Des Moines Tribune from Des Moines, Iowa • 17

1 I IIIIMII mmlmtlm Des Moines Trifoliate MJmi a 1 1 1974 17 Dowl'mg Jinx Lj IT" i tf I 4 Ml. 1 f-cr my tx 'rk. iff szzJ? UJi- A T.X -v I rlr 11 L. SMITH TOSSES Dowling- quarterback Bob tection. Dowling: could not maintain its 10-7 half-Smith (right) unleashes seven-yard touchdown time lead and fell in the Class 4A football finals, pass to Dave Morrissey in Saturday's game against 14-10.

West Davenport. Jack Schore 55) provides pro- tribune photo bv Georae j. ceoiia Pro Scout Watching 5 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, Glenn Lott Hal Proppe Throughout the Bulldogs' seventh loss, Nixon jotted down notes about the designated seniors. Proppe had the least words under his name but should be happy to know that Nixon was taking a good report back to Cleveland. "Lacks Speed" A first-time critique on the 6-foot inch, 225-pound tight end said: "Has it all except speed." Nixon apparently was impressed with Proppe's blocking because he caught only one pass for 18 yards on Saturday.

Nixon, who has been a scout for six years after spending most of his working career as a coach, pointed his dreamed of playing for the Hawkeyes. "I don't know how I'm going to feel Monday, coming out on the field for practice and knowing I've played my last home game," he mused. "I've got no regrets. I just wish we could have won more games." Iowa has posted only six victories in McCarney's three varsity seasons, half of them coming this year under Bob Commings. McCarney, after being voted captain, vowed the Hawkeyes would be better than 1973's 0-11 edition.

Hardly anyone listened. A smile crossed the 230-pounder's face when this fact was mentioned. man was so sapped that he wasn't worth a darn for nearly three years. If you kept count of the bodies who staggered, crawled and were led off the field Sunday, you might wonder whether the Ali-Frazier parallel wasn't continuing. In other words, it looks as if the Dolphins and Bills will go as far the rest of the season as their team physicians will allow.

Notice something missing? like a Miami running game? Larry Csonka has been hurting for weeks. Mercury Morris is hurting to the point where Coach Don Shula is reluctant to trust him too far because "Merc still hasn't played himself into shape." jfli.ii Future Rick Howe ISU's Howe Earns His Own Way By Maly- (Staff WrHtr) MO. Maybe it was because he was a late-bloomer. Maybe it was because he came out of a small high school. Maybe it was because he weighed only 187 pounds as a college freshman.

Or maybe Rick Howe almost got Maybe all those well-paid scouts from the big universities just blew it Howe was graduated from West Marshall at State Center. He wanted to play college football and had no takers. Nebraska didn't call, Ohio State didn't call, Alabama didn't Heck, Iowa State and Iowa didn't even call. "I had a few offers from small i schools," Howe said Sunday, "and I considered Ellsworth Junior College. "But my guidance counselor at West Marshall talked me into going to Iowa I V'y So the kid who had earned three letters each in football, basketball, track and baseball in high school ar- rived at Ames without an athletic scholarship or much of a promise.

"Johnny Majors' staff was at Iowa State Howe said, "and I was told they had run out of scholarships. But they welcomed me to come out." Howe, who came off a 400-acre farm in Clemone (population 175), added weight quickly after coming to Iowa State. "I was a starting linebacker as freshman," Rick commented. "I told the coaches then that, if they didn't give me a scholarship, I'd go somewhere else." Majors knew he had something. Howe was given an athletic grant in the winter quarter of that freshman "I started the first game of my sophomora season," said Hpwe, who now weighs 242.

Coach Earl Bruce said Rick played the best game of his career in Saturday's 10-7 loss to Missouri, and Howe agreed. "I was fired up for the game," he said. "An ankle has been troubling me much of the season, but it felt good for this game." Howe was in on 15 tackles as Iowa, State limited Missouri to only 68 yards rushing. He'll get his degree In agricultural business and thinks a bit about professional football. Maybe he won't have to walk on there.

Central To NCAA (Special Dlteateti to THe Tribune) KANSAS CITY, MO. Central College of Pella, Ia. Monday accepted an invitation to play in the National Collegiate Division in football playoffs. Central, the Iowa Conference champion with a 9-0 overall record, will play the University of Evansville (8-1) in the West Region semifinals at Evansville on Nov. 30.

Ithaca College of New York (9-fl) will play Slippery Rock, State College (8-0-1) the same day in the East semifinals at Cornell University. The two winners will meet Dec. 7 in Phenir City, Ala. Division HI is the smallest in NCAA competition. 3 ISU Games To Be Televised KANSAS CITY, MO.

