Daily Press from Newport News, Virginia • Page 4

Y6 Is2 tf, yiM hi ma is i inniMiJ iv- tto fo 1 DailgJJrtss Ire i 'ease Tby Tribe SEE Early mistakes prove costly to William and Mary. B7. V- y-( tr first quarter a quarter where it recovered two fumbles and blocked a punt for a touchdown Virginia dozed through the remainder. William and Mary cut the Cavs' advantage to 26-10 midway through the third quarter and was driving when Matt Byrne was intercepted by Percy Ellsworth. Not until Tiki Barber's 18-yard touchdown run that made it 33-10 with 12:46 remaining could Cavalier fans relax.

For Virginia, which suffered a one-point heartbreaker at Michigan last week, call it step No frills, few thrills as Cavs handle Tribe CHARLOTTESVILLE Go ahead Can William and Maiys annual trip to the University of Virginia a spanking exercise if you will Talk about how it has been that way since the schools followed different forks on the college football trail. Since Vir- ginia took the yellow brick road toward big-time bowls and prime-time highlights. Since William Mary took the cobblestone toward berths in the NCAA Division I-AA playoff and the reputation of a small school that does things cor-, rectly. Go ahead. Call it a spanking or a trouncing or a mugging or some other trite word that is used only in newspaper headlines.

Inform your buddies that the Cavaliers have won the last six meetings, including a 40-16 victory Saturday night. But you'll have to excuse me if I don't subscribe to your thinking. What happened Saturday night was no spanking. It was a football game the Tribe couldn't quite win and the Cavaliers couldn't quite lose. It was a game of half-steps and fractions and outstretched hands.

It was a game that, with time and fre Please see U.Va.B7 U.Vas defense shuts down William and Maiy 40-16 By Dave Johnson Daily Press CHARLOTTESVILLE Well, Scott Stadium's new grass field looked nice. The game that was played on it, however Watching that grass grow the last few months would have been more exciting. Virginia's 40-16 victory against William and Mary was a no-frills package that included very few highlights. For the winners, anyway. True, the outcome was never in doubt.

But after taking a 23-0 lead on the final play of the Wednesday night, Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken is scheduled to break Lou Gehrig's streak of playing in 2,1 30 consecutive games. Today, Daily Press writer -Mike Holtzclaw begins a series on The TODAY: Ripken's streak has brought renewed atten- i I tionon Gehrig. MONDAY: The record run has memorabilia. TUESDAY: At during Wednesday's will the record be I'- i I Jude Waddy of William and Mary goes high to try to stop Virginia quarterback Mike Groh. Kenneth SilverDaily Press Pride OfA Sport By Mike Holtzclaw Daily Press wi hen they made a movie about Lou Gehrig's life, they got Gary Cooper to lay the lead.

Not William Bendix, who would portray Babe Ruth a few years later. Not Gene Kelly or Frank Sinatra, who played Joe Tinker and Johnny Evers around the same time. Gary Cooper, who had just won an Oscar for playing a conscientious war hero in "Sergeant York" and who would go on to win another as the courageous sheriff in "High Noon." The casting of Cooper a strapping, handsome actor known for his portrayals of strong-willed, soft-spoken heroes in "The Pride of the Yankees" says everything about the reverential respect afforded Gehrig, not just in baseball circles but in American folklore. With the exception of his long-' rime New York Yankees teammate Ruth and possibly Jackie. Robin-.

son, Gehrig remains the sport's most enduring legend. The most casual fan can recite the story of how Gehrig filled in one day when starter Wally Pipp had a headache and how he went on to play every game for 14 years. His heartfelt farewell speech "Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth" has served as inspiration in the face of tragedy for more than a half-century. Even those who have never seen a baseball game refer to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis the still incurable illness that killed him at age 37 as Lou Gehrig's Disease. But Gehrig, universally accepted as the greatest first baseman ever, is on the verge of losing the record that has always been his calling card among baseball fans his streak of 2,130 consecutive games, which was still being written off as unapproachable as recently as five years ago.

Barring rain, injury or a sudden player strike, Gehrig's record will be eclipsed Wednesday by another humble, respected gentleman of Please see GehrlgB6 Florida State 70, Duke 26: Seminoles have 797 yards of offense. ACC Roundup. B7. Richmond 51.VMI28: Lakeland graduate rushes for 193 yards to lead Spiders. State Roundup.

B7. Northwestern 17, Notre Dame 15: The Wildcats pull of an upset of the ninth-ranked Fighting Irish. B9. Purdue 26, West Virginia 24: Mountaineers miss late field goal Big East B9. Pirates open in style Hampton powers past Morehouse By Jennifer Williams Daily Press ATLANTA Hampton University's football team began its foray into Division I-AA on familiar ground Satur- day, breezing past Division II Morehouse 42-14 at B.T.

Harvey Stadium. The Pirates used a small arsenal in the first test for this year's team. Hampton coach Joe Taylor didn't reveal his entire bag of tricks. Hampton started tentatively, struggling on offense in the first half. Red-shirt freshman quarterback One record broken and another tied in Pirates victory.

HU Briefs, B7. Matt Williams began his debut handing the ball off, mostly to fullback Tyrone Mayer, but ended the day with a solid passing display. i Williams completed 12-of-21 for 201 yards and six touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions and had a few fumbles and bobbles. But the new Matt, replacing Hampton's all-time leading passer Matt Montgomery, appeared unshaken.

