The Lincoln Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 17

i Sunday Jounial-far AUGUST 28, 1988 kick off ieasoffli trmmpliainitljA Quote of the game NU outside linebacker Broderick Thomas: "LeRoy (Etienne) got us all pumped up because he did something not many people can do he put a guy out cold." Scoring, team stats Texas 7 0 0 7 14 Nebraska 0 3 9 11 23 MM Gurley 1 run (Slater kick) NU FG Barrios 44 NU FG Barrios 38 NU Clark 1 run (pass tailed) NU Millikan 20 pass from Taylor: (Clark run) MM Simmons 2 run (Slater kick) NU FG Barrios 48 A 58.172 By Ken Hambleton EAST RUTHERFORD, J. Steve Taylor figured out a way to handle the Texas AIM'S "Blitz Brothers," and Gregg Barrios kicked his way into the record book to help Nebraska to a 23-14 victory Saturday in the Kickoff Classic at Giants Stadium, "No more Blitz Brothers. No more worry about the first game. No more questions for a day or so," Taylor said of the game played before 58,172 fans in the college football season opener. "This is a game we all need to relax for a day or so after," he said.

"This was hard, but my offensive line did a great job protecting me and the defense gave us all the breaks we needed." Taylor, named the game's most valuable player, revived memories of Nebraska's 1983 victory in the first Kickoff Classic as he awoke the Cornhusker offense for 20 points in the second half. "We seemed to get stronger as the game went along," Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne said. "In the second quarter, we executed and yet made mistakes to stop oursleves. "In the third quarter, we took charge. That's a tribute to tenacity and maturity and character and a great weight program." Didn't make big plays Texas Coach Jackie Sherrill disagreed with the assesment that his team was worn out But be added, "we just did not do it in the third quarter.

We didn't throw and catch and they (Nebraska) made the big plays. "They ran the draw plays three times and hit the cracks in our defense, too," he said. Taylor and the NU offense was constantly hounded by the famed "Blitz Brothers" linebacker corps led by Aaron Wallace and John Roper and fell behind 7-3 in the first half. But the Nebraska senior quarterback MM 11 37-185 42 227 NU 19." 326: 52 23 5-17-2 11-22-0! First downs Rushes-yards Passing yards Total yards Return yards Passing Punts Fumbles-tost Penalties-yards Time of possession Third-down conversions Fourth-down conversion 2-1 7-76 23:55 9-18 5-3-4-351 36:05 8-13" 1-2: On the inside Husker kicker Barrios gains: confidence after missing first: field goal. Page sc.

am "We got caught a couple of times and that seemed to be all it took," Sherrill said. "We lost Rod Harris (the Aggies' leading receiver) and we lost continuity on offense and they picked up on that with their defense." Fryar's interception and return to the' 19-yard line resulted in Barrios' only miss of the game. But Jackson's interception and return to the 24 with 8:31 left in the third quarter set up Nebraska's go-ahead touchdown. Taylor and Clark alternated running for eight plays, and on the ninth, Clark stopped, took a step and followed NU left tackle Bob Sledge into the end zone to give Nebraska a 12-7 lead with 4:32 left in the third quarter. The Cornhuskers kept the pressure on, and after a quarterback sack by Paul Brungardt and intensive pressure by Thomas, the Aggies were forced to punt Without missing a beat, Clark burst through the middle of the blitzing rush for 25 yards on a draw play, and two plays later, sophomore Terry Rodg-ers broke free on a sprint draw to the left side for 28 yards to the 20.

Millikan TD pass hit tight end Todd Millikan on a 20-yard touchdown pass. He also set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Ken Clark, and drove the Cornhuskers into the field goal range of Barrios to rally his No. 2-ranked team. Barrios, a redshirt sophomore from Omaha Creighton Prep, kicked field goals of 48, 44 and 38 yards to tie the record for most field goals in a Kickoff Classic. His 48-yard kick with 7:10 left in the fourth quarter followed an touchdown just three minutes earlier.

Nebraska's defense was equal to the challenge, holding the Aggies to 33 yards in the third quarter after allowing 121 yards in the first half. "We got the defensive effort we had to have in the second half," Nebraska defensive coordinator Charlie McBride said. "We got burned on a couple of blitzes we tried, but we kept working and it paid off." ilil HARALD DREIMANISSUNOAY JOURNAL-STAR Nebraska defensive tackle Willie Griffin (84) and linebackers Broderick Thomas (89) and LeRoy Etienne combine to stop Texas quarterback Bucky Richardson (7). NU offensive line, defense prove themselves Etienne sparked defense McBride said three tackles by linebacker LeRoy Etienne to open the second half helped the Cornhuskers emotionally. NU outside linebacker Broderick Thomas agreed.

