kentucky into the Division II finals. Western Kentucky will battle Northern Michigan in the Camellia Bowl for the national championship next Saturday. Northern Michigan reached the finals by recording a 28-23 win over Livingston in the Pioneer Bowl.

"IT'S GREAT FOR our players and our program to be going to the finals again," said a happy Coach Jimmy Feix of Western Kentucky following the win. Western Kentucky advanced to the finals in 1973 but was a loser to Louisiana Tech. "Our players have given a magnifi-cant effort all year long and they had to do it again against New Hampshire to get past this fine team. We had a tough time moving the ball against New Hampshire most of the game. They are a tough defensive unit." Feix never did feel safe when his club was on the defense.

"Allen (Jeff) is such a good passer and Burnham (Bill) such an outstanding runner that we figured they could get back in the game at almost any time," Western Kentucky took a 7-0 lead late 'in the first quarter when QB Steve Larimore scored from one yard out. New Hampshire pulled within four points of the Hilltoppers on a 27 yard field goal by Dave Teggart early in the second period to make it a 7-3 game. RICK CASWELL PROVIDED Western Kentucky with its insurance TD late in the second quarter. Caswell returned a New Hampshire punt 87 yards for the six-pointer. That gave the Hilltoppers a 14-3 edge and from then on it was all defense.

Tailback Lawrence Jefferson was named the game's Outstanding Offensive Player. Jefferson was Western Kentucky's leading ground gainer with 73 yards on 29 carries. His longest gainer was a 16-yarder. Tackle Sam Fields, a 6-0, 185-pound senior, was chosen the Outstanding Defensive Player of the game. Fields put pressure on New Hampshire QB the entire game and the Wildcats were never able to get their passing game going.

Western Kentucky rolled up a total offense of 212 yards with 151 markers coming on the ground and 61 via the air. Quarterback Larimore, a 5-11, 200-pound freshman, did an outstanding job directing the Hilltoppers' offense, got some big defensive plays, especially from Rick Green and Dale Young, when we really needed them down deep in our own territory. Those two fumbles that stopped New Hampshire' scoring drives had to be the turning poing of the game." we did against Western Kentucky," said Coach Bill Bowes of New Hampshire, "Allowing that long punt return for a score and the two fumbles deep in the Western Kentucky territory might have been the difference in the game." Bowes ranked Western Kentucky the best defensive team that his Wildcats have faced this season. "Western Kentucky's rush defense was particularly tough," said Bowes. New Hampshire's offense never could put it all together.

WE WERE NOT ABLE to play our type of game that brought us this far," said Bowes. "I must commend Rick Green. The Hilltoppers' front iine did an outstanding job. I must also commend our fine defensive unit in particular linebacker Dave Rozumek, for containing an explosive Western Kentucky Offense." New Hampshire finished the game with a total offense of 138 yards. The Wildcats netted only 19 yards rushing while picking up 138 markers via the air.

Quaterback Allen completed six of 19 passes. He suffered his first pass interception of the season which was also the first of the year for the Wildcats. Late in the third quarter, New Hampshire's Rick Kelly blocked Walter Herod's punt. The Wildcats gained control of the pigskin only 13 yards from the Western Kentucky goal line but couldn't score. A FUMBLE ON the 4-yard line by Burnham stopped the New Hampshire scoring threat.

Midway in the second period, QB Allen fumbled and that stopped another Wildcat scoring threat. The win was the 11th of the season against only one defeat for Western Kentucky. New Hampshire ended its season with a 9-3 mark. How They Scored FIRST QUARTER WESTERN KENTUCKY: Following a New Hampshire punt late in the first quarter the Hilltoppers marched 43 yards in eight plays to paydirt. On a second and goal situation from one yard out, quarterback Steve Larimore powered his way into the end zone for the TD.

Barry Henry booted the PAT. The big gainer on the drive was a 14-' yard pass from QB Larimore to flanker Billy Lindsey. Western Kentucky 7, New Hampshire 0. TIME 1:04. SECOND QUARTER NEW HAMPSHIRE: A Western Kentucky mistake led to a three-pointer for New Hampshire.

Fullback Pat Malone fumbled the pigskin on the Western Kentucky 32-yard line and linebacker Bruce Huther recovered for the Wildcats. New Hampshire drove down to the 10-yard line and on a fourth and four Dave Teggart booted a 27-yard field goal. The Wildcat scoring drive covered 32 yards in six plays. Western Kentucky 7, New Hampshire 3. TIME 13:23.

