Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 17

4 lvAvl-t-i II II I lincoln ifournaf Friday, November 10, 1978 17 NU catch them? Whooooosh! There goes OU: Nebraska-Oklahoma lineups threat on every play. "The second you come off your responsibility, especially with a guy like Lott (the quarterback), hell pitch the ball but he won't pitch until he's falling down and practically parallel to the ground. If you try to help your buddy, Lott pitches, and they're off to the races," he said. The Sooners are quicker than the flick of a snake's tongue. They come at opposing defenses from the four winds.

"What's hard about guys who hit the holes as quickly as they do is, you have to play off the blocks so fast," Andrews said. "The offensive linemen don't have to hold their blocks too long just a brush block will do. "I've noticed that Oklahoma goes on the first count a lot, so you have to be down and ready to play," he said. The Sooners are so quick off the snap they appear to be jumping offside at times. But usually that's not the case.

It's an optical illusion performed by OU sleight-of-foot that has propelled the Sooners to nine straight victories this season. NEBRASKA OFFENSE OKLAHOMA No. Name Ht. Wt.Yr. Pos Yr.Wt.

Ht. Name No. 89 Miller 6-4 222 Jr. TE Sr. J54 4-3 Hicks 80 73 K.

Clark 6-4 27S Sr. LT So 150 4-4 Oubre 44 54 Cotton 4-5 24S Sr. LG Sr. 244 4-4 Paul Tabor 73 57 Saalfeld 4-4 237 Jr. Jr.

250 4-0 Farthing S3 48 Lindquist 4-4 250 Sr. RO Sr. 238 4-3 Roberts 45 74 Ohrt 4-4 244 Sr. RT Sr. 270 44 Claphan 43 84 Smith 4-3 194 Jr.

SE Sr. 17 4-1 Kimball 21 12 Sorley 4-2 200 Sr. QB Sr. 205 5-11 Lott 32 Hipp 4-0 200 Jr. RB Jr.

205 44 Sims 20 39 Franklin 5-11 195 So. FB Sr. 203 5-11 King 30 RB So. 192 5-11 Overstreet 22 22 Brown 4-0 174 Jr. WB NEBRASKA DEFENSE OKLAHOMA No.

Name Ht. Wt.Yr. Pos Yr.Wt. Ht. Name No.

92 Nelson 4-1 212 So. LE Sr. 220 4-1 Mathls 51 55 Horn 4-5 259 Jr. LT Jr. 231 4-5 Goodman 72 51 Weinmaster 4-0 214 Jr.

MG Sr. 230 4-2 Klnlaw 42 93 Pensick 4-5 245 Jr. RT Sr. 244 4-4 Phil Tabor 74 94 Andrews 4-4 223 Sr. RE Jr.

211 4-4 Taton 40 Dunning 4-3 214 Sr. LB Sr. 220 4-3 Hunt 85 38 Kunz 4-1 218 Sr. LB Jr. 205 4-0 Cumby 28 29 Pillen 44) 183 Sr.

Jr. 210 4-2 Ray 3 14 Fischer 5-9 145 Sr. CB So. 177 5-11 Banks 17 34 Means 4-0 172 So. CB So.

171 5-9 Jlmerson 15 48 Hansen 4-2 198 Sr. Sr. 197 4-2 Babb 14 Nebraska linebacker Lee Kunz sees the Sooner speed as imposing but nothing a little healthy aggression can't cure. "Our defense is going to be one of the biggest factors in the game," he said. "We're going to try to cause some fumbles because the wishbone is very vulnerable to fumbles.

"They're awfully quick, but we just need to be aggressive. Of course we have respect for them, but if we go through all our responsibilities, it (quickness) won't be a problem," Kunz said. Oklahoma has been a big problem for the Huskers the past six seasons. Nebraska hasn't defeated the Sooners since the 1971 "Game of the Century" in Norman. Husker head Coach Tom Osborne has never stopped Oklahoma.

