Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • 37

The Detroit News f''S' kl High schools mKW'W Football Saturday BOB del WOJMXSKI Section Golf 20 NBA 3D Hockey 6D Horses 15D Sterling Heights Stevenson and Sports Tin Detroit tan OnHnt AJI day. every day. running back LJ. Robertson were among the winners in Saturday football action. Page 15D Sunday, October 10, 2004 Stomtom ctoe it all.

3P QB throws for 3 TDs, catches scoring pass, but defense lapses. By Dave Dye The Detroit News EAST LANSING With an imposing four-game stretch against ranked teams approaching, Michigan State's offense is starting to get cranked up. Now, can the defense regroup? The Spartans rolled to a 38-25 victory over Illinois Saturday in a crucial game heading into the completed 21 of 28 for 199 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 37 yards. Considering how many tackles the defense is missing, the Spartans' offense might have to produce more much more. Sophomore Pierre Thomas, who became Illinois' feature back after starter E.B.

Halsey sprained a knee in the first quarter, rushed for 188 yards and two touchdowns. The Mini finished with 234 yards rushing. Please see MSU, Page 12D toughest part of their schedule. Sophomore quarterback Drew Stanton, in his third start following off-season knee surgery, led an offense that finally developed some rhythm and made few mistakes. Stanton passed for three touchdowns and caught another as he continues to do everything in his power to turn this team's season around.

MSU's offense was balanced 253 yards rushing, 234 passing while committing no turnovers, with zero dropped passes, and scoring on MSU38, ILL. 25 Old friends Stanton hooks up with Farming-ton Hills Harrison teammate Shabaj. Page 12D red-zone opportunities, including four touchdowns. "I still don't think you've seen the best that this offense can produce yet," said Stanton, who ten. J'.

flifl Dale G. Young The Detroit News Spartans quarterback Drew Stanton catches a pass from receiver Jerramy Scott and takes it for a touchdown. nil fi I mm Henne directs comeback; Hart runs for 160 yards Henne displays true leadership underpressure in winning drive ANN ARBOR He had come this far, from high school senior to Michigan's starting quarterback in the blink of a few months, sheesh, what was another 87 yards to validation? For Chad Henne, distances keep shrinking and possibilities keep growing, and the Wolverines are expanding right with him. If you didn't see it, you missed the drive of a young career. Don't worry.

I have a feeling you might see it again. Henne took his time and found his receivers on an amazing late-game march, and in the process, U-M might have found its offense and saved its season. The Wolverines did it to Minnesota again, rallying for a 27-24 victory Saturday, a thriller that deserved to be shown on ESPN Classic. The Wolverines didn't steal this one because that would connote luck. They earned it, using everything they had, all of their receivers, plenty of new-fangled formations, almost every minute on the clock.

Braylon Edwards was brilliant again, and so was freshman tailback Michael Hart, who rushed for 160 yards on a day when Minnesota's tandem was supposed to be the story. i Lloyd Carr and offensive coordinator Terry Malone officially took off the reins and handed them to Henne, the leap of faith they had to take. Henne made mistakes, including two forced interceptions, but he showed the poise you only see in the rare ones. By the time the final drive ended with 1:57 left on Henne's 31-yard pass to Tyler Ecker, you knew the Wolverines had discovered something. "Chad's a guy who was I born to make plays," said Edwards, who caught 10 more passes, one for a touchdown.

"There never was a doubt we could get it done, never a panic. This exemplified Michigan is about. It's not a one-man wrecking crew, like some people had said" Nope, this talented offense no longer is just about Edwards. The line is getting better, Hart is gaining i confidence and the coaches are smartly showing trust in Henne Henne completed five of six passes on the winning drive, which began at U-M's 13 with 3:04 left. He finished 33-of-49 for 328 yards, throwing to seven different receivers, calmly finding his second and third options.

"I can't imagine anyone being able to do this, on this stage, in this competition, with no experience," Carr said. "I think it's incredible." Although the Gophers did, By Angelique S. Chengelis The Detroit News ANN ARBOR Players from both Michigan and Minnesota said they knew the game would come down to the end, and it did again. For the second year in a row, Michigan needed a comeback effort to defeat Minnesota, but unlike a year ago, there was no U-M 27 fourth-quarter shootout required. This time, it came down to freshman quarterback Chad Henne, who ran the two-minute offense flawlessly.

