Hattiesburg American from Hattiesburg, Mississippi • 25

Chuck Abadie, Sports Editor 584-31 1 0 Alan Hinton, Assistant Sports Editor 584-3136 HATTIESBURG AMERICAN SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1994 PAGE 1C' out Tu SM punches 1 WHO: USM Golden Eagles vs. Virginia Tech Hokies WHEN: 5 p.m. Saturday WHERE: M.M. Roberts Stadium, Hattiesburg business." And took care of the football. USM had no fumbles, and quarterback Tommy Waters, who completed 16 of 30 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown, was not intercepted.

All told, USM rang up 473 total yards on offense, the most against a Divsion I-A school in two years. "Last year was a down year for me and the team," said Waters, who missed six games with a shoulder separation. "It feels really good to come out and play well after everything we have been through." Tulane coach Buddy Teevens said his team missed out on too many By TIM DOHERTY AMERICAN Sports Writer NEW ORLEANS The buzz surrounding the University of Southern Mississippi's season opener centered on its new, wide-open offensive attack. Instead, USM bludgeoned Tulane the old-fashioned way. Fueled by career games of tailbacks Chris Buckhalter and Howard McGee, the Golden Eagles pounded for 314 yards on the ground in rolling past the Wave 25-10 Saturday before 24,786 at the Superdome.

Buckhalter rushed for 186 yards on 30 carries and McGee notched 141 yards on 13 carries. The yardage came in chunks. Buck halter ripped off runs of 22, 32 and 44 yards and McGee tore off 22-, 31- and 60-yard runs, the last a sideline scoring sprint that that iced the game with just 2 minutes, 22 seconds left. "Personally, I didn't expect to come out there and put up those kind of numbers," Buckhalter said, "but I'm glad we did." The last time two USM backs cracked the 100-yard barrier: Vincent Alexander and Sheiton Gandy vs. Mississippi State in 1986.

Buckhalter's yardage was the eighth-best performnce in school history and the best since Tony Smith's 190-yard effort against Tualne in 1990. "Those two guys give us a pretty good one-two punch there," Bower said. "We "I didn't think we played badly," Teevens said. "We just have to perform when it counts, and when we need a big play." Which is precisely what the USM did. The Golden Eagle defenders allowed Tulane just 219 yards total offense, and after giving up a touchdown on Tulane's first drive, held the Wave to just three points.

"The impressive thing about our defense was when they needed to make a big play, 'they did," Bower said. USM came up with three Wave turnovers, a fumble recovery by freshman defensive end Robert Brown that set up a field goal, and interceptions by corner- See EAGLES, 4C Furious football if SCOREBOARD College football State scores Grambling 62, Alcorn St. 56 Howard 27, Miss. Valley 25 Austin 21, Millsaps 14 Miss. College 28, Ark.Mont.

28 JuCo score Jones JC 49, Coahoma 27 SEC scores Arkansas 34, SMU 14 1 i i Alabama 42, UT-Chattanooga 13 Florida 70, N. Mexico St. 2 1 Georgia 24, South Carolina 21 Texas 18, LSU 13 UCLA 25, Tennessee 23 Vanderbilt 35, Wake Forest 14 I Kentucky 20, Louisville 14 Top 25 scores Fla. State 41, Virginia 17 Michigan 34, Boston College 26 Miami 56, Ga. Southern 0 t- Colorado 48, NE Louisiana 13 Uyr1 Px ALL OVER 'EM: Ole Miss' Michael Lowery (2) knocks down Auburn wide receiver completing a pass Saturday during action at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford.

The Associated Press Frank Sanders (81) and stops him from made the big plays and put enough points on the board to win the football game." And a sweet win it was after a disappointing 2-8-1 mark in 1993 that included a 17-15 to the Wave in Hattiesburg. "We needed to win this one, and we knew it," Bower said. "We took care of ram i rf ilfti nfli WHO: Ole Miss Rebels vs. Southern Illinois Salukis WHEN: 6 p.m. Saturday WHERE: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, Oxford rible in that first half." Fred Thomas fumbled a punt 90 seconds into the game, and the first half went downhill from there for Mississippi.

Auburn scored after that fumble, then drove 80 yards for another touchdown. The Rebels had one first down and four net yards total offense at halftime. Smith provided a fitting ending when he ran backwards 14 yards into his own end zone and was tackled for a safety with 1 minute, 16 seconds left in the half. Mississippi took the second-half kickoff and drove 80 yards in eight plays and 2 12 minutes to score and cut the lead to 16-10. Smith made up for his second-quarter goof with a 22-yard run, then scored the Rebels' first touchdown of the season on a 18-yard screen pass from Nelson.

