Lincoln Journal Star from Lincoln, Nebraska • 45

Oct. 10, 1982 Lincoln, Sunday Journal and Star 5E mi niu i nil mr9K mmm-jfa'jx-- Dam to run kroger gets ichance By Mike Babcock Vx ner as I am, he tells me just to fall down." Saturday, however, he couldn't resist the temptation to head for the end zone. "That was the only thing on my mind," he said. "I was surprised. I thought he'd run out of bounds," said FelicL "I tried to throw a block for him, but I had a hard time because I was laughing too much.

He really started to throw a few moves at them." i On the play after Damkroger's first interception, Rozier ran 11 yards for the touchdown which led to a 33-14 Nebraska advantage. Just over a minute later, Damkroger got his second Interception and returned it 14 yards to, the Colorado 48-yard line, setting up a seven-play touchdown drive which capped the Cornhusker scoring, Damkroger's interceptions provided a little defensive satisfaction to an exasperating afternoon of trying to stop Essington's passes FelicL who made five tackles and deflected one Essington pass behind the line of scrimmage, was particularly frustrated by Colorado's pass protection because, he said, the Buffalo blockers "were holding all day. i "We should have nad about 10 sacks, but they were either holding or clipping somebody the whole game. It was always something," said FelicL "One time I literally got tackled, and the official was standing right there, but he didn't call anything" Bill Weber, the end opposite Felici who got to Essington once for a 12-yard loss, was less concerned about the holding. "I had problems once or twice, but it's part of the game anymore.

The officials are a lot more lenient, so you've just got to overcome it" "It's something you get used to as a defensive lineman," said tackle Toby Williams, who noted: "Our scout team purposely holds sometimes in practice to prepare us." Nebraska's frustration was compounded by Ess-ington's passes to his running backs. "It seemed no matter how well we rushed, he was always dropping the ball off somewhere," Weber said. "It's a lot tougher to stop those passes when they send out five receivers." Having backs in the pass patterns "takes a little pressure off the quarterback because he doesnt have to sit back there and wait for someone to get open," said Weber. Essington had a receiver open when Damkroger got his Knox-assisted interception. According to Knox, if he had caught the ball instead of deflecting it, "depending on what the running lanes were," he would have cut back instead of heading for the sideline the way he's supposed to.

"I'd have tried my hardest to get in the end zone," Knox sail Damkroger smiled with skepticism. "Ill bet he would have." Staff Sports Writer BOULDER, Cola No one could have mistaken Steve Damkroger (or Mike Rozier or Roger Craig, but "he looked like a pretty good runner to me," said Nebraska defensive end Tony FelicL Damkroger intercepted two of Randy Essing-ton's 51 passes in Nebraska's 40-14 victory over Colorado on Saturday afternoon, and the Corn-husker linebacker returned them for a total of 39 yards. He didn't score on either interception, the first ones of his college career, but Damkroger showed the form of the fullback he once was at Lincoln Northeast High SchooL "I gave 'em a hip and then took it away," be joked. Damkroger's best shot at a touchdown came after the first interception, midway through the fourth quarter. Mike Knox, the other linebacker, deflected the ball, which Damkroger grabbed and returned 25 yards to the Colorado 11-yard line.

The play ended when he was run out of hounds. wanted to cut back, but I was too close to the Sideline," said Damkroger, Nebraska's defensive captain and the team's leading tackier Saturday, with seven. NU linebacker coach John Melton "tells us year-after-year to break to the nearest sideline (after an interception)," Damkroger said. "As bad of a run- 1 1 i TV 4 mm Husker linebacker Steve Damkroger (right) pulls the ball away from defensive tackle Rob Stuckey (75) to set up Nil's final score of the first half. Damkroger also intercepted a pair of passes, his first as a Husker, in the final quarter.

Huskers- -From page 1E Statistics Nebraska i Offense Rushing i No. Yds. Ave? Rozier ...32 212 6.6 13 69.5.3 Craig 13 67 5.1 31 5.2 Smith 3 24 8.0 Simmons 11? 19.0 Mathlson 1 9 9.0 1 5 5.0 Moravec 1 5 5.0 Mason .....2 5 2.5 Punting No. Yds. Ave.

....4 162 40.5 Passing No. Co. Yds PI Gill 15 6 68 1 Receiving No. Yds. 1 ,20 Krenk 12 12 Craig .1 Swanson.

........1 7 Rozier 1 6 Punt Returns Yds. 1 0 Klckoff Returns No. Yds. 1 26 1 0 Interception Returns No. Yds.

2 39 Defense Linemen UT AT TT Fellcl. ...........2 3 5 Merrell 2 0 2 0 2 2 Weber 1 3 4 Williams 1 3 4 Praeuner 1 1.2 1 3 0 2 Linebackers Damkroger 2 5 7 Knox 1 2 3: 2 0 2 Backs Lorsen.C 1 12 Clark 1 3 4 Lvdav 1 3,4 Van Norman 1 2 3 Harris 2 2 4 Holbrook 1 1 2 Colorado Offense Rushing No. Yds. Ave. Rouson 8 41 5.1 R.Johnson....

2 31 15.5 2 11 5.5 6 2.0 Holmes 1 1 1.0 7 -9 Punting No. Yds. Ave." Woods 5 217 43.4 Passing i No. Co. Yds PI 24 361 2 Pass Receiving No.

