The Lincoln Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 17

-Thursday, January 2. 1992 OHAfJQE B017L Lincoln Journal-Star Page 1 7 :1 SIX f--w -1 5. jlrifjiWinil'W fi 'f -'A lIlliPwMwiii yM.MuM.m.J Associated Prs iliami defensive end Rusty Medearis celebrates after sacking Miam: ro.ah,a, i i i Nebraska quarterback Keithen McCant In the second quarter. EIJESte1' 11,0,1138 prematurely, as he was ruled out of bounds on this first- Randv HamptonLincoln Star quarter catch. Miami r-w H-' 4W 11 IS 11 iiwi -UO.

m)iiramii iiknmlmmmmtmtmmimtmmtmmmmtmmmmkim mm nli I Associated Press v. Rondv HomDtanLlncoln Star Nebraska comerback Tyrone Legette hits the turf after intercepting a pass in the second quarter. He was ruled down in the field play. From Page 13 Nebraska fullback Omar Soto, who was ruled ineligible for the Orange Bowl, talks with tackle Erik Wiegert before the game. Soto offers apology to Nebraska, fans brown's head.

That led to another 24-yard field goal by Huerta. Penalties for offensive interference, holding and clipping stopped two drives, and a pass interception by Tyrone Legette stopped another. -We thought we had done pretty well to keep them to field goals instead of touchdowns on two of those rdrives," NU middle guard Pat Engel-bert said. "We were fired up and ready to make a difference in the sec ond half. But they came out and drove it right down our throats, and that seemed like it." MIAMI OPENED the second half with a 10-play, 66-yard scoring drive that third-string freshman tailback Larry Jones ended with a 1-yard dive.

Huerta tacked on a 54-yard field goal before the end of the quarter. Nebraska's only threats ended in a missed 43-yard field goal by Byron Bennett in the second quarter and a fumble by Mickey Joseph at the Miami 20 with 7:43 left in the game. 'They were stronger than I thought they were," NU Coach Tom Osborne said. "We thought we could run at them with our size and strength ad-1 vantage." Nebraska averaged 6.5 yards per rush before the Orange BowL On Wednesday night, the Cornhuskers averaged a little better than 2 yards per rush, and that was with the help of Individual Statistics 54 yards on six carries with the score 22-0. Cornhusker freshman I-back Calvin Jones led the team with 69 yards rushing.

But teammate Derek Brown was held to 10 yards on five carries, and McCant finished with minus 32 yards on nine carries. "THEY WERE awfully quick and penetrated well almost all the time," Osborne said of Miami's defense. "At times we didn't cover rush well We could have thrown better at times. We could have run better routes, too. "But Keithen (McCant) was under pressure and took a lot of heat all game." McCant finished with six completions for 80 yards.

He was intercepted twice and was sacked five times. "Our entire defense had a great game," Miami Coach Dennis Erick-son said. "The way we played defense was very gutsy. We played a good football game. We came in here and knew what we had to do, and just did it "I'm disappointed with the number of penalties, but any time you can shut Nebraska out, you've played pretty well" Whether it was well enough to convince voters in football polls, nobody on Nebraska would say.

For the Miami players, it was plenty. "It was the perfect ending to the perfect season," Miami's Miller said. "We did it all, and we didn't let Nebraska do anything." NU fullback says he's sorry for any embarrassment. From Star staff and wire reports MIAMI Nebraska fullback Omar Soto said at a small news conference Wednesday afternoon that he was sorry for any problems he might have caused. Soto, who was declared ineligible by the University of Nebraska on Tuesday, told Miami television stations in Spanish and English that he apologized for any embarrassment his situation might have caused the people of Nebraska.

Soto was found to have played in a preseason scrimmage at San Jacinto Junior College in California in the fall of 1986. He then played two seasons of football at Arizona Western Junior College before transferring to Nebraska. He redshirted in 1989 and played for NU the last two years. Replayed in five games this fall, carrying 15 times for 172 yards. The four Nebraska wins in which Soto played will be offered as forfeits by NU when a complete report of the NCAA infraction is filed by Jan.

31. Flanked by his wife, Bee Soto, former Miami High Coach Ralph Arza and attorney Bruce Harper at the west end of a near-empty Orange BowL an obviously nervous Soto read from a prepared statement: "First of all, I'd like to say to my school, Coach Tom Osborne, my other coaches and my teammates that with all my heart I wish that I could be standing in the Orange Bowl end zone with a touchdown rather than here in this press conference. "It was a dream to complete my comeback here at home. But to the football world and fans, I will be back, and I am ready to continue my career in professional football if given the chance." Soto's attorney advised him not to answer questions or speak beyond the prepared statement In his statement Soto said he was told by coaches at San Jacinto and again at Arizona Western that his participation in the preseason practices would not affect his eligibility. "I have never hidden or denied the fact that I was briefly at Mount San Jacinto," he said.

"The question never came up after I left and in my mind I felt I had not lost any eligibility." Junior college rules differ from the NCAA rules, which count eligibility from the preseason scrimmages. Soto, the only Miami native on Nebraska's roster, played in Nebraska's first three non-conference games, breaking a leg early in the third game, a loss to Washington. He returned to play sparingly against Iowa State and Oklahoma. Interception returns No. Yds.

Leggette 2 3 Defense Tackles UT AT TT 9 0 9 Bvrd 5 3 8 5 3 8 Parella 6 17 Beler 4.2,6 Carmer 4 2 6 Anderson 2 4 6 3 2 5 Legette ...3 2 5 Hill 3 1 4 White 1 3 4 Engelbert 3 14 Hughes 3 1 4 Gray 3 0 3 Alberts 10 1 Ramaekers 1 01 Liewer 0 11 10 1 Baker 0 1 1 Gelken 10 1 McDuffy 0 11 Muhammed 10 1 D. Jones 10 1 Klckoff returns No. Yds. K. 1 28 Interception returns No.

Yds. Brown 1 42 D. Williams 1 0 Defense Tackles UT AT TT Barrow 6 4 10 D. Williams 6 2 8 James 4 2 6 Pharms 3 2 5 Medearis 4 1 5 Smith 4 0 4 Armstead 4 0 4 Ceaser 12 3 Britton 2 1 3 2 0 2 Patrick 2 0 2 Miller 2 0 2 Hamlet 1 0 1 0 11 Selgler 0 1 1 0 1 1 Seible 0 1 1 K. 10 1 1 0 1 Nebraska Offense Rushing No.

Yds. Ave. 69 4.6 Tewls 7 17 2.4 D. Brown 5 10 2.0 2 19 9.5 'WcCont 9 -32 3.6 Passing r' No. Co.

Yds PI McCant 38 6 80 2 14 0 Receiving No. Yds. 3 57 Muhammed 1 16 Hawkins 1 9 1 6 Bostlck 1 1 Punting No. Yds. Ave.

8 309 38.6 Punt returns No. Yds. 1 0 Klckoff returns No. Yds. 2 44 19 -r 1 0 1 McCant 1 0 1 Dumas 1 0 1 Miami Offense Rushing No.

Yds. Ave. L. Jones. .....30 144 4.8 8 23 2.9 11, 2.2 Spencer 1 4 4.0 Passing No.

Co. Yds PI Torretta 41 19 257 2 Receiving No. Yds. K. Williams 8 126 Thomas 5 73 Bell 2 28 Marucci 1 10 Spencer 1 9 L.

Jones 1 6 Copeland 1 5 Punting No. Yds. Ave. Snyder 5 165 33.0 Punt returns No. Yds.

K. 6 24.