WESTERN KENTUCKY: New Hampshire faced with a fourth and 16 on its own 39-yard line had to punt. Rick Caswell fielded the ball on the 13-yard line of the Hilltoppers and behind a wall of good blockers, raced 87 yards untouched to paydirt. Western Kentucky 14, New Hampshire 3. TIME 4:03. rs.

'Vx 1 hA Wildcats 14-3 and will now go on to the Camellia Bowl in Sacremento, were they will battle Northern Michigan for the Division II Championship. (Photo by Bob Savoie) Western Kentucky cor-nerback Steve Carrico lunges at New Hampshire's Bill Burnham during the Rice Bowl in Baton Rouge Saturday afternoon, but Burnham avoids the contact and shuffles down the field for a long gain. WKU beat the DAILY SECTION II Sports Am Uphill Baph OpalouMt, Dk. 7, 1975 Mxmmm Aires INSTANT REPLAY LITTLE ROCK (UPD On one of those Razorbacks showed the unbeaten Texas grim, blustery days that they choose in the Aggies the end of the rope Saturday, movies to depict a hanging, the Arkansas The Razorbacks, who ran along for most jr" By ROGER BRANDT Daily World Sports Editor AN 4 IK'S KN wv Ashton Cassedy is one game away from leading Notre Dame to the 1975 double-A state championship, It's been an uphill fight for Cassedy, who is in his second year as boss of the Pioneers. At the start of the '75 prep season, Notre Dame was the odds on favorite to dethrone Opelousas Catholic as the state champions.

Notre Dame received a severe blow on Friday, Sept. 19th, at Donald Gardner Stadium. THAT DATE WAS the low point of Cassedy's Notre Dame club this season. A fired up Opelousas Catholic team, playing perhaps its best game of the entire year, scored a stunning 10-6 victory over the Pioneers. Fans from Crowley left the Yam City in a state of shock.

Notre Dame's loss just may have proven a point to the -Pioneers that they weren't going to run away with the state title. Notre Dame has improved week-by-week since that loss to OCHS. In fact, Cassedy feels that his Pioneers are close to peaking. "I THINK WE are at our peak," said Cassedy following Notre Dame's impressive 20-0 semifinal win over Haynesville Friday night in the Rice City. Cassedy was in a very talkative mood following his club's big win.

"We've worked hard since the start of practice," said Cassedy. "Our goal is state and I don't think we'll take John Curtis lightly. Our kids are aware of what will happen if we do, look what happened to Opelousas Catholic against Mamou." Cassedy became the boss of the Pioneers at the end of the 1973 season. Gerald Dill, who had coached at the Crowley school for almost 20 years, retired following the '73 season, In 1973, Dill's Notre Dame team won the double-A state crown. The Pioneers, winners over OCHS twice that year, finished the season with a 14-0-0 record.

The 1973 Notre Dame team was called the big "Red Machine" and the Pioneers were a machine to watch, almost unstoppable. FOLLOWING IN THE footsteps of Dill was a tough chore for Cassedy. Cassedy, who served as Dill's first assistant for many years, has met the challenge and his record proves that to be true. Notre Dame was a young team in 1974 but Cassedy made the Pioneers a winner. The Pioneers finished the regular season with a 9-1 mark, losers to only Opelousas Catholic, and advanced to the semifinals of the state playoffs.

Notre Dame was knocked out of the state playoffs by South Cameron. Overall Notre Dame was 12-2 in 1974. Cassedy made no bones at the start of the '75 season. His team was very experienced and could be a state contender. Notre Dame, one win away from winning its second state title in the last three years, stands 11-1 overall.

CASSEDY'S OVERALL RECORD at Notre Dame, with one tilt remaining, is 23 against three defeats. And Yam City football fans are very much aware that two of Cassedy's three defeats have come at the hands of Mickey Mills' OCHS club. Cassedy will be out to end the OCHS dominance when the two schools renew their rivalry in 1976, but John Curtis is the No. 1 concern for him right now. Notre Dame and OCHS are two very common football teams they win of defense although OCHS does have more of a wide open offense than the Pioneers.

And the Notre Dame defense has been outstanding this season. DURING THE REGULAR season, nine games, the Pioneers limited their foes to only 40 points or an average 4.4 points per game. It was only OCHS that was able to score more than one TD against the Pioneer defense. The Vikings put 10 points on the scoreboard against Notre Dame. Notre Dame's defense performance has even been more outstanding in the playoffs as the Pioneers have blanked all three opponents Port Barre (29-0), Berwick (23-0) and Haynesville (20-0).

