Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 45

SECT roil Sports November 6, 1977, Lincoln, Neb. Ill skers still in hunt after bagging Tigers Nebraska Missouri A1 ifS -I Vf i r1 1 Vife, ft Nebraska i oucnaownr -ktKU 1 ML ml. A i k- i fr Richard Berns (35) crosses the goal The ball squirts loose after Nebraska's Columbia, Mo. STAFF PHOTO BV HARALD OREIMANIS in Saturday's 21-10 win at First downs 20 Rushes-yards 62-204 Passing yards 152 Return yards 57 Passes 9-21-1 Punts 3-39 Fumbles-lost 4-3 Penalties-yards 4-48 Third-down conversions 17-5 15-5 Time of possession 30.03 29:57 COLUMBIA, Mo. An officials' nightmare turned into a Nebraska dream here Saturday afternoon as Cornhusker coach Tom Osborne's club kept its conference championship hopes alive with a hard-fought 21-10 victory over the Missouri Tigers before a jam-packed partisian crowd of 67,261 at Faurot Field.

'i can't remember being involved in a game with so many critical penalties and decisions." Osborne observed. "It seemed like we had an awful lot of things to overcome. But, I'm sure Missouri feels the same way." On Nebraska's first possession of the game. Isaiah Hipp ran to the Tigers' 4-yard line and appeared down before the ball rolled loose. It was ruled a fumble.

Nebraska's final touchdown the second of the game by Richard Berns who came in to relieve the injured Hipp was controversial. Two officials ruled he fumbled the ball before reaching the goal line on the one-yard smash. Missouri recovered in the end zone and would have had the ball at the 20 on a touchbuck. But the head linesman, who was sighting down the goal line, said Berns Season's records MISSOURI (3-6) NEBRASKA (7-5 'ISC 10 17 IMmjis .21 28 Aruoiu St 15-0 SI 07 KlallO'H 17-21 1 SI 2813 24-u 10-21 I 0la SI ') 19 Jl Kansas -V isti St ion vi.jrwij iwljr l-)J' ''l J'ISJ-, St iam v.i'e St i 1 2 'i it Oleoma 3I-24 Ji-IO -il-13 26-9 21 24 33-15 31-14 2110 STAFF PHOTO BY HUMBERTO RAMIREZ 49-150 13-26-2 7-27 3-32 og Knights win Underd By Virgil Parker had broken the plane of the goat' line before losing control of the ball. After a lot of discussion, his decision held up and the Huskers had the TD.

Late in the third quarter, Nebraska was forced to punt. Tim Smith dropped the ball dead at the Mizzou 8. No, Tiger player had touched the ball, yet the home team was charged with clipping. If the infraction had occured during a return-as is usually the case Missouri would have been penalized but retained possession of the ball. This instance, however, resulted in a "dead ball" foul.

Fifteen yards was assessed from where (he ball had been snapped. That put the Huskers close enough for a Billy Todd field goal of 42 yards and ccounted for three more points. On the other side of the coin, Nebraska seemed to score a touchdown on a five-yard run. by Andee Franklin. An officials flag appeared to be thrown after the play was under way.

but the Huskers were charged with delay of game and the TD was nullified. With four minutes left in the game, Missouri appeared to pull within 6 points on a touchdown pass from quarterback Pete Woods to tight end Kellen Winslow: One official signaled touchdown, another was waving incomplete. "He went up high in the air and had it." MU defensive back Rene Anderson admitted of Winslow's catch. "But, while he was still in the air I gave him my best shot, sticking my helmet right on the numbers (of his uniform). Wheir he came down and hit the ground the ball immediately popped loose.

The ref who was right on the play could see what happened. I was helping him signal in' complete." Nebraska quarterback Randy Garcia; who played most of the game after starter Tom Sorley suffered badly bruised ribs, said Berns had control, of the ball on his final touchdown. "Rick did fumble and they recovered," Garcia admitted, "but I thought he was over before he lost control. We only had about a loot to go." Of Franklin's apparent touchdown, Osborne said he didn't hear a whistle or see the flag "until he play was under way. But that and the rare clipping penalty against them on our punt were HUSKERS: Continued page 7E How AP's top 20 Next week's opponent I.

