Hattiesburg American from Hattiesburg, Mississippi • 24

2C Sunday, November 13, 1983 Hattiesburg AMERICAN Tide downs Eagles 11 sin classic meeting (huck gdie i A AMERICAN ptxXos by SIM Cotomwi ALABAMA FULLBACK Ricky Moore (26, above) Moore scored two TDs for the Tide. Crimson is tackled by USM linebacker Greg Kelley Tide quarterback Walter Lewis (10, below) tries during the second quarter of their game to rush past USM defensive end Chris Jackson. Saturday at Legion Field in Birmingham, Ala. Alabama won the game 28-1 6. JO BIRMINGHAM, Ala.

As expected, USM and Alabama staged a classic struggle here Saturday afternoon at Legion Field. It was billed in advance as a battle between the Crimson Tide's high-power offense and the Golden Eagles' stingy defense. The 74,000 fans, including some 7,000 Golden Eagle partisans, in attendence on this brisk autumn afternoon saw a little bit of both, but in the final analysis, it was those key breaks which told the story. Let the record books show that Alabama won this contest, 28-16, but let them also show that this score is in no way indicative of the game itself. This one wasn't decided until four minutes remained when Bama's bulldozing fullback, Ricky More, plunged over from the one-yard line with four minutes to play.

Just five minutes earlier, USM's Steve Clark had put the Eagles within reach with his third field goal of the. day (and sixth of his career vs. the a 33-yard shot, After the Nasty Bunch stopped the Tide on its next possession, USM took over from its own 38 with 7:24 to play. That's when the Bama defense rose to the occasion, snuffing a Louis Lippe reverse play for on eight-yard loss and chasing USM quarterback Robert Ducksworth out-of-bounds with a nine-yard loss. On Bama's next possession, the Tide took it in for a score, thanks in major part to a 38-yard run by super quarterback Walter Lewis to the USM five.

USM coach Jim Carmody thought that play was the difference in the game. "Walter Lewis is the best quarterback we've played against this year," Carmody said. "He's a big-play man and he kept them in the game all day long. His play on that option run at the end was a very big play. We were hanging in there at the end.

It was Lewis' ability to make the play. It wasn't our defense's fault." USM wasn't a team without opportunities Saturday. Three times the Eagles moved to within touchdown range, but had to settle for field goals. That was the difference. It all started with the opening kickoff when USM's Vincent Alexander broke through the middle of the Bama coverage and raced 96 yards to the Crimson Tide four.

He was a step away from six points. USM took four cracks at a touchdown, three from the one, and come up empty. The Golden Eagles' usually reliable Power-I in goal-line situations came up empty three times. With momentum on its side, the Tide promptly moved the ball downfield 95 yards on 13 plays for the game's first score. The tempo was set.

"I thought we could put the ball in the end zone," Carmody said of USM's early pportunity. "What really hurt us was the fact that they drove it 95 yards to score after we didn't convert." Carmody had no intentions of going for three points on fourth down. "We made the decision to go for the touchdown because we came to win. We felt like they wouldn't stop us." Besides the failure to score after Alexander's run, USM had some other breaks go against it in the first half. Two lost fumbles and a near-break go against it in the first half.

Two lost fumbles and a near-break of a punt return by Lapps were thorns in the Eagles' side. Bama converted one of the fumbles into a touchdown, which put the Tide ahead 14-7. Lipps return in the closing minutes of the first half brought the crowd to its feet as he rambled 36 yards before slipping down at the Tide 40. "Somebody hit It 7. SPORTS EDITOR me on the ankle.

I had it wide open to the end some, too." Lipps said. USM had to settle for another Clark field goal, making it 14-10 at halftime. "Down only four, I thought we could come back and win," Ducksworth said. The Eagles came out the third period, stopped Bama, and used a 30-yard return by Lipps to gain another field goal by Clark closing the gap to 14-13. But before the field goal, a motion penalty on USM nullified a first-down run by tailback Sam Dejarnette to the Bama 12.