But this year's version of the Cornhuskers has won eight straight games after an opening loss to Alabama and has produced the most potent offensive statistics in Nebraska history. "There's so much of a different character on this team from earlier in the can year," Andrews said. Saturday's game, which will be watched by the 99th consecutive sellout crowd in Memorial Stadium and millions more on television, features college football's top two offensive teams. Nebraska leads the nation in total offense (515.2 yards per game) and in scoring (41.3 points per game). The Sooners are second in each of those categories (483.1 yards and 40.4 points per game).

The Huskers are second to Oklahoma in rushing offense, averaging 342.7 yards per game. Sims, the nation's leading rusher, heads the Sooner attack, which has averaged 414.7 yards. "I'm not looking at the fact that we haven't beaten Oklahoma; I'm looking at all that's riding on the game this year," Andrews said "It's hard to say what's going to happen, but basically all wishbone teams play the same way." Beep. Beep and it's off to the races. Booooooom and it's a collision with the Nebraska defense.

That's what Andrews and Kunz are planning. Site: Memorial stodium. Klckoff noon. Telecast: ABC-TV, channels 7 and cable 4. Broadcasts: KFAB, KLIN, WOW, KFOR, KRNU-FM.

Stop quarterback Ol's Davis9 advice ry, ta.liiw 'i I I I ByAAikeBabcock Staff Sports Writer Beep. Beep whooooooosh. mi mere goes Kenny King. There goes Thomas Lott There eoes Riliv Sim goes David Overstreet. Beep.

Beep there goes the Oklahoma football team sprinting through Memorial Stadium with Nebraska in hot pursuit. Blink, and you're in trouble. Help out a friend, and you're dead. That's the way Nebraska co-captain and defensive end George Andrews sees the Husker problem when No. 1 Oklahoma whips into Lincoln with its collection of 200-pound roadrunners to play the fourth-ranked Cornhuskers Saturday.

Kickoff is set for noon in the nationally-televised battle for Big Eight supremacy and an almost-certain spot in the Orange BowL "Anytime you play a wishbone team, they'll be attacking the ends a lot," Andrews said. "They've got that option Holmes to defend crown LAS VEGAS, Nev. (UPI) World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, trying to step out from Muhammad Ali's shadow, puts his title on the line tonight for the first time, meeting underdog Alfredo Evangelista of Spain in a scheduled 15-rounder at Caesars Palace. Holmes, 29, inherited the WBC crown when he scored a split decision (by one point) over Ken Norton at Las Vegas June 9. Norton, who wants another crack at Holmes, is on the same card tonight, taking on little known Randy Stephens of Dallas in a 10-round lead-off bout on the three-hour ABC-TV fight card.

Alexis Arguello of Nicaragua risks his WBC junior lightweight crown against journeyman Arturo Leon, Tucson, Ariz, in the second fight, scheduled for 15. Holmes weighed 214 .14 pounds Thursday morning while Evangelista came in at 208 14. Holmes weighed 209 for the Norton fight. Norton weighed 220 14 and Stephens 209 34 for their 10-rounder. "Right now," said Richie Giachetti, Holmes' manager, "we're still in Muhammad Ali's shadow but we won't be for long.

The more people see Larry on television, the more they'll come to believe he is the best heavyweight in the world today. And he will be the best for the next five years." Ali, World Boxing Association title-holder with his easy win over Leon Spinks at New Orleans Sept. IS, was in Las Vegas Thursday to attend a dinner honoring former champ Joe Louis but will not stay for the Holmes-Evangelista fight. He said he had to fly back to Natchez, Miss, where he's making a movie. Holmes, 6-3, a boxer-puncher from Easton, is 280 with 19 knockouts.

His first title opponent, the Uruguayan-born Evangelista, 24, is the European heavyweight champion on the basis of an 11th-round kayo of Lucien Rodriguez at Madrid Sept. 9, 1977, and has a 22-2-1 record with 18 knockouts. Evangelista made a bit of an international reputation by lasting 15 rounds with Ali at Landover, May 16, 1977, losing by unanimous decision. Ali, then the undisputed world champion, seemed content to do just enough to retain his crown. The oddsmakers figure Holmes, who burst onto the heavyweight scene with an easy 12-round decision over Earnie Shavers at Las Vegas March 25, shouldn't have much trouble with Evangelista.