Auburn came back behind the running of Stephen Davis (33 carries, 159 yards) to score again and go up 22-10. WHO: Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. Louisiana State Tigers WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday WHERE: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, La. linebackers Dwayne Curry and Scott Gumina, from defensive backs Walt and Johnny Harris to defensive end Michael Lindsey.

Mississippi State's offense sputtered early, but managed to produce two Michael Davis touchdown runs and set up a 43-yard field goal by Tim Rogers. Mississippi State and Memphis combined for 80 points a year ago. It was hard to believe that Saturday. There wasn't a first down until the game's seventh series, and there were no points scored for the first 23:25. It was 7-0 at uburn holds off Southern Cal 24, Washington 17 Texas 30, Pittsburgh 28 Va.

Tech 34, Ark. State 7 Clemson 27, Furman 6 Penn State 56, Minnesota 3 North Carolina 27, TCU 17 Oklahoma 30, Syracuse 29 Notre Dame 42, N'western 15 Other college scores Duke 49, Maryland 16 Indiana 28, Cincinnati 3 Iowa 52, Central Michigan 21 Summaries, 2C Baseball Minor Leagues Iowa 3-1, New Orleans 1-2 Texas League playoffs Jackson 2, Shreveport 1 Jackson wins series 3-2 ON TV TODAY 11:30 a.m. Tennis (U.S. Open Tennis Championships), CBS. 11:30 a.m.

College football (Auburn at Ole Miss, tape), SportSouth. Noon NASCAR Auto Racing (Winston Cup, Southern 500), ESPN. Noon NFL Football (Atlanta at Detroit), WXXV. Noon NFL Football (Kansas City at New Orleans), WD AM. 3 p.m.

PGA Golf (Greater Milwaukee Open, final round), ABC. 3 p.m. IndyCar Auto Racing (Jndy Vancouver), ESPN2. 3 p.m. NFL Football (Dallas at Pittsburgh), WXXV.

4 p.m. LPGA Golf (Rail Classic, second round), SportSouth. 6:30 p.m. Tennis (U.S. Open Tennis Championships, men's third round), USA.

8 p.m. NFL Football (San Diego at Denver), TNT. 10:30 p.m. College football (USM: The Jeff Bower Show), WDAM. ON RADIO HTnnnv Noon NFL football (Kansas City vs.

New Orleans), WHER-FM (103.7). 2:45 p.m. NFL football (Dallas vs. Pittsburgh), WFOR-AM (1400). Banker fakes control Sunburst's Boone named Ole Miss athletic director OXFORD (AP) Sunburst Bank president James T.

"Pete" Boone was named the Ole Miss' new athletic director Saturday, chosen over two other Ole Miss graduates already in athletic administration. Boone, 43, and two other finalists, CFL executive Eric Tillman and Arkansas State athletic director Brad Hovious, were interviewed Friday. Boone was introduced in a press conference after the Rebels opened their season Saturday with a 22-17 loss to No. 12 Auburn. "The general view of the leadership and mrorairrVifr nf in- tercollegiate Boone athletics has changed dramatically in the last five years," school chancellor R.

Gerald Turner said, "the pressures within and the budget issues that have arisen have generated rather a new breed of athletic directors." "One of these things we see here that we need very much, not only do we have to generate more income, but we have to effectively use what we have." The total athletic budget at Ole Miss is about $11.6 million annually, one of the smallest in the Southeastern Conference. Pending NCAA sanctions could cost more than $2 million a year. Boone's appointment must be approved by the state College Board, which meets next Sept. 14. That is generally a formality.

Turner said he will recommend a four-year contract worth $105,000 a year, plus another $15,000 annually from the school's Loyalty Foundation. Boone will replace 16-year Ole Miss athletic director Warner Al-ford, who resigned July 11 in the wake of an NCAA probe in the school's football program. Alford's resignation was effective Wednesday. Ole Miss law school professor Robert Khayat will continue to serve as interim AD until Boone takes over on a full-time basis around Dec. 1, Turner said.

Khayat chose not to pursue the job on a full-time basis. Boone will take over a department facing NCAA penalties. School officials recently admitted to nine of 15 allegations of wrongdoing in the football program, and face a hearing before the infractions committee Sept. 30-Oct. 2.

game. Taite ran almost as often as he threw last season, but carried just four times Saturday. His most important statistic was zero interceptions. Mississippi State's only turnover occurred on a fumbled snap to punter. "As long as we didn't turn it over, we thought we'd hang in there," offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said.