Mayer was the workman of the day, rushing for 93 yards on 24 carries. Running back Lamont Still, projected to be the main source of offense, carried 1 1 times for 65 yards. Hampton wideout Michael Jenkins caught five passes for 124 yards and four touchdowns, breaking his own previous school record of three touchdown receptions in a game. "It was a typical first Taylor said. "I thought our defense played well.

Morehouse had a good game plan with an eight-man front. They tried to stop the run and for all purposes, they did so. "We knew we'd have to throw the ball because there were just too many players on the line of scrimmage." Taylor said he didn't want to put too much pressure on Williams. He added that he used Williams and Mayer so much because they are new starters and Please see PlratesB7 The top 5 positions for today's Southern 500: Driver Car 1. John Andretli Ford, 2.

Ricky Rudd Ford 3. Date Earnhardt Chevy 4. Dick Trickle Ford 5. Jeff Gordon Chevy: INSIDE ON B10: Mark Martin wins Busch race. Southern 500 Briefs.

Today's Southern 500 odds. Jacques Villeneuve takes the pole. Roundup. Results, today's lineups. quent video showings, Virginia players and coaches will hate.

Why? The offense was conservative in a game that needed a degree of razzle-dazzle. And the defense never took the wind out of the Tribe's offensive sails. It was a game that wanted to be a blowout. It was the Cavaliers' home opener. The ugly business of the 18-17 loss to Michigan the week before needed to be swept aside.

But there wasn't anything special about it. Just another day at the office for the 17th-ranked Cavaliers. Virginia won the game in the first quarter with a mix of muscle and mistake. A fumble recovery and blocked punt helped the Cavaliers to a 16-0 lead. A tough defense that had Tribe quarterback Matt Byrne running in circles protected the lead.

But there were little signs was determined to make the night interesting; maybe even steal the show OK. So just interesting. On running plays holes would open for a fraction of a second before Virginia's linebackers arrived to close them. Tailback Derek Fitzgerald or fullback Troy Keen would arrive a half-step later. It was no gain at its finest.

The Tribe solved the problem at half-time. Byrne, a small quarterback who isn't known for his speed or shiftiness ran option plays. Just like he was J.C. Watts or one of those Oklahoma guys. Down the line of scrimmage, fake the pitch to the trailing back, then zip.

Cut it up field for another irritating gain. When a big school, Virginia, plays a small school, options aren't supposed to work. Linebackers are supposed to swat down options. Nothing gets outside of the linebackers. Not shifty tailbacks or fast fullbacks or small, determined quarterbacks.

Nothing. That's the way it's supposed to be, but that's not the way it was. In the third quarter, did an in-your-face routine. On third down Keen bulled 6 yards to the Cavalier 11. Time to kick a field goal, right? Wrong.

On fourth down Byrne found wide receiver Billy Commons hiding out underneath Virginia's zone defense. That gave the Tribe a first and goal at the Virginia three. Two plays later Keen stretched into the end zone. Go ahead. Call it the annual spanking.

I didn't see it that way. If what I saw was a spanking, mugging, trouncing, whatever, the headline writers have been lying to us for years. I saw dropping a calling card on the Division I-AA ranks. A calling card that said we're a good football team, and we're going to out-think you. One way or another, we're going to out-think you.

I Will. TENNIS. Andre Agassi and Monica Seles post easy victories in the U.S. "Open. B3.

BASEBALL. Sammy Sosa homers twice to lead Chicago over Atlanta. NL Roundup, B5. HIGH SCHOOLS. Ferguson wins season opener, 49-14, over Lafayette.

B12. fpTuWlill 928-1111 357-6594 (Isle of Wight County and Smithfield) (800) 981-6600 (Middle Peninsula) Category 31 1 1 for a list of top categories. WEDNESDAY: A look at the atmosphere surrounding Camden Yards on the big day. THURSDAY: Can Ripken "revive baseball" following the recent labor problems in the same way that Babe Ruth "revived baseball" following the Black Sox scandal? I effect the had Ripken what point game official? Points race heated entering Southern 500 'Skins receiver has competitive edge 4 drivers contending for Winston Cup By Al Pearce Daily Press By Warner Hessler Daily Press Perhaps the word best describes Michael West-brook, the Washington Redskins' top draft choice in 1995, is ruthless. When it comes that -yrVT TODAY'S GAMES Cincinnati at Indianapolis Cleveland at New England Houston at Jacksonville Carolina at Atlanta San Fran, at New Orleans Tampa Bay at Philadelphia St.

Louis at Green Bay Detroit at Pittsburgh New York Jets at Miami "1 San Diego at Oakland Kansas City at Seattle I Arizona at Washington Minnesota at Chicago Buffalo at Denver INSIDE Warner Hessler' picks. B16. Notebook. B1 6. Game capsules.

B16. 'Skins ready for opener. B17. Redskins chart. B17.

refuses to lose. "If I play a girl in cards, I will not let her win," he said. "If I play a girl in tennis, I will not let her win. I'm very competi--rive. No, make that overly competitive." Westbrook-signed a seven-year, $18 million contract and reported Please see RookleB16 S.C.

Never in its storied 49-year history has NASCAR seen a championship points chase quite like this one. With eight races remaining after today's Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, four drivers still are within reach of the Winston Cup and its $1.3 million payoff. If tradition holds, one of them i Please see NASCARB10 to competition, when a score is kept and individual performance means the difference in winning and losing, the all-American receiver from Colorado A LJ It.