It turned out to be a costly penalty. One of the back breakers for the Eagles came late in the third period when Eagles' halfback Kerry Goode scooted 32 yards for a touchdown to make it 21-13. A flanker reverse of 44 yards by Lipps enabled USM to cash in on another field goal necessitated after Ducksworth was sacked for a 12-yard loss. Once again, USM settled for three when it needed seven. It was one story of this game.

"That was the main thing that killed us," said USM offensive coordinator Keith Daniels. "We got the ball down there and didn't score. We kick three field goals in situations where if we score (touchdowns), the outcome might have been different. "We were so close to scoring touchdowns on some big plays." Ducksworth, who completed 9-of-17 passes for 128 yards, perhaps summed it up best. "The big difference today was we gave them the breaks they needed, and in turn, they didn't give us any." But that's not to say that the 16th-ranked Crimson Tide, eyed by scouts from five different bowls on this day, didn't know that it was in a battle till the end.

"Bama has a good team, but this game could have gone either way," said USM center Steve Carmody. Bama coach and Petal's own Ray Perkins couldn't agree with the younger Carmody more. "In this game, because of last year and the year before (when USM beat Bama and tied them, respectively), the win meant something special," Perkins said. "I said Southern Mississippi was the beat team we've faced and I still maintain that." Perkins' offensive line, which had trouble containing USM's defensive front can also attest to the rugged contest. Nosegurad Jerald Baylis was the Tide's biggest pain, often times eluding double teams to make tackles.

"They're front seven is the best we've faced this year," Perkins said. "I felt like we could throw the ball, but we had problems with pass protection. Baylis got back there some and came through untouched one time." As darkness falls over Legion Field, memories of this game are all that remain. Bama registered its 600th victory, something only four schools can brag about. But it didn't come without a fight.

II -v i i Yj 1 LEWIS TOO MUCH Auburn going to Sugar Bowl SEC Roundup From AP Wire Reports ATHENS, Ga. Third-ranked Auburn, using a ball-control offense keyed to the running of Bo Jackson and an unyielding defense, strangled No. 4 Georgia 13-7 Saturday to clinch at least a share of the Southeastern Conference championship and a Sugar Bowl bid. "They are going," Sugar Bowl President Bill Martinez said in the waning moments of the game, although the formal announcement will not be made until next Saturday. The Tigers, winning their eighth in a row since an early loss to second-ranked Texas, claimed the SEC crown for only the second time in their history.

The other came during their 1957 national championship season. With Jackson supplying key runs of 8, 20 and 28 yards in the first half, Auburn took control by taking a 13-0 halftime lead and watched its defense repel a couple of mild second-half threats until Georgia scored with 2:11 remaining on John Lastinger's 13-yard pass to Herman Archie. Georgia's David Painter then recovered an onside kick at the Georgia 46, but the Bulldogs were unable to move. The defeat ended a pair of long Georgia winning streaks 23 in a row in the SEC and 24 on its home field. Both streaks started after Auburn belted the Bulldogs 33-13 in 1979.

Florida 24, Kentucky 7 GAINESVILLE, Fla. Wayne Peace became the 20th passer in NCAA history to go over the career mark Saturday as 14th-ranked Florida snapped a two-game losing streak with a 24-7 Southeastern Conference victory over Kentucky. Peace, a senior from Lakeland, completed 9 of 11 passes for 93 yards to increase his four-year total to 7,016 yards, the second highest in SEC history. The 6-2, 213-pounder left the game after scoring a touchdown on a 1-yard sneak in the fourth quarter, however, and failed to throw for 100 yards for the first time in 29 games. A Florida Field crowd of 73,192 and scouts from four postseason bowls watched as the Gators halted the two-game slide that eliminated them from the SEC title chase and improved their record to 7-2-1, 4-2 in the SEC.