The Pioneers have blanked six of their 12 opponents this season. In 12 games Notre Dame's defense is giving up an average of only 3.3 points per game. The Notre Dame offense, perhaps dull, has done its job this season. The Pioneers, strictly a power offense that runs right at the opponent, has scored 260 points in 12 games for an averate of 21.6 points per game. In the playoffs the Notre Dame offense has tallied 72 points for a 24.0 average.

A CATHOLIC SCHOOL, and from Acadiana, has won the double-A state championship the last two years Notre Dame in 1973 and OCHS in 1974. "I would like to see Notre Dame win state this year," said Mills. "Let's keep the state championship between Notre Dame and OCHS. But next year I hope it will be our year." The Notre Dame-OCHS rivalry was started in 1973 and it is the featured game of the season for both schools. Both Notre Dame and OCHS are rich in winning tradition.

Since the OCHS-Notre Dame rivalry was started in 1973 the two schools have compiled an overall record of 71-6-1 and four of the six defeats have been handed by each other. Notre Dame's only loss outside of OCHS was to South Cameron in the 1974 playoffs. OCHS's only loss besides ttf Notre Dame was to Mamou this year. In that three year period Notre Dame's overall record is S7-3-0 while OCHS is 34-3-1. Chapter between Notre Dame and OCHS will be written in 1976 when the Vikes travel to Rice City.

LOOK FOR NOTRE DAME to win the double-A state crown. The Pioneers by six points it will be a hard earned win. of the season unrecognized and un-. publicized while Texas and Texas dominated the Southwest Conference, wound up with the big prize a trip to the Cotton Bowl Jan. 1 against Georgia.

They did it by moving the ball farther and scoring more points than any team had all year against the nation's No. 1 defense and by reducing the Aggie offense to an The Razorback defense even scored a touchdown, something that had become a trademark of the second-ranked Aggies this year. The final verdict was 31-6, with quarterback Scott Bull throwing for one touchdown and running for another. The Razorback defense, meanwhile, came up with six turnovers and gave up only 149 yards almost half of that coming in the final period when the game had been decided. "I'm embarrassed for Texas and everyone connected with the school," said Aggie coach Emory Bellard, whose team had rattled off 10 straight wins before Saturday's disaster.

"It was an absolutely pathetic performance and I'll take the responsibility." Arkansas coach Frank Broyles, who will take a team to the Cotton Bowl for the first time in a decade, could not help but heap praise on his defensive unit. "The Aggie defense is fantastic," Broyles said. "But the key today was that the Arkansas defense out-Aggied the Aggie defense." The win the by 15th-ranked Razorbacks left the Southwest Conference titlesplit thre ways between Arkansas, and Texas. But from that group Arkansas, who finished the regular season with a 9-2 mark, won the Cotton Bowl trip because it had been away from the post season contest the longest of the three. deprived of its first unbeaten, untied season since 1939, won a consolation trip to the Liberty Bowl Dec.

27 against four-time loser Southern California. The two clubs fought evenly until the final moments of the first half, but Arkansas seized a 7-0 lead with 34 seconds left in the second quarter on a floating pass that traveled 28 yards and fell into the arms of leaping Teddy Barnes in the back of the end zone. And in the third quarter the Razorbacks turned the game totally in their favor. N. Michigan z' I-' if fr'iK -i 1 I i ni.

iii MOMENT OF GLORY Arkansas quarterback Scott Bull is rushed by two Texas defensive linemen during first period action in the two teams' battle for the i Southwest Conference crown. Making the stop on Bull is Tank Marshall, right, and Edgar Fields, hidden. The moment was one of few glorious ones for the Aggies as the Razorbacks bombed 31-6 and earned a Cotton Bowl bid. (UPI Telephoto) For Saints Sunday Wtainy Dim Numilbeir Slips Past Livingston NEW ORLEANS For Bennie Ellender, the long wait is over. After waiting two weeks for a decision from a hung jury, the verdict came shortly after noon Friday as Tulane president Dr.

Sheldon Hackney and Dr. Rix Yard, athletic director, announced that Ellender, Tulane head coach for five seasons, had been dismissed. THE ANNOUNCEMENT was less than earth shattering since Ellender had been under pressure for three weeks from alumni who felt that he had not been doing the job as Greenie head coach. Ellender's Tulane team was 4-7 this season, but at one time during the season the Green Wave was 4-2, Then came five straight losses and the rumors about his dismissal. The season ended tragically for Ellender as the Greenies lost to LSU, 42-6.