No bets on Holmes are accepted although a bettor can take Evangelista at 1-4. Holmes, who is getting $1.4 million for his biggest payday, doesn't make knockout predictions but he made it clear he doesn't expect Evangelista to go the "He went 15 rounds against Ali so peo-HOLMES: Continued page 19 1 LA. 1 i.i.iii He's a 25-year-old assistant to the president in an oil conglomerate in Tulsa, a high-powered public speaker and a television football analyst on weekends. Steve Davis, who never had much of an appetite on Thanksgiving weekend because of the way he ate Nebraska up, will be in Wichita Saturday, helping with ABC's regional telecast of the Tulsa-Wichita State game. "But I'll have my eyes on the monitor, watching the OU-NU game," Davis assured.

"It's going to be a real squirmer." If Nebraska, however, makes its historical defensive mistake of mishandling the Sooner quarterback, Davis will change his prediction of a close game to an OU runaway. "Our strategy going into the Nebraska game every year was to get the ball to our running backs," Davis recalled. "But every year, the dadgum quarterback ended up killing Nebraska because they were unwilling to yield yardage fi anyone else. "I guess because I was only 5-11 and 185, Nebraska looked at me like a six-shooter amongst a bunch of cannons. I looked at myself that way, too, but even the lesser of four evils can beat you if you give him the chance." Nebraska never has closed the wounds of three years of shotgun blasts Davis pulled the trigger on.

He ripped through the body of the Husker defense for more than 300 yards rushing and seven touchdowns in OU wins of 27-0, 28-14 and 35-10. Unfortunately, when Davis left OU the quarterback barrage still continued. Last year, Thomas Lott gained 143 yards going north and south against the Huskers and probably equal to that total going east and west to receive the outstanding offensive player award in the Sooners' 38-7 sonic boom in Norman. "I think Nebraska thought I couldn't take the continual punishment of the Black Shirts," Davis said, "but they know Lott can. He looks like Roosevelt Leaks and runs like Earl CampbelL It's not wise to make the quarterback beat you and it's insane to invite him to beat you." Playing Nebraska, Davis said, has been a challenge Oklahoma has always relished.

"Know why?" he asked. "Because Nebraska was always so well-schooled, so well-trained and so well-coached. They'd get to the right places just like it was diagrammed on the blackboard. "The purpose of the wishbone is to balance up the defense, then exploit every block. Nebraska gave us the seam and we'd just keep cutting back across the grain.

I got my mouth knocked off a few times, but if we could get the block on the cornerback and I could just fall forward, I had five, six or seven yards." Unorthodox defenses designed to confuse and bewilder a wishbone "scared us the most," Davis said. "Missouri used to be awfully contrary because they'd gamble so much and yet keep their linebackers free. Teams with free linebackers always gave us the most trouble." Davis enjoys exploring the emotional part of football as much as the technical. In leading Oklahoma to a 32-1-1 record STAFF PHOTO BY BOB PEARSON Lincoln East gymnast Ben Sander competes in the pommel horse event of the State High School Gymnastics meet Thursday. South's Cahoy dazzles crowd Randy York fy and two national championships in three years, he had the knack to put both ingredients in the same blender.

"You're always going to churn inside, especially in a big game like this," he said. "But a big part of our philosophy at Oklahoma was to go out there and have fun. When you do that, you crank yourself up naturally. And when OU cranks up naturally, you're going to see a bunch of jets flying around." Nebraska, Davis admitted, has to be tired of watching the Sooners take off from an AstroTurf "If I were playing for Nebraska," he said, "I'd start afresh and act like Saturday was the first game in the series. "I'd forget everything that's happened (in the rivalry) and feel like a freshman who didn't know any better.