"Derrick made some really good throws in one stretch. He found his tight end, which is big part of our offense." There was no big part of Memphis' offense. The Tigers managed just 195 yards. Last year against Mississippi State, they threw for 379 yards and ran 100. "We just weren't able to connect on big play, and we had our chances missed open receivers and missed a blocking assignments," Memphis coach Chuck Stobart said.

Ole Nelson and the Rebels weren't done, though. An offense that went nowhere in the first half was tough to stop in the second, when Nelson completed 19 of 26 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns. One of those scores came on fourth-and-12 and got the Rebels right back in the game. Under heavy pressure from a defense that sacked him seven times, Nelson side-stepped a rusher and drilled the ball to Roell Preston, who scooped it off the top of the grass with a diving catch. With 9:14 left, Mississippi trailed by five and appeared to have the momentum.

After another Auburn punt, Nelson drove the Rebels to the Auburn 6. On third down, Scott Stacey sacked Nelson for an 8-yard loss. With 3:11 left, facing fourth-and-goal from the 14, Dunn faced his first big-game decision as Rebel head coach: Go for the end zone or kick a field goal. He kicked, and Chris Shelling blocked Tim Montz's 30-yard field goal attempt. Mississippi didn't get another shot at the end zone.

Dunn defended his decision. "That's probably the easiest decision I made," he said. "Had we not gotten sacked, I probably would have went for it, but once we got way back there like that, that four-leaf clover isn't going to be with you on fourth down two times in a row." halftime. Memphis had an excuse. The Tigers had just two returning starters on offense.

But Mississippi State expected bigger and better things from its attack, which returned starters at every position but quarterback. Sophomore Derrick Taite's first start began shakily. Taite's first two passes were touched by Tigers, not Bulldogs, and four of his first five throws fell incomplete. He finally got going, thanks to tight end Kendell Watkins, whose three first-half catches were half as many as he had all last season. Watkins had grabs for 20 and 14 yards on Mississippi State's 40-yard first-half touchdown drive.

Davis ran seven yards for the score. That seemed to get Taite started, and he finished 9 for 19 for 103 yards. A slight ankle sprain in the second quarter limited his mobility the rest of the Miss the a for the but few By Gannett News Service OXFORD A tale of two football games in one unfolded Saturday on a gorgeously sunny day at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. In the first, No. 12 Auburn kicked Mississippi up and down the turf on its way to a 16-3 first-half lead.

In the second, the Rebels dominated the final two quarters before coming up short and losing, 22-17, in the season opener for both schools. "They were ready for that fourth-quarter buzzer to sound, Rebel running back Mark Smith said. "I don't think they wanted any more of us. If we had gotten the ball one more time, we would have won that game." "They came out strong in that second half," said Auburn coach Terry Bowden, whose team extended the nation's longest winning streak to 12 games. Mississippi got as close as the Auburn 6-yard line in the final minutes, but couldn't come up with the touchdown needed for the upset.

Still, for a program starved for good news, the second half was definitely something to build on. "I'm mighty proud of our team and the way they fought back," said Joe Lee Dunn, the Rebels' interim coach. "We got in a position to win the ball game, and I wouldn't have given you a plugged nickel during that first half for our chances the rest of the game. I thought we looked ter- points against Mississippi State a year ago in Starkville. "We got a couple of big plays early, and we're getting to the ball.

Everybody's just swarming to the ball," said Wesley Leasy, who made a key sack from his newly-created position of rushing end. Mississippi State's offseason transformation sounds complicated. The Bulldogs dropped a linebacker, added a lineman and added speed and aggressiveness. Four of Saturday's starters were in positions they had never played. Somehow, the system and the players functioned Bmoothly in their first test.

"I'm sure when we look at the film, well find some mistakes, but when you win, it's easy to correct them," defensive coordinator Bill Clay said. "We can be a pretty good defense when we execute." Coach Jackie Sherrill ran down a long list of defensive heroes, from Leasy to Mississippi State defense strangles Memphis, 17-6 By Gannett News Service MEMPHIS, Tenn. Call it a 4-3 or an attack-read or an imitation of Arizona and Miami. Call Mississippi State's new defensive system anything you want, but call it successful. The Bulldogs' new look debuted Saturday in a 17-6 victory over Memphis.

It was the fewest points Mississippi State allowed in a road game since 1984. A Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium crowd of 35,106 saw the season opener for both teams. The Tigers got just five first downs in the first three quarters and scored their only points with 7:22 left in the game. Their leading rusher was a receiver Andre Woods who ran two reverses for a total of 30 yards. The rest of the Tigers' rushing attack combined for 19 yards.

This from a team that racked up 45.