The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 31

SPORTS San Diego County Monda), November 10. 1980 Cos Angeles (Times CCt Part III enver Draws the Line on Chargers, 20 13 Broncos Get Tough Inside the 20, Drop San Diego Out of First Place By DAVE DISTEL, Times Staff Writer SAN DIEGO If the grass is a little worn between the 20 -yard-line stripes at San Diego Stadium, it is understandable. That was where the Chargers spent Sunday afternoon. Constantly deprived of good field position by Denver's mistake-free offense, the Chargers lost. 20-13, and fell from first place in the AFC West for the first lime this season.

The loss dropped the Chargers' record to 6-4 and left them one game behind Oakland, a 28-17 win- tSrOttCO DCfCnSC ner over Cincinnati. The Chargers had virtually all of SUUUCnlV (jCtS thp statistical arlvantacps acainst Its-Crush Back By MIKE CRANBERRY Times Staff Writer SAN DIEGO-They came MELANIE KAESTNER Los Angeles Times fourth-and-2 play from Denver 19-yard line. The fourth-quarter pass was not an interception because Wright was over end line. Broncos' Louie Wright (20) comes up with pass in end zone intended for Chuck Muncie as Chargers gamble and go for touchdown on Denver except for the one that counted most the final score. And one other turnovers.

The Chargers turned the ball over three times, leading to 10 Denver points, while the Broncos had no turnovers. That, perhaps, was the greatest contrast between Sunday's game and the early -season game the Chargers won. 30-13, in Denver. The Broncos had seven turnovers on that occasion. Yardage but Few Points Denver neither fumbled nor threw interceptions Sunday, and the consequence was the Chargers never assumed possession beyond their own 40.

They gained substantial yardage 459 yards in total offensebut the end zone eluded them for the first 58 minutes 34 seconds of the game. "We'd get to the 20." running back Chuck Muncie said, "and then mistakes would keep us out of the end zone." Muncie figured in his most prominent role as a Charger, gaining 115 yards as San Diego sought to establish its running game for the first time this season. Muncie, indeed, carried seven times for 42 yards before Dan Fouts completed his first pass. The incongruity was that the Chargers, given a respectable running attack, went with the pass on two critical short-yardage situations. On the first, Fouts attempted to pass on third-and-1 from the Denver 12 late in the first half and was sacked for a loss of eight yards by Don Latimer.

Rolf Benirschke missed a 38-yard field goal on fourth down. On the second, Fouts threw for Muncie in the end zone on fourth-and-2 from the Denver 19 midway through the fourth period. The pass was incomplete and the ball went to the Broncos. Defense Thwarts Play Denver's defense had something to do with the third -down play near the end of the first half. The Chargers, having called timeout, came out of the huddle and found Denver in a goal -line defense at its own 12.

Fouts knew the play called would not work against that defense so he attempted to call another timeout. Consecutive timeouts cannot be called. "I had to audible," Fouts said, "and was a sound audible. They got good pressure on me, so I didn't have time to look for an alternate receiver." The result was one of six sacks by the Broncos. The other short-yardage situation from the Denver 19 in the fourth quarter was more subject to second-guessing.

Muncie had Please see CHARGERS, Page 9 into the game with a 4-5 record- -and. statistically, with the worst record in the American Football Conference. It never made sense. This was supposed to be Orange Crush, a Denver Bronco team built on Red Miller's defense. Make no mistake about it.

Miller was a bit angry Sunday. Beforehand, that is. If the Broncos blew this one, well. Randy Gradishar was right Denver's Christmas had Rocky Mountain Lonely written all over it. Miller said rush the passer and don't turn the ball over.

He never really believed the Chargers had Please see BRONCOS, Page 12 Aztecs Again Try Something New and Again Lose Special to The Times HONOLULU-A Saturday night loss to the University of Hawaii here was but another dog-eared page in a 1980 chapter that San Diego State football Coach Claude Gilbert is sure to leave out of his memoir. The 1 -8 Aztecs added a new set the I-formation to an already long list of offensive changes and even a new face previously untested fullback Brad Steele to the revolving door in the backfield. But the more things changed for San Diego State, the more they stayed the same with another injured running back and another loss, a school -record seventh straight, 31-6. "When you get in the state we're in, it seems like everything we do is bad," Gilbert said in the stillness of the Aloha Stadium locker room. "We're at the point where we can't do anything offensively.

We're just trying to finish the season with some dignity." San Diego opened up with the I-formation, said Gilbert, "in an attempt to beat Hawaii's blitzing. We wanted to chunk it out and control the ball." The Aztecs did get 140 yards rushing in the game, 78 more than the team average, but they didn't control much with it, falling behind in the first quarter (10-0) Please see AZTECS, Page 11 Woodley Scrambles Rams Rookie Passer Leads Dolphins to a 35-14 Upset Another Dallas Mystery: Giants Win It, 38-35 EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (10-Leon Perry had tried a flea-flicker only once before, in college, and it failed. So when quarterback Phil Simms told the rookie running back from Mississippi that the New York Giants would do it in the rain on a play that might well decide the game, they were both a little apprehensive. "We practiced it all week, but never in the rain," said Perry.