You can't afford to be influenced by something you can't change. The only thing that counts is this team, this game and this chance. That's something you can do something about." Davis predicted Nebraska will manipulate its secondary and fry to make Lott throw. "That's the joy of the wishbone, though, he said. "The defense has to worry so much about the homerun ball of the four backs and yet it can never forget about the split end or tight end.

They can get it out of the park in a hurry, too." Davis, who makes 150 public speaking appearances a year in various states, gets excited just talking about it "I bet there's some hoopin' and holler-in' in Lincoln," he said. "These are two great, truly great football teams and the country deserves the chance to watch 'em go at each other. "It's going to be rock 'em, sock 'em as soon as the lights go on. This game has almost all the ingredients of the '71 shootout. It's going to be a twister, a real squirmer.

"People down here in Oklahoma are pretty bold and cocky about the game Saturday, but I don't think they should be. It will be closer than everybody thinks, especially if Nebraska takes care of the quarterback." School's out for Steve Davis but still in session for Nebraska. The Huskers know the right answers. They just have to give them on the field, the only classroom that counts in footbalL 1 Friday NCAA highlights, 6:30 p.m., Notre Dome vs. Now, 11 :50 p.m., Bob Devamy, 10:30 p.m., Specials Las Vegas SportsIlM, 10 p.m., CD Basketball 7ters vi.

Bullets, 7 p.m., CE) Hawks replay, 2 a.m., 3) Boxing Holmes vs. Evangelista, WBA heavy weight title bout, 7 p.m., OS) Saturday Football Nebraska vs. Okalohoma, 11 :30 a.m., (9 NCAA college football, 3 p.m., 3) Viking report, 9 p.m., NFL Gome of the Week, 12:30 p.m., CE Penn state vs. N.C. State replay, 16 p.m., CD Hockey Gophers vs.

Irish, p.m., (jTJ Saeclals Sports Spectaailar, World Middleweight, bout, strength contest, 3:30 p.m., Basketball Celtics vs. Knlcks, 7 p.m., (E By Ken Hambleton Prep Sports Writer Phil Cahoy is a lot like the brokerage firm of E.K. Hutton. When he performs, people stop to watch. The noisy crowd of 500-plus fell silent every time Cahoy stepped to the gymnastics apparatus Thursday night at the Nebraska High School Boys Stale Gymnastics meet at Lincoln High's Johnson Gym.

Cahoy, who recently placed 37th in the' World Games in France, dazzled the crowd and the field to take a commanding lead in every event and in the all-around competition to help South gain a healthy team lead after the first round of the meet. "I've gotten used to blocking out the crowd noise in big meets," said Cahoy. "But tonight the quiet kind of bothered me." The lanky gymnast, who scored a perfect 10 in the high bar last year, scored a 9.9 in the event Thursday and brought the crowd to its feet with a double-twist flyaway dismount after a flawless routine. "I'm thinking about extending the dismount to a triple, but not for awhile," he said. Cahoy 's all-around score of 57.15 tied the all-time state meet record set by Jim Hartung in last year's meet.

Ilartung, who was Cahoy's teammate last year, is a freshman at Nebraska now. "Jim was the one they were quiet for last year, and as far as I'm concerned he's still the best in the state," said Cahoy. "I've been behind him so long I kind of miss having him here in the competition. "But I still feel there's a fight. the slate team title," he said.

South was not favored to win the team title, until Omaha Northwest's Mike Bowers suffered a torn muscle in the rotator cuff of his shoulder during warmups for the first day of the meet Thursday. "We lost 12 team points when we had to take Mike out of the meet," said Northwest Coach Roy Katskee. "And with his brother Mark on crutches we really lost the scoring we needed to take South." Mark Bowers, who is suffering from a loose bone in his knee, still competed Thursday and held third in the parallel bars, second in the pommel horse and sixth in the rings after the first round, despite the fact he couldn't perform any difficult dismounts. Northwest's Jusly Reed was second in the all-around, but almost six points behind Cahoy, while Lincoln East junior Ben Sander was in third place and Lincoln Northeast senior Dan Ka-peller fourth. East and Northeast were third and fourth in the team standings, respectively, while Lincoln Southeast was fifth, thus qualifying as the final team for Friday's finals.