Yds. Holmes 7 107 Hestera 6 105 McLemore 5 41 R.Johnson 3 76 1 14 Egging 1 9 ......1 9 Punt Returns No. Yds. 3 16 Klckoff Returns No. Yds.

TJohnson. 2 36 Interception Returns No. Yds. Chrlte 3 1 Defense Linemen i UT AT TT' Sylvester v' 1 2 7 9 Armstrong 2 3 5 Mvncle 4 7 11 Linebackers -Chrlte. 1 -5 6, Cone 11 8 19 Irvln .....4 4 Hood 3 10 13 2 13 Backs 5 3 8 Rlggins 2 6 8 Wood 4 6 10 Scott 5, came on the very first play after the next kickotf The ball was first tipped by Knox, then picked off by Damkroger who returned it 25 yards to the CU 11.

On. the next play Rozier scooted in to make it 33-14. On the fifth Buff play after that touchdown, Damkroger picked off another and Nate Mason came in to direct a 48-yard drive in seven plays to produce the final count I-back Jeff Smith went the last yard to score. Colorado put together a last-ditch drive against Nebraska's second unit defenders. The Buffs gained the NU 5, but on fourth down Essington was sacked to end the game.

Clad to go home "Nobody around here thinks Colorado is any good," Osborne said. "I certainly disagree. I won't be a bit surprised if they win three or even four games in the Big Eight this year." McBride said he was glad to get three straight road games completed. "Kansas State will be all fired up after tying Missouri," he said, "but at least we're going home. Traveling is tough on the players, especially when it's three In a row.

If this had been a solid Colorado crowd, like we faced at Perm State and Auburn, we may have been in more trouble. At least we had a lot of our fans and they supported us welL That helped bring us on in the fourth and on a 24-yard Johnson run with 22 seconds left in the quarter. The second touchdown was set up by a 37-yard pass from Essington to Johnson that everyone in the ball park except the official making the call thought was (1) out of bounds, and (2) never controlled by the receiver. 'Worst call' "That was the worst call I've ever seen in college football," McBride said. "I can't believe one of the other officials couldn't see that he didn't catch it.

I looked over at Colorado's line coach and he was laughing about it We've had so many bad calls this ear I'm beginning to wonder if we're snake-biL" Osborne said that "from where I stood, he never had control of the ball at all. The officials I talked to said they never saw it. That's kinda unbelievable." "On the next play," McBride reported, "I called for a blitz. We must have given it away. He (Essington) audibled and once the ball carrier got through the line we didnt have any backside help and he was gone." Although Rozier mishandled the ensuing klckoff and had to fall on the ball at the NU 9, the offense got its act together and marched 91 yards in 15 plays to pull more safely in front at 26-14, despite the fact a two-point conversion attempt failed.

A Gill-to-Rozier pass covered the final, six yards. Damkroger's initial interception point for a 7-0 Nebraska lead with 6:05 left in the first quarter. Rozier carried the first six plays and five more in a row before the touchdown play to account for 52 of the 68 yards. Field misses again The Buffs, again mostly on Essing-ton's passing, moved 65 yards the second time they had the ban, but' this time stalled at the Huskers' 15. Again Field missed a field goal try.

Nebraska extended its lead to 14-0 with 8:48 left in the half as Craig culminated an 80-yard drive in 13 plays from one yard out Quarterback Turner Gill gained 20 and 10 yards on two keeper plays to highlight the march. Late in the half, the Huskers, aided by Gill's 19-yard scamper and Rozier's 16-yard dash, gained the Colorado 8, where on fourth down, Seibel kicked a field goal to up the count to 17-0 with just :51 seconds left But Essington was blindsided by defensive end Bill Weber on the second play following the' ensuing klckoff and linebacker Mike Knox bounced on the loose ball at the CUM. Just 10 seconds remained. After two Gill passes fell incomplete, Seibel kicked another field goal as time ran out to give Nebraska a 20-0 intermission advantage. Colorado's two third-quarter touch- downs, which turned a ho-hum affair into a sudden nail-biter, came on a 37-yard Essington pass to Richard Johnson l4l 3 t'S i I.

-If 'i 'it 5 The longest yard I 7 NU suffers few injuries BOULDER, Colo. The Nebraska football team came through Saturday's 40-1 14 victory over Colorado in' "excellent" shape, NU head trainer and physical thera-' pist George Sullivan said. Split end Todd Brown suffered a bruised thigh, and defensive tackle Rob Stuckey bruised an elbow, otherwise there didnt seem to be anything other than the usual poU-game aches and4ains. Mi Nebraska's Roger Craig (21) charges into the middle of the line (1) as Colorado's Jeff Donaldson (31) and Joe O'Brien (99) apparently stop him. But Craig bounces off the pack (2) and starts around the right end of the line (3).

Then, another Buffalo runs into Craig (4), but NU's senior running back leaps over the barrier (5) and goes into the endzone. Nebraska quarterback Turner Gill (12) watches (left) as Craig flips into the endzone, while CU's Mike Sylvester (77) watches helplessly. Craig's one-yard touchdown run gave Nebraska a 14-0 lead in the second quarter and capped an 80-yard drive. 3.