Simms pitched the ball to Perry, who tossed it back, and then Simms passed 26 yards to rookie Mike Friede to set up a 27-yard field goal by Joe Danelo that gave the Giants a 38-35 victory over the Dallas Cowboys Sunday. The 2-8 Giants, who had lost eight straight, hadn't beaten the Cowboys since 1974, a string of 12 Please see GIANTS, Page 11 By TED GREEN. Times Staff Writer A scrambling rookie named David Woodley, the 214th player and 14th quarterback picked in the 1980 college draft, bedeviled the Rams Sunday every bit as effectively as Roger Staubach or Fran Tarkenton ever did in one afternoon. Woodley, faster than any quarterback the Rams have faced in years, escaped pass rushes to run for two touchdowns, threw three touchdown passes and generally ripped a proud defense to pieces as the Miami Dolphins defeated the Rams as soundly as the score indicated, 35-14. The loss at Anaheim Stadium dropped the Rams (6-4) a game behind Atlanta (7-3) in the NFC West.

Suddenly, the Rams are not only second but struggling, having allowed 66 points the last two weeks. Hardly the stuff that Super Bowls are made of. And it may only get harder from here because the Rams play the 7-2 Patriots in Fox-boro, next Sunday, then face Dallas, Buffalo and Atlanta the last five weeks. Meanwhile, the Dolphins, 10-point underdogs Sunday, may have saved their season, or at least pro longed their playoff chances, which are still kind of remote. Don Shula's club is now 5-5.

Woodley, the Dolphins' youngest player at 22, showed tremendous poise, fast feet and a fine arm as he led what had been the National Football League's poorest offensive team to a field day against a Ram defense that isn't as good as it used to be, probably for a variety of reasons. The field day consisted of 441 net yards, nearly twice as many as the 249 the Dolphins had been averaging; 280 yards rushing, more than three times their previous average of 91 a game; a 151 -yard rushing game for halfback Del Williams on only 12 carries; and five beautifully conceived, neatly executed, time-consuming drives covering 75, 69, 81, 73 and 80 yards. Woodley ran the ball in himself on scrambles of 6 and 10 yards and threw touchdown passes of 31 yards to halfback Tony Nathan, 6 yards to Nat Moore and 2 yards to tight end Bruce Hardy. The fifth and final touchdown, which came with 2:12 to play, served merely to rub Miami's superior game plan and superior performance in the Rams' faces. This was a game the Rams were never in.

They trailed, 7-0 and 14-0, only getting to 14-7 because Ivory Sully blocked a George Roberts punt and Jewerl Thomas plucked the football out of the air for a Ram touchdown. It went to 21-7 at half-time, than 28-7 well into the third quarter before Ram quarterback Vince Ferragamo connected with Victor Hicks on a 32-yard touchdown, the Ram offense's only euphoric moment all afternoon. The Rams, and many in a crowd of 62,198, came to life in the fourth quarter when Mike Fanning stripped Dolphin fullback Terry Robiskie and Jack Reynolds recovered the fumble at the Miami 32-yard line just moments after the Rams closed to 28-14. Nearly eight minutes still remained. But Dolphin safety Don Bessillieu intercepted Ferragamo when the Please see RAMS, Page 10 John Jefferson reflects dejected Falcons Rally and Beat Cardinals in Overtime jfM ST.

LOUIS (UPI)-Atlanta Coach Leeman Bennett and quarterback Steve Bartkowski were thinking field goal. Reserve running back Ray Strong had other ideas. "My main concern was to hold onto the ball," Strong said. "But my guard made an excellent block and I saw green and went for it." Strong's 21-yard run for a touchdown 4:42 into the overtime period Sunday gave the Falcons, who scored three touchdowns in the second half for a 33-27 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Strong, subbing for an injured Lynn Cain late in the game, had only four carries, two in the overtime period after Atlanta won the toss. Bartkowski threw 15 yards to Alfred Jenkins, and Strong ran 16 yards to the St. Louis 24. Two plays later, this fourth run ended the game. "It was an offtackle play designed to go inside to maintain good field position for the field goal," Bennett said of the run.

"He just broke it." Bartkowski: "I feel kind of like a fool. I told Ray to just hang onto the football. I was thinking we'd like to move the football a bit more and get a chip shot." The Cardinals, who last week lost to Dallas on a desperation play with 45 seconds remaining, were stunned for the second straight week. Hart's Interceptions Costly St. Louis quarterback Jim Hart was devastating in the first half, but threw three interceptions in the second half.

He finished with five interceptions for the game, with the most damaging coming with 50 seconds left in regulation time after the Cardinals had moved to the Atlanta 32. "In my opinion we had to throw the ball in that situation," Hart said. "There was a little bit of pressure. I just didn't throw it high enough, not enough zip on it." The Falcons are 7-3, the Cardinals 3-7. The Falcons lead the Rams by a game in the NFC West.

Bartkowski finished the game with 31 completions in 47 attempts for 378 yards and one interception, Please see FALCONS, Page 11 MELANIE KAESTNER Los Angeles Times mood on Charger bench Sunday during 20-13 loss that knocked San Diego out of first place in AFC.