The Morning Call from Allentown, Pennsylvania • 33

FIRST THE MORNING CALL OCT. 20, 1991 SECTION Kutztown dominates West Chester C6 SCOREBOARD C2 SPORTS PLUS C3 INSIDE THE OUTDOORS CI 3 BOWLING C14 If si ifwSLOirirQ ilJOLT pirolbDeLnrDS for Michael gets surprise win in Challenge 'Cough' on final turn is costly to ears By MIKE HARRIS Of The Associated Press MONTEREY, Calif. (AP) One cough from Rick Mears' engine was enough to hand yesterday's Marlboro Challenge All-Star Indy-car race to a stunned Michael Andretti. Mears appeared on the way to an easy victory in the 45-lap event on Laguna Seca Raceway's 2.214-mile, 11-turn road course until the Chevrolet engine in his Penske racer sputtered coming off the final turn of the final lap. Andretti, the first repeat winner in the annual 100-mile race for the season's race Braves' catcher could have used 50 tickets By JIM DONAGHY Of The Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS Greg Olson is a visitor in the first two games of the World Series with a home-field advantage.

Olson attended the University of Minnesota and was a second-team All-Ameri-can in 1981 and '82. He rooted for the Minnesota Twins in the 1987 World Series and played three games for them in 1989. But Olson's career didn't get going until the Atlanta Braves gave him a chance last year. After eight seasons in the minor leagues, Olson found himself on the All-Star team. Last night, he was also the starting catcher in Game 1 of the World Series between Atlanta and Minnesota.

The worst-to-first seasons by the Braves and Twins almost mirror Olson's struggles to prove he belonged in the big Glavine and Tapani are 0-3 in playoffs "Evidently, it was a pickup problem," The computer in the pits showed we had a couple more gallons of fuel left in the tank. But I guess it got sloshed around coming through the last couple of turns and some air got in there. Rick Mears and pole winners and top 10 point finishers, tried to keep the pressure on the leader but had been unable to close the margin to less than 1.55 seconds on lap 36. The separation was still about 2 seconds as the two leaders headed into turn 11, a 90-degree left-hander. As Mears tried to get back up to speed coming off the slow turn, he suddenly wavered and slowed just long enough for the surprised Andretti to race past and take the checkered flag about 100 yards up the track.

"Evidently, it was a pickup problem," Mears said. "The computer in the pits showed we had a couple more gallons of fuel left in the tank. But I guess it got sloshed around coming through the last couple of turns and some air got in there. "It just coughed and that was enough for Michael to get by. Other than that, the car never missed a beat all day.

I congratulate Michael. It was a great win for him." Andretti's mind has been far more focused on today's season-ending Champion Spark Plug 300, which he enters with a 13-point lead over Bobby Rahal in the CART PPG Cup championship race, Please See MICHAEL Page C12 -1 i- I Associated Press American League umpire Steve Palermo, who suffered a spinal injury while trying to stop a robbery last July, is hugged by home plate umpire Don Denkinger after throwing the ceremonial first pitch. Dsood time, too. "It's a lot more fun in the big leagues than the minors," Olson said. "I probably paid my dues a lot more than some of the other guys.

Now that I'm here, I am grateful for the times in the minor leagues, but the two years I have had in the big leagues, I couldn't ask for anything more." While his teammates spent the night sleeping in hotels and ordering room service, Olson made coffee in the morning and took care of his son. "This is very comforting," Olson said. "Instead of staying at the hotel, I get to go home and sleep in my waterbed. Agtually it is nice I can stay in my own house. My mother and father-in-law can stay with me and my parents live about three miles down the road in Edina.

It makes for a lot Please See OLSON Page C12 youth. And his father, Ray, played for Des Moines in the U.S. Hockey League. "Early on, I played hockey," Tapani said. "Up until high school.

Then I switched to basketball. My ankles are just too weak. I was skating on the insides of my blades too much." The Metrodome may have a bit of a hockey feel the plexiglass above the left-field fence seems out of place but it's the center of the baseball world this weekend. And Glavine and Tapani a combined 0-3 in four starts during the playoffs will be the focal points in Game 2. Glavine, a left-hander, was 20-11, Atlanta's first 20-game winner since Phil Niekro in 1979.