Texas (8-0) def. Houston, 35-21 TCU 2. Alabama (8-1) def. LSD, 24-3 Miami, ffa: 3 Oklahoma (8-1) def. Okla.

61-28 Colorado 4 Ohio St. (7-1) def. Illinois, 35-0 Indiana 5. Notre Dame (8-1) def. Ga Tech, 19-14 Clemson 6.

Michigan (8-1) def. Northwestern, 63-20 Purdue 7. Kentucky (8-1) def. Vanderbilt, 28-6 Florida 8. Arkansas (7-1) def.

Baylor, 35-9 Tex. ASM 9. Ponn St. (8-1) def. N.C.

21-17 10. Texas (6-1) idle. -v II. Nebraska (7-2) def. Missouri, 21-10 Kansas 12 Pitt (7-1-1) Virginia, 44-3 Armr 13.

Clemson (7-1-1) tied N. Carolina, 13-13 Notre -Darne 14. BYU (7-11 def. Utah, 38-8 Ari. St.

15. Fla. St. (7-1) def. VPI, 23-21 Mem.

St. 16. USC (6-3) def. Stanford, 49-0 Washington 17. Cal (6-3) lost to Washington, 50-31 Oregon 18.

L5U (5-3) lost to Alabama, 24-3 Miss, St, 19. Ariz St (7-1) del. Wyoming, 45-0 BYU 20. Iowa St. (6-3) lost to Colorado, 12-7 Kansas St.

Monday Football Redskins v. Colts, 8 p.m. CLC4; jury earlier this season was meant to be. "I don't know if you guys (sports writers will understand this," Berns told the huge throng gathered arquird him, "but I love football. But firi a Christian first and I love my wife'and look forward to the baby we are going to have soon.

Those things come before: football. "These past few weeks have brought me closer to God. When He took me out in the Baylor game, it was his way of giving me the opportunity to get to know him better by reading his scriptures." While Berns didn't show any special glee in his comeback, his best friend, quarterback Tom Sorley did. "I'm really happy for him," said Sorley. who managed a wide-grin despite the pain of the bruised ribs he suffered in the first half of the game.

"I'm a team man first and I want to win more than anything," Sorley continued. "But 1 know what he's been going through the past few weeks. I kept telling him things would improve. Now I can't wait to go over to him anrt say, 'I told you 1 By Randy York 11 yards himself on a fourth down option over left guard with 10 seconds left. "That was the key play in the game," Solich said.

"It set the momentum. We felt against a team like Northeast, we had to have the touchdown to get the momentum. I don't think field goal would have gotten the job done. "Vernon has been making those big plays all year," Solich noted. "He brought us back against Lincoln East and he brought us back against Westside.

That play was designed for Vernon to go wide, but he ducked up when he was the hole." Fisher showed his mettle on two other crucial plays in the momentum-gaining drive. On a third and 18 situation, he drilled a 27-yard pass to flanker Jeff Smith and completed a nine-yard screen pass to tight end Scott Grossenbacker on a fourth and four situation at the Northeast 27. "The East and Westside games made believers of these kids," Solich sail "They've learned to be a comeback type of team." Fisher also showed how he can protect a lead and get the Knights out of a hole at the same time in a critical third quarter drive. A Randee Johnson punt rolled out of bounds at the Southeast three with 7:28 left in the third quarter. Fisher carried 1l i I it I line for the final Husker touchdown three straight times for 16 of his game-leading 92 yards rushing to give the Knights some breathing room.

Four more first downs put the finishing touches on the masterful 97-yard, 14-play march, which consumed 5: 19 on the clock. Again, Fisher was at his best when the Knights needed him most. On a third and eight situation, he hit Smith for an 11-yard pass and he rifled a 31-yarder into the arms of Dave Frankforter on another third and eight situation. "Vernon didn't complete that many passes," Solich noted, "but the ones he hit were all crucial." While Fisher turned the big plays, Northeast junior Johnson suffered the brunt of a physical Southeast defense, which checked the Rockets to only six first downs, 66 yards rushing and 32 passing. The sub 100-yard total offensive effort against Southeast came on the heels of a 393-yard production Tuesday night at Grand Island.