West Virginia 21, Vandy 10 BLACKSBURG, Va. Defensive back Ashley Lee returned intercepted passes 94 and 88 yards for touchdowns, setting an NCAA record in the process, as Virginia Tech's Hokies downed Vanderbilt's Commodores 21-10 in college football Saturday. The loss dropped Vanderbilt to 2-8. Auburn, 9-1 and 5-fl, took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on Lionel James' 4-yard run that ended a 27-yard drive following a fumble recovery. Al Del Greco contributed second-quarter field goals of 21 and 41 yards, the last on the final play of the half to give the Tigers a 13-0 intermission advantage.

Georgia, losing for only the second time in its last 44 regular season games, fell to 8-1-1 for the year and 5-1 in the conference, falling short in its bid to wrest the SEC title for the fourth year in a row. Auburn still must beat arch-rival Alabama at Birmingham on Dec. 3 to claim the title outright. An Alabama victory would throw it into a three-way tie among Alabama, Auburn and Georgia and could become a four-way deadlock if Tennessee wins three remaining conference games. Georgia, which netted only 54 yards and three first downs in the opening half, got a 40-yard kickoff return from Gary Moss to start the second half, but bogged down after reaching the Tiger 38.

The Bulldogs reached the Auburn 33 late in the third quarter before Doug Smith sacked John Lastinger for a two-yard loss on a fourth-and-one keeper. With visions of Lipps' "Now-you-see-me-now-you-don't" moves still fresh in the minds of those in attendance, the USM jitterbug performed an encore to set up USM's initial points of the second half. Lipps' 30-yard punt return, plus a five-yard facemask penalty gave the Eagles a first down at the Bama 36. But the Eagles could advance no farther than the Tide 21 and Clark was summoned to convert a 37-yard field goal with 10:30 left in the third quarter. USM dominated play for much of the third stanza before Goode made his most significant contribution to the Tide offense in the period's waning moments.

A mixture of Lewis' scrambling and passing carried the hosts from their own 20 to the USM 32 when Goode took a simple handoff over left guard, escaped to the outside and outran everyone to the end zone. Van Tiffin's third straight PAT Improved Bama's lead to 21-13. Alabama's only turnover of the afternoon led to USM's final points of the game. Moore fumbled the ball into the hands of Eagle strong safety Bud Brown, who recovered at the USM 45. On first down Ducksworth started left in option form but pitched the ball instead to a reversing Lipps, who galloped to the Tide 11 before being knocked out of bounds.

USM inched its way to the Tide four in two downs but Ducksworth's third-down pass attempt never left his hand as King stormed across to sack the Eagle quarterback at the 16. Clark collected the points again, drilling a 33-yard field goal with 9:56 to play. The Golden Eagles never set foot on Bama territory again and Lewis decided the issue moments later with his splendid option run. "I thought we battled Alabama tough all day long. I'm very proud of our team.

This wasn't a game where you could point fingers at anyone. Give Alabama credit, they came to play," Carmody said. With the victory, the Tide improved their overall record to 7-2 heading into next week's game against Boston College. The Golden Eagles close out the 1983 season next Saturday at home against the East Carolina Pirates. FROM PageIC He was 10 yards ahead of his nearest pursuer at the Bama 30 when Richardson motored into the picture and overtook Alexander at the four, ending his 96-yard dash.

"I couldn't believe he didn't make it," said Carmody. "In fact, my view was blocked toward the end of the run and I assumed he had scored. The kid (Richardson) just made one heckuva play." And the young (five freshmen starters) Crimson Tide defense came up with one heckuva goal-line stand. Four times the Eagles charged the defensive line with running plays and the ball ultimately exchanged hands at the Bama five when Tide defensive tackle Jon Hand dumped quarterback Robert Ducksworth for a loss on a fourth-and-one option right. Despite the undeniable dejection, USM's offense must have felt, Carmody didn't consider that early series crucial to the game's outcome.