He hadn't been born when the last Please See GLAVINE Page C12 place on Lehigh's all-time passing yardage list. The victory sets up the most critical game of the season for the Engineers, who entered the game ranked 20th in Division 1-AA. Lehigh entertains unbeaten Holy Cross (also 6-0 and ranked No. 3 nationally) next Saturday in a game that will go a long way in detenmning the Patriot League Please See LEHIGH Page C12 for Leopards I if Jim MICHELE SZOKA The Morning Call his 224 vards. 'V LehogBi) irailSes 11 dowei to stun wdeh0ss (Pernio 28-1 7 By GARY R.

BLOCKUS Of The Morning Call Lehigh's Phil Smith didn't play in yesterday's 28-17 come-from-behind win over the University of Pennsylvania, but his role was just as important as any starter. Wielding a white towel, the reserve offensive linemen whipped the crowd into a cheering frenzy on a third-and-10 for Penn late in the game with the Engineers trailing the winless Quakers 17-14. By RONALD BLUM Of The Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS A while back, pucks and pads might have been more appropriate this time of year for Tom Glavine and Kevin Tapani. It was cold outside the Metrodome on Saturday night with a chance of flurries, much more fitting for hockey than it was for the pressure pitches of the World Series. When they face off tonight in Game 2, it might well be called "Ice, Ice Baby." The 25-year-old Glavine was drafted by the NHL's Los Angeles Kings in the fourth round.

The 27-year-old Tapani, who has just two full seasons of major league experience, played hockey through his The result? Lehigh nickel defensive back Mike Wetzel stepped in front of Penn quarterback Fitz McKinnon's pass at the Engineer 40, then raced down the left sideline untouched for the winning touchdown as Lehigh won its sixth straight game. The Engineers rallied from a 17-6 deficit with 22 points in the final quarter, including a pair of touchdown passes from by Glenn Kempa, who moved into third tat ,5 A Lafayette's John Kahn qains some of Kahn is unexpected hero Associated Press Penn State's O.J. McDuffie (24) escapes Rutgers punter David Dunne as McDuffie returns the punt 55 yards for a touchdown in the second period. Lions brush aside Rutgers 37-15 thanks to McDuffie, Smith Lafayette gets outstanding play from defense By TED MEIXELL Of The Morning Call The last thing in the world John Kahn expected as he dressed for combat yesterday was to carry the ball 41 times against Columbia and gain 224 yards in the Leopards' 30-15 win. But, after his tailback running mate, freshman Erik Marsh, suffered a deep shoulder bruise blocking for him on the opening kickoff, that's exactly what the Lafayette sophomore wound up doing.

Needless to say, when the details of the Leopards' triumph over the Ivy Leaguers were dissected, Kahn's frolics stood out boldly. In Lafayette's (4-2) first five games, Kahn and Marsh had split the ball carrying load just about down the middle. When Marsh went down immediately, Kahn wound up almost doubling his season output in one afternoon (he had 273 yards and 70 carries coming in). "I definitely didn't expect this," said Kahn who, despite his broad grin, admit- Ptease See KAHN Page CI 2 teams) than the players themselves. Joe Paterno called it a "sloppy game for both sides.

The Homecoming Day crowd of 95,729 sensed it, too. A total of 31 penalties were called (16 on Rutgers and 15 on Penn State), and by the time the fourth quarter rolled around the boos rang down from the stands when the yellow flag dropped. Both sides were uncomfortable with the rash of penalties in the long, sometimes boring game that lasted for three hours and five minutes. A long time for a non-televised game. McDuffie was the man-of-the-game for Please See LIONS Page CI 2 By JOHN KUNDA Morning Call Columnist UNIVERSITY PARK Thank goodness for wide receivers O.J.

McDuffie and Terry Smith or Rutgers would have been another Big East underdog to bring out the total worst in nationally-ranked Penn State. The Nittany Lions brushed aside the four-touchdown underdog Scarlet Knights yesterday 37-17 but not without overcoming mistake after mistake. Shades of the suspect victories over Boston College and Temple. To make matters worse, the officials almost logged more yardage (for both.