"We felt we had to do two things," Solich said. "First, we had to take away Johnson's outside keepers. Then we had to stop his bootlegs because he's really dangerous with the pass on the run. He's a great athlete and a super back. We really had our hands full." Northeast 0 6 0 0-6 Southeast 0 7 7 7-21 Northeast Lonnie Westling, 4 run (kick blocked).

Southeast Bernon Fisher, 2 run (Kyle Fink kickl. Southeast Dan Meginnis, 10 fun (Fink kickl. Southeast Fisher, 12 run. (Fink kick). Alt 7,733 INDIVIDUAL LEADERS Rushing Northeast.

Lonnie Westling, 5-23, Randee Johnson. 11-22, Steve Damkroger, 8-20; Tom Curry. 3-9, Pat Neill. l-mmus8; Southeast, Vernon Fisher, 23-92; Dan Meginnis, 15-58; Jett Renn, 11-29; Laird Haherlan, 8-27 Passing Northeast, Johnson, 4-11-0, 32: Matt Svohoda. 01-1.

Southeast, Fisher, 4-14-1, 78, Jeff Smith. 0 1 Receiving Northeast, JcffSvoboda, 1-13. Jim Slosson. 1-9; Matt Svoboda, 1-6; Jeff Bard, 1-4; Southeast, Jeff Smith, 2-38, Dave Frankforter, 1-31; SVott Grssenbacker, 1-9. Relegated to a reserve behind Hipp after a hip pointer grounded him in the year's third game against Baylor, Berns responded to his performance against the Tigers in a somber mood.

"I'm really not that happy," the Wichita Falls, product said. "I went into this season with so much confidence. I didn't have the confidence today. In my mind I didn't play as well as I have in the past. I didn't feel I was running with the same authority as I used to." When writers asked him how it felt to be Nebraska's top I-back again, Berns quickly responded, "I'm not No.

1. Isaiah is No. 1 and deserves to be No. 1." The quiet-spoken Berns recalled the dejection he's gone through the past six weeks while sitting on the sidelines watching Hipp become the rage of the country. "I lost my starting job because of an injury and I know how it feels," Berns said.

"I don't want Isaiah to go through the same thing I went through. He deserves to be the starter next week." Hipp said he didn't think a bruise to his right thigh muscle would hold him back next Saturday against Kansas. The sophomore sensation said he aggravated the bruise which he suffered three weeks LNE LSE First Downs 6 17 W'jsnes-yards 27-66 56-206 Vjjrds passing 32 78 "asses 4-12-1 4-15-1 "etvrn yards 5-33 4 "jnts-averaje 40 II FumDIes-lost 0-0 3-1 Penalties-yards 4-50 5-65 It may be out of character for a No. 1-ranked defending state championship team to be the underdog, but Frank Solich loved the role and played it with gusto all week long at Lincoln Southeast. That, combined with some old-fashioned school spirit, paved the way to the Knights' 21-6 win over Lincoln Northeast Saturday night at Seacrest Field before 7,733 fans.

The Class A semifinal win means it'll be a repeat state championship performance Friday night in Omaha, probably at UNO. Creighton Prep also advanced to the title game with a 35-14 triumph over Papillion Saturday night, setting up a rematch with Southeast, which whipped the Junior Blue Jays, 20-10, in the 1976 championship. Solich will worry about Prep Sunday. He reserved Saturday night to credit Southeast's student body for rallying around his underdogs. "They deserve a tribute for really getting our kids up for this game," Solich said.

"They had an impromptu flashlight rally for us Thursday night after practice. Complete prep playoff picture pages "They had another one in the parking lot before we came over here tonight," he added. "The band was there both nights. There must have been a hundred cars follow our bus to the game tonight. That's getting behind our football team when we needed it." Southeast needed the emotional lift after surviving a final second field goal Tuesday night in a 15-14 opening-round triumph over Omaha Westside.