(AP)-Ten Big Eight Conference afternoon basketball games including three Iowa State games are to be televised this season. The first televised game Is an inter-sectional clash Jan. 4 between Missouri and Texas at Austin, Tex. The schedule: Jan. 4 Missouri at Texati Kansas, Stat at Ntbraska; IS Iowa Stata at Missouri.

Fab. 1 Oklahoma at Oklahoma State; I Kansas at Oklahoma; 15 Kansas at Oklahoma Stata and Nebraska at Colorado; 22 Coloraoe at Iowa Mar. 1 Iowa Stat at Kansas Statai Oklahoma at Kansas, Playoffs By Randy Peterson (Tribune Staff Writer) AMES, IA. Jim Williams can't explain it. Neither can his players or assistants.

But something goes wrong, when Dowling comes into a championship football game. On three consecutive occasions the most recent being Saturday's 14-10 loss to West Davenport for the state Class 4A title Dowling has bowed in the bridesmaid's role. "If I knew 'the problem, I'd be a' genius," said Williams, who led Dowling to nine consecutive victories after an opening loss to Heelan of Sioux City. "Maybe we're just playing better teams." Can't Move That was the answer at Clyde Williams Field here Saturday when Dowling could not manage to go one yard in eight plays. situation went something like this: Dowling drove to Gayle Murphy Mike Murphy Gale Murphy: "Has quick feet from his defensive back position." Wait Until End "The pro people don't like to talk with college players during the season," Nixon explained, "because it may change their style.

We prefer that the players don't know what we are watching. "If an NFL team is interested enough in somebody, it will get in touch with him upon completion of the schedule." One problem remains: Neither player nor pro team knows what association they will have until the college, draft takes place this winter. All there is for both sides is Dan McCartney who graduate, so the future looks bright. Center Ed Myers, guard Joe Devlin and tackle Rod Walters return, along with injured regulars Warren Peiffer and Aaron Leonard. "Next year they should really be tough," said Dan.

"Awfully tough." McCarney and teammates have One more game, too, at Michigan State. O. J. Simpson made 60 yards in 14 carries on a bad ankle that is being reinjured weekly. In the fourth quarter, Simpson's main contribution was as a blocking back.

The Juice is a fine blocker, but the Bills didn't win seven of their, first 10 games because of O.J.'s blocking abilities. Then there's the question of Joe Ferguson. The second-year quartet-back left the game with a minute to play in the third quarter after being sacked for a fourth time by Bill Stan-fill. He didn't return. The Buffalo bench described Ferguson's injury as "contus'oru of -the right knee," and said he may be finished for the season.

Bulldogs Jim Williams the West Davenport one-yard line twice, twice relied on quarterback sneaks to cross the goal and, twice failed. "That's been our big play down near the goal all season," Williams said in the quiet, somber Dowling dressing room. "I don't know how many times we've scored on a quarterback sneak this year but it's definitely been the big play for us. "And that's why I went with it this time. But they were able to stop our best so maybe they deserve to be the best.

I don't know. Another time within West Daven- port's five, Bob Smith's aerial deflected off the hands of teammate Pat Stolmeier into the grasps of an eager defender. 'Unlucky' "We're just snake-bit," one Dowling player said while jaunting to the locker room trying to evade fans who had massed on to the field to see the Metropolitan Conference champs receive the runner-up trophy. I Unlucky is another way to explain the misfortune that has plagued Dowling in the playoffs. The first year an untimely fumble led to a 6-0 loss.

Last year the clock ran out as Dowling was handed a 37-32 loss by Central Davenport. Dowling was in the midst of making a comeback, however, when the final gun sounded. "You've got to be at your best" if you expect to win a championship game," Williams said. "And we weren't at our Dowling was unable to ston the hard-charging Greg Deines, who raced, for 105 yards in 15 trys. Dowling also couldn't contain quarterback Terry Rubley, who completed 10 of 15 tosses for 163 yards.

"West Davenport is a very fine football team Williama ooit 'TU. hard to scout because they're so versatile. If you stop their quarterback, then Deines will take over if you have their running game stopped, then they'll hit you with a pass." Pass More Williams had changed Dowling's game plan but had no second thoughts after the contest, witnessed by an estimated 10,000 fans. "We planned to come in here and throw a lot more than we have thrown during the regular season," he said. "Smith has been doing a pretty good -job hitting his receivers lately and we figured that they may be somewhat vulnerable to the pass.