"LeRoy got us all pumped up because he did something not many people can i do he put a guy out Thomas said. "After that we were all hitting a lot harder than we were in the first half." Led by Thomas' 11 tackles, the Cornhusker defense was also sparked by interceptions by Charles Fryar and Tim Jackson and a fumble recovery by Brian Harchelroad. Taylor mixed in a run-fake, tight end pass to Millikan that produced seven touchdowns in 24 catches over the last two seasons, and the senior tight end bulled his way into the end zone to put Nebraska ahead 20-7 with 13:23 remaining. With the game apparently out of reach, recovered a fumbled punt Tailback Larry Horton found a crease in the Nebraska defense and moved the ball deep into Nebraska territory. Randy Simmons then pulled the Aggies to 20-14 on a touchdown run with 10:15 left See HUSKERS on page 8C ments in the second half seemed to help Nebraska rally from a 7-3 halftime deficit "We can only handle so many of their guys on the blitz, so we went man-toman and ran right at the blitz," he said.

When that scheme worked, it set up bootleg option-pass runs by quarterback Steve Taylor, he said "All in all, I was more than satisfied," Tenopir said. See DEFENSE on page 8C cramps in the first half. Nelson, Sledge and Keeler were plenty tired, Tenopir said. "Jeff (Anderson) played a great game, but that was no surprise to us," Tenopir said. "That was expected.

But to play that well the whole game was unexpected. "The few plays he missed, Roger Fi-tzke filled in at center and we scored a touchdown," he said. Tenopir said some blocking adjust everything and more and it makes me feelgood. "Some are cramped up pretty good now, but they played great," he said. Tenopir was referring to tackles Bob Sledge and Doug Glaser, guards Andy Keeler and John Nelson and center Jeff Anderson.

Glaser was dehydrated after the game. Anderson, who started in place of Jake Young, who injured his knee last week in practice, suffered from leg By Ken Hambleton EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ. Charlie McBride and Milt Tenopir were standing by the Nebraska team bus. They were beaming with pride for the Cornhuskers after a 23-14 Kickoff Classic victory over Texas Saturday night at Giants Stadium. "We basically went with five guys out there and, for the most part, they went whole way," said Tenopir, NU offensive line coach.

"Those five kids gave us Mggies? best shots aren't enough to stop Huskers9 Taylor Mike Babcock Columnist things, something he was accused of lacking after Nebraska lost to Oklahoma in Lincoln last season. "Our goal isn't to win the national championship," Taylor told reporters after Saturday night's game. "It's to play welL We want to do the things we need to do to win. Then we might have a chance (at it)." The Cornhuskers, ranked second in the nation in the pre-season, also want to have fun, Taylor said. Saturday night they did.

Taylor and Broderick Thomas, credited with a team-high 11 tackles, were all smiles when they sat down in the interview room after the game was over. While they were waiting for reporters to begin asking questions, they slapped hands. "We shut those guys up," said Taylor, who took everything the Aggies had and seemed ready for Ignore the stats. Before fall camp began, Osborne said he probably wouldn't have agreed to play in the Kickoff Classic if he hadnt had an experienced quarterback. It was obvious why.

Taylor is a veteran, difficult to rattle, confident in his ability. "For some reason, they (opponents) think if they can stop me, they can win," he sail "That might have been true when I was younger." It wasnt true Saturday night Taylor had support, maybe' not a Mike Rozier or an Irving Fryar, like Turner Gill had when the Cornhuskers blasted Penn State 444 in the first Kickoff Classic in 1983. But he had help. I-back Ken Clark averaged four tough yards a carry and scored a touchdown. Terry Rodgers, a little guy with a big heart, carried 10 times for 65 yards.

And Gregory bad four pass receptions for 44 yards. Taylor also has the maturity to say the right EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. It happened exactly the way John Roper.had predicted it would. He and Aaron Wallace, Texas outside linebackers, sandwiched Steve Taylor, after Nebraska's quarterback had released a pass. And with 8:53 remaining in the sixth Kickoff Classic football game Saturday night Taylor had to be helped from the field at Giants Stadium.