Ironically, it was the LSU win in 1973 (Tulane's first over the Tigers since 1948) that gave Ellender a vote of confidence from the Tulane alumni. After the win over the Tigers, his old contract was torn up and he was given a new one for 10 years that would have given Ellender an estimated Now, Ellender's financial future is un NEW ORLEANS If playing the Rams isn't bad enough, the Saints will be attempting it here Sunday afternoon with only 38 players five below the NFL limit. The Saints and the Rams, two teams with different objectives headed in diverse directions, will face one another here Sunday afternoon in the Superdome with kickoff time set for 1:05 p.m. FOR NEW ORLEANS, the game will mean another step in getting over what has become a long football season. For the Rams, it means a warmup for the NFC playoffs set to begin in three weeks.

Last time, the Saints played the Rams, Los Angeles beat the New Orleans gridders in methodical fashion, 38-14. Two days afterwards, Saint head coach John North became a team coaching alumnus. Now, with injuries to the team's leading rusher and most of the receiving corps, the Saints face the strong Rams with a numerical disadvantage. MIKE STRACHAN, the Saints leading rusher fractured an ankle in last week's 17-16 loss to Cleveland and is lost for the season. But that's not the whole story.

New Orleans has only three healthy running backs left on the team and none of the disclosed since Hackney and Yard failed to reveal the terms of agreement between Ellender and the university. Ellender had eight years to go on the year agreement. WITH ELLENDER'S FIRING marked the beginning of a search by Tulane for a successor. Yard is heading a six-man review committee who will interview candidates for the job. Rumors have it that high on the list are Navy's George Welsh, Texas Emory Bellard, Jimmy Young of Arizona, Syracuse's Frank Malone and San Jose State's Daryl Rogers.

Others reportedly being considered are Miami of Ohio's Dick Crum, Virginia Tech's Jimmy Sharpe, East Carolina's Pat Dye and Southern Cal's Craig Fertig. All but Fertig are head coaches. Yard met with Ellender's assistants late Friday afternoon then addressed the team that same night at 6 p.m. ELLENDER'S DEPARTURE comes a week and a day before the first official signing date. Yard announced that Vic Eumont, in charge of Tulane recruiting, would continue to spearhead the drive for new athletes until a new coach was selected by a committee comprised of faculty and alumni.

team's receivers with the exception of tight end Paul Seal, is in good shape for the contest. Quarterback Archie Manning, already maligned by the pass rush this season, will have to perform miracles in order to get the often-inept Saint offense rolling against the Ram defense. The Saints' inability to generate any offense this season is shown by the fact that the team has scored more than one touchdown in only four of its 11 games this year. In order to alleviate the need for a pass receiver, the Saints have picked up veteran receiver Don Hermann, who caught passes for 2,645 yards while with the Giants. WIDE RECEIVER Larry Burton will start at one wide receiver although he has a groin pull.

The other wide receiver is converted tight end Henry Childs who is just getting over an ankle injury. Replacing Strachan at running back is another rookie, Andrew Jones who has shown good running ability, will be starting his first game for the Saints. He has carried the ball 21 times for 49 yards. Manning has one of the highest number of attempts in the league this season (281). He has completed 131 of those for 1,410 yards.

However, the key to deciphering his statistics is the touchdown total which has amounted to only five this year. Ram defensive end Freddy Dryer, who has played against Manning for three seasons, discussed earlier in the week the difficulties of stopping Manning. "AGAINST MANNING you have two things to consider. He is a great player-he's got a real good arm and he's a good runner. But there's also the man I'll be going against to get to Manning." Dryer admits that it may be hard to understand what the Saints will be doing offensively Sunday.

"What he does will depend upon the kind of personnel New Orleans will have playing. I know they've had quite a few injuries down there." The Saints have found the season hard to understand too. In other NFL action today: Pittsburgh visits Cleveland, Cincinnati travels to Philadelphia, Minnesota hosts Green Bay, Buffalo entertains Miami, New England hosts the Jets, San Diego travels to Kansas City, Detroit is at Chicago, Dallas invades St. Louis, Atlanta entertains Washington and San Francisco is home against Houston. Monday night has Oakland hosting Denver.

WICHITA FALLS, Tex. (UPI) -Northern Michigan quarterback Steve Mariucci pass for two touchdowns and ran for another on the way to a 28-point second quarter Saturday and led his Wildcats to a 28-26 NAIA Division II victory over Livingston (Ala.) University in the Pioneer Bowl. Northern Michigan faces Western Kentucky next weekend in the Camellia Bowl for the Division II championship. Mariucci, whose Wildcats trailed 104 on a 33-yard field goal by James Mullinax and a one-yard plunge by NMU quarterback Willie Slater, passed 57 yards to flanker Maurice Mitchell for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. The Wildcats took the lead minutes later on a 26-yard pass from Mariucci to Zachary Fowler after NMU recovered a fumble at the Livingston 41, ii4.i i jOi it.

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