The only thing I can say about that is probably that we should have thrown more." Smith completed five of 13 attempts for 71 yards including a seven-yard toss to Dave Morrissey for a touch- down. Junior Mike Schwartz was the leading receiver with three catches for 27 yards. Jim Swift caught the other Smith toss for 14 yards. "I thought Bob had a good day Williams said. "He was good at picking out, the secondary receiver when the primary man was covered.

"I won't forget this for a long while," Williams-' said. "It was just frustrating. I thought we had a chance to score hen just a minute was left in the game. I thought we moved the ball well in the fourth period. Our tailback Dom Cipolla started getting yardage off tackle but we just couldn't get in." So for a third straight season, Dow-" ling settled for the familiar runner-up trophy.

First Drake Cage Contest Drake Basketball Coach Bob Ortegel will put his squad on display tonight in the Bulldogs' annual intrasquad game at 7:30 o'clock at Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Ortegel, who replaces Howard Sta-cey, will have the seven top players competing against the other nine team members. Three freshmen will be among the starters for the blue squad. By PhilMaly It wasn't exactly the kind of season that attracts a lot of attention, but at least Mike Nixon had enough interest in Drake's football team to travel here from Cleveland, Ohio, Saturday. Of course, Nixon is no ordinary, spectator.

He didn't care that Drake won only three of 11 games. He didn't mind sitting through a 52-14 loss to Tulsa. And he wasn't enthusiastic about telling anyone he was in Des Moines. Checking Five The gray-haired man fished through his wallet and came up with a 3-inch by 2-inch card. In the lefthand there was an orange football helmet.

The printing read: Mike. Nixon i Assistant Coach The Cleveland Browns "I haven't seen Drake play before," Nixon confessed, "but our National -Football League team wants to know more about five players." Glenn Hal Proppe, Gale Murphy, Jim O'Connor and Mike Murphy probably weren't aware of much other than they were getting punished Dy a Missouri Valley Conference champion-' ship team. All the while, though, they were being scouted. 'Hawks By Bob Dyer (Staff Writer) IOWA CITY, IA. Dan McCarney stood in front of his locker following Iowa's 35-10 loss to Ohio State, a little more disappointed than the rest of his teammates.

Victories have been few and far between for the Hawkeye co-captain, but this setback hurt more than the others. "I'm kind of sad right now the four years have gone awfully fast," said Dan, looking around the Kinnick Stadium locker room for the last time. McCarney is from Iowa City, started watching Iowa football as a tyke, and Jim O'Connor pencil to Proppe's name in the program, and said: "He's a good play-er." ,7 Split end Mike Murphy didn't dis-' appoint Nixon, either, catching six passes for 88 yards and a Other information the scout took back east with him was: Lott: "Played linebacker last year and was switched to strong safety would make a better wide safety slow on pass coverage wears a neck O'Connor: ''Impressive in certain aspects plays fullback for Drake, but he would have to make it as a running back need to check his speed." "We're never satisfied, because we could have won more games," said Dan. "But we've built a foundation for next year." One of the cornerstones of that foundation is the offensive line, which sprung Iowa backs loose for 199 yards rushing against the vaunted Buckeye defense. "We were really flying off the ball," said Dan.

"Coach Commings just told us to go out there and be men. We were inside the 20-yard line a couple of times but just didn't get it." McCarney and tackle Jock Michelo- sen are the only offensive linemen Bright' ills-Miami Collision May Have Kurt Both Mercury's bad left knee took another turn for the worse Sunday when he ran over a cheerleader after going out of bounds. Don Nottingham? The well-traveled castoff scored twice for the winners. But he was so sore before the game that he got to play only because rookie Ben Malone got his bell rung by the Bills Bo Cornell. Csonka, who limped for Jl yards in eight carries, and Morris are the key men.

Bob Griese won't always be able, to build five touchdown drives around three long passes to Warfield. As for the Bills, they're still hanging on. By a strained ligament and a sora tendon. By Dave Nightingale Chicaao Daily News MIAMI, FLA. As those of you who watched it Sunday in the warmth of your living rooms might agree, Miami's 35-28 victory over Buffalo was something of a classic thriller.

It was a game matching two of the top three teams. It was replete with amazing pass receptions, thrilling touchdown runs and countless heroics. But one aspect of the tussle could lead both the Dolphins and Bills down the path to disaster in weeks forthcoming. Remember the first Muhammad All-Joe Frazier heavyweight title fight? That, too, was a classic thriller. What happened after it was over? Each.