'Roper, Wallace and their Aggie teammates "probably got all hyped up" about the hit, said Taylor. "But I knew I'd be back." Taylor left after the play, a third down followed by a John Kroeker punt and returned the next time Nebraska gained possession of the bal The senior from Fresno, never missed a play from scrimmage. On this particular night in the New Jersey Meadowlands, Taylor took Texas best shots and kept coming back for more. "I think I get stronger the more hits I take," he said. But he proved he was tough.

And he proved he has the composure of a senior, which, of course, he is. When plays didnt work the way Coach Tom Osborne designed them, Taylor improvised. Once, after mishandling a snap from center and starting to run to his right Taylor suddenly lofted the ball to wingback Richard BelL a makeshift play that gained nine yards. Later, after an injudicious pitch to Terry Rodgers that bounced out of bounds, Taylor came back to scramble for an 18-yard gain on third down to keep alive the drive that ended with Gregg Barrios' 48-yard field goal. On that same drive, Taylor rebounded from a 3-yard loss to team with split end Morgan Gregory on a 12-yard pass that set up the field goal Barrios received media support for the Kickoff Classic's award as player of the game.

But Taylor won the award because he was the reason the Cornhuskers won the game. That's unlikely, even though Taylor does weigh a solid 204 pounds. But he's strong enough, and conditioned enough, that the opposition is probably going to wear down before he does. Taylor's statistics weren't overly impressive. He carried the ball 18 times for 34 yards, to break Nebraska's career rushing record for a quarterback, and he completed 11 of 22 passes for 125 yards and one touchdown, a 20-yarder to tight end Todd Millikan early in the fouth quarter.

Angels pound slumping Yankees 12-0 anaamamattamt Pre-season volleyball ratings Page 4C By Associated Press "Terry Clark wanted more than just a victory on Saturday. Clark pitched a seven-hitter for his first major-league shutout, and the California Angels got a club-record seven consecutive hits during a nine-run second inning, beating the slumping New York Yankees 12-0 at Anaheim, Calif. wanted the shutout real bad. It feels great" said Clark, given a 10-0 lead by the time the Angels were through kicking around Charles Hudson during the nine-run outburst "They beat me up uv New York, and I wanted to get back at them." California, which rallied from a six-run deficit to beat New York 7-6 in 12 Innings Friday night, had 17 hits off four pitchers. -New 6-12 since Aug.

9, has al to make it past the fifth inning. Wally Joynefs 11th homer gave the Angels a 1-0 lead in the first before the nine-run, nine-hit second, California's biggest inning of the season and the worst for New York. Jack Howell and Thad Bosley singled and Tony Armas flied out before the seven consecutive hits. Royals 4, Twins 1 Mark Gubicza set a club record with 14 strikeouts as he pitched the Royals past Minnesota at Kansas City, Mo. Gubicza topped the club mark previously held by Steve Busby and Dennis Leonard, who struck out 13 batters in a game on two occasions.

Gubicza pitched a six-hitter and walked three batters in posting his 11th victory in his last 13 decisions since May lowed 10 or more hits in 13 of its last 18 games and 171 runs in 25 games this month, a 6.84 earned-run average. Clark, 6-2, struck out five and walked three in his second complete game. Hudson allowed 10 hits and nine runs in 1 innings. "I give Clark credit, but pitching with a 10-run lead after two innings isnt too tough a chore," said Yankees Manager Lou Piniella. "They were getting on me about not throwing enough fastballs with a 104) lead," said Clark, a control pitcher who relies on changing speeds.

"But I was going for a shutout I got it, so they can say whatever they want" Piniella didn't have much to say about the Angels, because be has problems with his own starters. On 37 occasions this season; Yankee starters have failed 31. Rangers 5, Blue Jays 3 Texas' Ruben Sierra hit two home runs, his 18th and 19th of the season, at Arlington, Texas. The Rangers broke a 12 tie in the fourth inning on Jeff Kunkel's leadoff homer and went on to their seventh victory in nine games. Athletics 5, Orioles 1 Todd Burns and Greg Cadaret combined on a seven-hitter, and Luis Polonia hit a pair of run-scoring singles at Oakland, Calif.

Burns, 6-1, is 44 with a 1.17 earned-run average over seven starts in the Oakland Coliseum. He allowed five hits in 5 innings before Cadaret his roommate, finished for his third save. See Al on page 2C I Watson chasing World Series leaders Page 6C Graf bids for Grand Slam Page7C Trappers, predator callers gather Page11C eT-T Teg.