"I don't think we got down after that," he said. "We came back to score 10 points in the first half. I thought we could put the ball in the end zone. We made the decision to go for the touchdown on fourth down because we came to win. We felt like they wouldn't stop us." Perkins placed much more emphasis on the early confrontation.

"I thought it was a big series when we kept them out from the four-yard line and that set the tempo for the game. It was a big lift for our a big confidence builder." It also challenged the Crimson Tide offense to equal the effort on its first opportunity of the day. Ninety-five yards and 13 flawless plays later, the hosts made the defensive stand pay off when Moore bulled his way into the end zone from a yard out with 7:18 showing on the clock. Moore, a 6-0, 235-pound junior, finished as the game's leading rusher with 102 yards on 23 carries, while tailback Kerry Goode contributed 74 more to a Bama running attack that produced a whopping 299 yards. The Golden Eagles, who fell to 7-3 on the season, got a 73-yard rushing effort from tailback Sam Dejarnette, who made his first start in AMERICAN photo by Sleva Coteman USM LINEBACKER Greg Haeusler puts stop on Alabama's Ricky Moore.

three weeks. USM managed a respectable 189 yards on the ground against the Tide and Ducksworth threw for 128, completing nine of 17, but he was sacked five times. A little bit of the gambler in Carmody surfaced again early in the second quarter when his Eagles faced a fourth-and-one situation at the Bama 22, trailing 7-0. Kicker Steve Clark set up to attempt a 39-yard field goal but when holder Mike Landrum got the football he sprung from his crouch and rambled off left tackle for eight yards to the Tide 14. Dejarnette covered the 14 in two carries and Clark's PAT tied the score 7-7 with 13:47 remaining in the second period.

After holding Bama on downs, USM began making offensive headway again in its next possession but Ducksworth coughed up the ball after running for 28 yards and Tide linebacker Emanuel King made the recovery at his own 43. Lewis and Co. put the gift to good use immediately. This time the hosts needed 11 plays to penetrate the Nasty Bunch but paydirt was reached when Linnie Patrick hurdled to the stack to score from one yard out with 3:48 left in the half. lipps' nifty 36-yard return of a Malcolm Simmons punt with just 18 seconds left enabled USM to salvage a few more points before intermission.

Clark came on to nail a 31-yard field goal as time expired and Bama carried a 14-10 lead into the dressing room. Alcorn demolishes Prairie View State Roundup From AP Wire Reports LORMAN Quarterback Richard Miles threw four touchdown passes Saturday as Alcorn State demolished Prairie View 38-6 in a Southwestern Athletic Conference football game. Miles threw two scoring passes in the first quarter to Ray Vaughn in the first quarter and hit Barry Robinson and Charles Coleman with strikes in the second period. Vaughn caught touchdown passes of two and eight yards, while Robinson hauled down an 11-yarder and Coleman a 24-yarder. VaUey51.Teiin.StM MEMPHIS, Tenn.

(AP) -Quarterback Willie Totten threw four first-quarter scoring passes in the final period to maintain the visitors' lead. MARTIN, Tenn. Senior quarterback David Carter threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth Saturday to carry the University of Tennessee at Martin to a 34-16 Gulf South Conference football victory over Delta State. Miles 34, Millsaps 14 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. BorrU Banks passed for 420 yards and three touchdowns to lead Miles College to a 34-14 victory over Millsaps Saturday.

and ran for a fifth touchdown Saturday to lead Mississippi Valley State to a 51-34 college football victory over Tennessee State. Totten added a fifth TD pass in the third quarter. The victory left Mississippi Valley with a 7-2-1 record. Tennessee State also has a 7-2-1 record. Totten's scoring blitz gave Mississippi Valley a 34-0 first-quarter lead.

It took a 43-yard field goal by Johnathan Stakes in the second period Totten's third-quarter TD run and a 14-yard scoring run by Jeremiah Snowden.