"Football is so mental," Solich said. "We were not mentally sharp against Westside. We don't have a rah-rah team, but I could feel the emotion building this week. They were ready to carry the fight tonight." Southeast, however, found itself in a 6-0 hole with 6: 19 left in the second quarter when quarterback Vernon Fisher fumbled on his own eight-yard line and Northeast converted the turnover into a touchdown three plays later. Fisher could have panicked since he was also 0-5-1 passing at that point, but the senior transfer from Indianola, Iowa, showed his ability to weather adversity.

He used the remaining time in the half to move his club 63 yards for the tying touchdown. Fisher covered the final two Tjr Sunday Football Notre Dame highlights, 8 a.m.,CB; NFL '77, 11:30 a.m., C5; NFL Today, 11:30 a.m., SMS; Bengals v. Browns, noon, 0); Cowboys v. Giants, noon, (Mff; College Football '77, 1 p.m., iK4; Steelers v. Broncos, 3 p.m., LC5; Cardinals v.

Vilkings, 3 p.m., (EO; Tom Osborne, 10:30 p.m., (US); Bud Moore, 10:30 p.m., C2; Ellis Ralnsberger, 11. p.m., C2; Barry Switier, 11:30 p.m., C2 Northeast coaches Bob Els (foreground) and Andy Loehr talk to Steve Damkroger (40). Battered Berns responds to pressure By 1 uavc omiui buck in September, Berns dove over the middle of the Missouri line with 7:11 left in the game, to cushion Nebraska's lead which was a precarious 15-10 at the time. But as he landed in the South end zone of Farout Field, Berns fumbled the ball. players and fans flew into a rage alter officials ruled the play a touchdown instead of a Tiger recovery.

"It felt like I didn't get the ball on the handoff," Berns said of the play. Actually, Berns couldn't feel much with his hands at the time. On the previous plays, both 49-pitches, he was mulled by the Tiger defense, that's when his left hand was stepped on and he received the blow to the chin. "I couldn't squeeze my hand and it was numb," said Berns as he looked at the heavily bandaged hand. Reverting back to the hotly-contested touchdown, Berns said, "I got the ball under my elbow finally instead of my hand.

Then I lost track of it. "When I first looked up 1 saw one official rule it a fumble. Then I saw another rule a touchdown. I didn't know what was going on." The deeply-religious Berns told reporters he was convinced the hip in COLUMBIA, Mo. In a game where he stood up to be counted when his team needed him most, Nebraska's Rick Berns had to take his congratulations lying down.

Physically, Berns paid dearly after responsing masterfully to the pressure situation of carrying the Cornhusker I-back load after Isaiah Hipp was unable to answer the bell for the second half of Nebraska's wild brawl with Missouri. Following the Huskers 21-10 win in a game which was a ressurection for Berns as a running back Berns had to halt his post-game interview with the press so doctors could treat his multitude of wounds on his battered body. It took five stitches to Berns chin, another stitch to his hand and an ice pack and bandage on the other hand by Nebraska team Dr. Charles Newman before the lanky junior could leave the locker room. "I'm running out of piece's to hurt," Berns joked after Newman closed the wound to his chin.

Stretched out on a table in the dressing room while his teammates waited outside, Berns didn't talk like a fellow whose dramatic comeback included two one-yard touchdown runs and 81-yards rushing. ago against Colorado Thursday lifting weights. "But it felt okay the first half today," Hipp said. "As long as I could keep moving it was alright. "But when I sat down at the half it really tightened up on me," continued Hipp, who rushed for 39 yards in the first half, his lowest total since gaining 38 yards against Alabama when Berns was the starter.

"I just told the coaches there was no way1 1 could go the second half. But since 1 rested it, it'll be okay." With the roles reversed and Hipp standing in the shadows of the sidelines, Berns' second touchdown clinched the victory for the Huskers in a play that was one of a bundle of controversial calls. Looking very much like the fellow who scored three times against Alabama.