MINN. 24 Henne directed the winning 87-yard drive to give i4th-ranked Michigan a 27-24 victory over I3th-ranked Minnesota on Saturday at Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines (5-1, 3-0 Big Ten) have won 16 straight against the Golden Gophers Tight end Tyler Ecker caught the winning 31-yard touchdown pass, avoiding two defenders as he made his way to the end zone with 1:57 left in the game. "We knew this was going to happen," Ecker said. "We had experience doing this last year, coming from behind.

We came prepared. Please see U-M. Page ijD Impressed Minnesota coach Glen Mason praises Michigan for Its winning drive. Page I3D I 'l'r' lohn T. Greilkk The Detroit News Michigan tight end Tyler Ecker cruises into the end zone for the winning score with 1:57 left after catching a pass from quarterback Chad Henne.

I 1 MOMENTOUS WINS Kicker Ryan Kelleen, right, and No. 1 Southern Cal stop Cal; Army ends 19-game losing streak. Page 10D IRISH HAKE HISTORY Rhema McKnight, left, celebrates Notre Dame's victory over Stanford, the 800th in school history. PagellD UPSET SPECIALS David Green, right, and No. 3 Georgia fall to Tennessee; Wisconsin stuns No.

18 Ohio State. Pages 10-UD 1 Yanks move to ALCS Lions vs. Falcons: 1 today Channel 2 WKRK 97.1, WXYT1270 Lions can put streak in past On the ropes Beltran and Backe help Astros put Braves one game from elimination. Page 9D technically, perform their standard big-game flop, they put a terrific fright in the Wolverines. They just never put a fright in the kid QB.

"You can't stand out there and be all nervous and say, 'I don't know if I can do 14 Henne said. "You have to be mature and confident. I love the two-minute drill. The pressure's on. I love pressure." Have you ever felt this much pressure before? Henne thought for a second and shrugged.

"Uh, I don't know. Every game there's pressure. I just saw it as an opportunity." That's precisely what the Wolverines (5-1) have now, a sudden opportunity. Give the coaches and players credit When U-M inserted true freshmen at quarterback and tailback, it would have been easy to assume the worst, and brace for it. Not anymore.

If 87 yards in 67 seconds isn't too far to travel, there's no telling where this team can go. Bob Wojnowski's column appears regularly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Reach him at wojofanaol.com Rodriguez doubles, steals third, scores winning run in 11th. Detroit News wire services MINNEAPOLIS For Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees, Minnesota Today's games National League 2 Atlanta (Ortiz 15-9) at Houston (Clemens 19-4), lp.m. (ESPN) St Louis (Suppan 16-9) at Los Angeles (Perez 7-6), 8p.m.(Ch.2) Saturday's results American League New York 6, Minnesota 5, 11 innings National League Houston 8, Atlanta 5 Los Angeles 4, St.

Louis 0 Armed and ready Pitchers Schilling, Wakefield prepare for ALCS. Page 7D Boston for the American League pennant. "This is what everybody drew up in spring training and now everybody gets to see what it's all about," Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield said. "When (Curt) Schilling went to the Red Sox and when A-Rod came here, that's what everybody wanted to see." The A.L. championship series opens Tuesday night.

Sierra's three-run homer in the eighth inning tied it, then Rodriguez doubled, stole third base and scored in the nth on Kyle Lohse's wild pitch. Rodriguez hit .421 in the series, best among the Yankees, with three doubles and a proved to be little more than a speed bump, barely home run. "What makes you a complete player and a winning player is being asked to the little things," Rodriguez said. "You can't play big ball all the time." Minnesota led 5-1 behind ace Johan Santana before New York rallied. "Even with a 5-1 lead I wasn't comfortable," Twins center fielder Torii Hunter said.

"I know with the talent they have over there, anything can happen. And it did." ByMikeO'Hara The Detroit News ATLANTA The Lions are hitting the road with their heavy baggage back in Detroit. Packed away forever are 24 games and three years worth of heartache and misery the weight of the record-setting 24-game road losing streak that was broken when they beat the Bears in Chicago in the opening game of the season. They didn't hear a word all week about trying to break any kind of streak in today's game against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome. It was the sweetest sound they've heard since the road streak began in the opening game of 2001 silence.

Now they can concentrate on the not-so-simple chore of stopping Michael Vick, the elusive quarterback on the unbeaten Falcons (4-0). Please see LIONS, Page 5D slowing them down on their race to meet the Red Sox. A big home run by former Tiger Ruben Sierra, a timely nth-inning hit by Rodriguez and the Yankees beat the Twins 6-5 Saturday to win the first-round playoff series in four games and a date with A "I.