Fort Lauderdale News from Fort Lauderdale, Florida • Page 53

Dolphins 16, Vikings 14 Fort Lauderdale News muw gaiucu in uio niuciitttii league E-asiem ui vision, toitltlir tnnfnlit In No Names The Tigers play the Boston Red Sox in the series which decides who meets the Oakland Athletics for the American League title. For the complete story, see story on page 5D. The Big Names Noiv It's A 3-Game Season After a long baseball season and a lot of talk, It all boils 1 3 mm Oct. 2, 1972 ID Slay Other Pro Football, Page 2D More Dolphins-Vikings, Page 6D By MIKE SCHWEBEL Sports Staff Writer BL00MINGTON, Minn. As the Dolphins left the scene of the crime yesterday, Metropolitan Stadium, Garo Yepremian clutched the murder weapon the game ball.

The victim, Minnesota, had been beaten on its home ground for just the fourth time in three years. Only one man was smiling in the Vik saw it (actually a sellout of Heck, I had a whole nationwide TV Foley said. Tarkenton tried Gilliam's number again early in the third quarter, only Foley was there and intercepted. His theft gave the Dolphins possession on the Minnesota 37; Yepremian kicked a field goal from the 38i Yepremian followed with a 42-yarder witty left in the quarter to make it 7-6. The Vikings then intimidated the Miami defense for the only time all day, driving 80 yards in 13 plays.

It still took them four downs to get over from the three yard line but Bill Brown dove in from a foot away with 33 seconds remaining in the third quarter. When Roy Winston intercepted a Griese pass, a 14-6 lead looked good. Three downs and two sacks later, the ings' dressing room. That was Hubert Humphrey and he smiled after losing an election. The last-minute 16-14 victory by the Dolphins was only a ball game, even if it did make them the lone undefeated team in the NFL.

"I still haven't figured out how we beat 'em," defensive tackle Jim Dunaway said. Technically, it was on three Yepremian field goals and a three-yard touchdown pass from Bob Griese to tight end Jim Mandich. But what the Dolphins really did was out-defense the defense. The Purple Gang ran into the No Names and the No Names won. Fran Tarkenton, for instance, was sacked five times for 33 yards in losses.

He was intercepted three times. Bob Griese, i was sacked twice, intercepted twice. The Dolphins were held to a total offense of 2S4 yards, but the Vikings only got 240, 56 of them coming on a touchdown bomb to John Gilliam with 10:26 left in the opening quarter. Gilliam was embarrasingly alone. "My mom was probably going nuts watching this game in Chicago, but that was my seven points they put up on the board," said cornerback Tim Foley, who claimed responsibility on the play.

"Actually there was supposed to be somebody in the middle, too (free safety Jake Scott), so we both blew it, but I blew it the most. It was third down and three and I just let him go mentally. It was bush. I wasn't thinking about the 50,000 people who III- -V 'w n. 4 i 'I1 Dolphins had the ball again.

In a desperate attempt to gain a first down in a third and' 25 situation, they turned fancy with a double reverse, ex-quarterback pass complete from Marlin Briscoe to Mandich. "The way I was catching the ball I was, lucky to get to throw it," Briscoe said. The play went from Griese to Mercury Morris to' Briscoe to Mandich and was three yards' short of a first down. i Coach Don Shula said later, "I knew we had to get a field goal and a touchdown. didn't care if it came on a field goal and touchdown or a touchdown and field goal." Yepremian' admitted, "I thought he' would want to go for the first down, but this man has got a lot of confidence in me.

He told me it was important. I figured if he had that much confidence in me I musti have 10 times that much." I The kick was good from SI yards out, breaking a club record previously shared by 1 Yepremian and Booth Lustig of 48 yards, i Garo, operating on grass, and in 70-k, degree weather, felt like he could have kicked a field goal in Bloomington from Minneapolis. "That one might have been (Continued on Page CD, Col. J) ai.iw-,, fleii. V1 itum-i UPI Tiliphoto Helpl-Griese Looks For It, Tries To Escape Page (88), Larsen (L) Eller Griese --'You Have To Have Patienec' dolphins Came Back, And Back, And Back, ,1 the posts, it started to curve to the right 'Oh, thought.

'Don't hit the Shula did not doubt, that Yepremian could do It. "He had been strong all day," Shula said. Then the defense immediately forced Minnesota to re turn the ball to Miami on a punt after only three pliyi. "That was the biggest defensive series of the Shula said. "More important than the last one when we held until time ran out.

On that next-to-the-last series, we hid to get the Bondvrani -News Sports Editor BLOOMINGTON, MINN. "You have to have Bob Griese said. "You have to have patience, and you have to have faith that eventually everything will work out." Griese had both on a bright, clear afternoon yesterday as the Dolphins came from behind and came from behind and came from behind and finally overhauled the Minnesota Vikings and their battering, discouraging defense. The Dolphins trailed, 7-0, 7-3, 7-6, 14-6, and 14-9, before they swept 59 yards in six plays to score their only touchdown, a three-yard pass from Bob Griese to Jim Mandich with one minute and 28 seconds left. After 58 minutes and 32 seconds, patience had paid off, 16-14.

Now the Dolphins are 3-0, leading their own Eastern Division by a game and standing atop the National Football League heap as the only undefeated team. "How many times did we have the ball three plays and out?" Griese asked afterward in the strangely businesslike atmosphere of the Dolphins dressing room. "Seven times. Eight. Nine? There wasn't a lot going on out there.

We pretty well ran through our offense. But you can't let it get to you. One time, you're going to go. As it happens, it was the last time." Not exactly. The Dolphins had gone some before, but each scoring journey ended only partially successfully with field goals by Garo Yepremian.

The first eight times Miami had the ball, the Dolphins were forced to return it to the Vikings with no points. On possesion nine, in the third quarter, Yepremian kicked a 37-yard field goal. That made it 7-3, but the three points, after all those futile attempts, hardly seemed to laze the 47,000 fans packed into Metropolitan Stadium, much less the Vikings. On possession 10, Yepremian banged home a 42-yard field goal. 7-6, still in the third.

Possession 11 ended in Griese's second interception. On possession 12, Yepremian found the range with a 51-yard fieid goal under terrific pressure. That shot came with 4: IS left to play, and pulled the Dolphins within five points at 14-9. "Coach Shula told me we had to have it," Yepremian said afterwards. "I never kicked the ball better in my life.

It kept going straight for the middle. About IS yards from With 2:11 left, Griese began the- winning It swept to the Viking three on runs of two and 14 yards by" Mercury Morris, a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty and passes of eight and 17 yards to Howard Twilley, the last setting up the TD throw to Mandich. On first and goal, Griese sent his tight end into the middle of the end zone on a delay, Mandich took the ball all alone and raised it in triumph. "The pass call surprised me," he said later. "I thought sure we would run Larry Csonka.

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