"This is the great thing about this meet," said Omaha South Coach Rich Beran. "Take away Cahoy and there are five teams that would have walked away with this meet four years ago. The improvement in the balance of competition is tremendous." Lincoln East Coach Jeff Johnson said he felt his team still had a chance to capture the team title, in spite of Cahoy's dominating performances. "We had a three-point disappointment on the pommel horse tonight, but we're still within striking distance of the lead," he said. South scored 151.42, while Northwest had a 149 total and East totaled 146.65.

Finals in the all-around, team competition and individual events will start al 6:30 Friday night. Road to success bumpy one for Pius gridders 4 1 i it 1 1-- 1 But Coniglio maintains college football might be too serious not enough fun. It was the desire to compete for a coach like Vince Aldrich that got the talented Coniglio out for football in the first place, not necessarily a love for the game. "I always wanted to play for Mr. Aldrich, like some of my older brothers did," he said.

"I have a lot of respect for him, and the job he does. High school football is serious, too, but Mr. Aldrich and the rest of the team makes it a lot of fun." By the end of the game Friday night, O'Neill Coach Earl DeBates may wish Coniglio had taken an earlier out from footbalL It's likely he and O'Neill halfback Jim Bright, a 1,700 yard rusher, will have collided several times before the game is over. Coniglio does figuie he has the intesity to be ready for O'Neill and Bright, like the rest of the Pius team. "We watched Ihem on film and he (Bright) looks By Chuck Sinclair Prep Sports Editor Contrary to popular belief, the Pius football success hasn't come off exactly as planned, despite the unbeaten season and Friday night date with O'Neill in the Class state championship game at Nebraska Wesleyan.

The early part of the season was of concern to the Pius coaches and team members. Sure, the Thunderbolts were winning, and remaining in the No. 1 position they've occupied since the preseason ratings, but it wasnt exactly the way they wanted iL "We thought we would have a pretty good team from the start," linebacker-fullback Marty Coniglio offered. "We had what we thought were the athletes and the potentiaL But that potential didn't develope early like we had hoped. "In fact, we got a little scared by the way we were playing," Coniglio added.

"We were making mental mistakes we just shouldn't have been making. We finally got it together around the Lexington game awful fast," Coniglio says. "But I think the speed of our backfield has been under-rated. With a guy like Bright, we probably wont hold them to less than two touchdowns, but with our offense, I cant see us scoring less than three or four." Like Coniglio, Aldrich also thought this bunch was good from the start "I felt from the beginning we had a pretty good balanced group of kids," Aldrich said. "We've got good speed.

We're not too big, but all the other factors necessary are there. The attitude of the seniors has been one of the finest we've ever had. We've had no problems at alL They've been great leaders." Whatever happens Friday night, Coniglio admits it will take awhile for him to realize that it's over as far as football is concerned. "It's hard to say how I'll feel," Coniglio said. "I'll probably think there's practice again on Monday.

I'm so conditioned to that, it'll probably take about a week of going home after school before I really realize that it's all over. I just hope the ending is right." (Pius' fifth in a seven-game regular season schedule). Now, we've got confidence that wont quit. "The best game we played was probably the Waverly game (first round playoffs)," he added. "We knew we had backs comparable to other teams, but our line has made the difference." Coniglio says hell likely be putting on a football uniform for the last time Friday night Coniglio says he lacks the intensity needed to play football on a college level There are those who would probably disagree, like Waverly's John Lawler, or Central City's Paul Wilson, the coaches of the two teams Pius defeated to make the Friday night finals.

Or even Pius Coach Vince Aldrich, who claims Coniglio is as good a linebacker as he's seen in the city no small feat in itself considering Aldrich's 28-years, and the caliber of linebackers who have emerged from the Capital City. "He's really a tremendous linebacker," Aldrich said. "He's probably as hard a hitler as you'll ever get." i 3.