Times-Advocate from Escondido, California • 31

D-2 T1MES-ADV0CATE, ESCONDIDO. JANUARY 12. 1981 Upshaw versus 'Big Hands' winner Upsha VAN EEGHEN WAS A KEY FACTOR IN RAIDERS' BALL CONTROL IN THE LAST SIX MINUTES tioned themselves for their third Super Bowl come Jan. 25 against the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles. Upshaw has been a starter on each of the Raider teams that have gone to the Super Bowl, the 1968 squad that was humbled by the Green Bay Packers, 33-14, and the 1977 group that embarrassed the Minnesota Vikings.

Upshaw explained what makes being a member of this years team so special. They said we were supposed to finish last. Were not supposed to be here, he pointed out. Pittsburgh or New England, theyre supposed to be wearing this black uniform, not me. Im supposed to be home making New Years resolutions, getting a new job or getting ready for next year.

What Upshaw was doing instead was savoring his hour and his teams accomplishments. And what Upshaw accomplished was of no small nature. Simply, he had won a battle against the San Diegans best defensive lineman, Gary Johnson. Johnson is the man who led the NFL with 17 quarterback sacks. Yesterday, he added one more, but did little else with one other tackle and three assists.

Johnson ended up the day injured and on the bench. His replacement, Wilbur Young, could only get in on one tackle and two assists. In fact, Youngs most significant contribution was an offsides penalty which helped extend the Raiders last drive. Coming into this game I knew I had to control Johnson. Hes one of the best, said Upshaw.

But I think he missed the whole fourth quarter and part of the second. Upshaw did not want to give himself too much credit, though. He felt that Plunkett, who asked to be traded in pre-season when it appeared he would not be playing, was more than deserving of his share. We told Jim to stand in the pocket and believe in us because we certainly believed in him, said Upshaw. If anybody is the most valuable player on this team, its him.

He came in and replaced (Dan) Pastorini, who was said to be the next Stabler, and he gets that little extra something. He gives us a more mobii pocket, he understands coverages, knows when to throw hard or soft and he can run. But the man Upshaw most wanted to eulogize was the Raiders most controversial figure, Davis. You know what it is about us being so close, Ill tell you exactly what it is, began Upshaw. I understand what pride and poise is.

I believe in it. And I understand what adversity is. Pride and poise goes deeper than the uniform on your back. I learned that from A1 Davis. He instilled it in me.

And its something that will stay with me wherever I go. One day in the 1970 off-season he called me in and said I needed to take a leadership role. I was elected captain and its all history from there. Now the Raiders are trying to write one much page to their storied past. If they are successful, rest assured that Upshaw will be one of the significant authors.

By DON NORCROSS T-A Sports Writer SAN DIEGO A wave of reporters spanning a depth of at least 10 feet in every direction was huddled around a Raider cubicle, some standing on tiptoes, others with heads turned sideways to place their ears in a more advantageous position. Surely this must be Jim Plunkett, the Cinderella quarterback who orchestrated Oakland to its 34-27 AFC Championship Game victory over the San Diego Chargers. Not Plunkett? Well then A1 Davis, the mischievous owner who is so easy to hate but impossible not to respect. Wrong again? Of all people to be holding court this gentleman was an offensive lineman. But Gene Upshaw is not just an offensive lineman.

He is the Oakland Raider captain, their leader. Their senior citizen, a 14-year veteran. Upshaw had a football in his hand and he wanted to award it to someone. This game ball is for A1 Davis, shouted Upshaw in a frenzied Raider locker room. I give this ball to Mr.

Davis because he was the only one who believed in us in July when no one else did. And with that, the Raider locker room proceeded to go absolutely cra-zy. There was a certain amount of justice in that Upshaw would be leading the Raider parade. For it was this 35-year-old guard, along with the rest of his offensive line mates, who decided yesterdays game. Upshaw and friends Art Shell, Dave Dalby, Mickey Marvin and Henry Lawrence paved the way to six Raider scoring drives covering 328 yards.

But their most significant series covered only 53 yards and did not result in a single point. It came on the Raiders last drive, and, more impor- tantly, it was the games last drive. With everyone in the Western Hemisphere aware that the Raiders were going to run, they were still able to do so. And by doing so they counted down the final 6:43 of the game as the Chargers potent offense could only sit on the sidelines, watching and waiting for the opportunity that never came. That was the biggest drive of the game right there, smiled Shell, proudly.

We controlled the line of scrimmage early, said Upshaw. And whenever you do that you know you can do it when the going gets tough. By controlling the ball the final 6:43, the Raider offense answered the plea of their defensive stalwart, linebacker Ted Hendricks. Before we went on the field Hendricks said to us, Please dont let them get another shot, recalled Upshaw. I told him not to worry.

Then with two minutes to go, he didnt think wed be able to do it and he begged us. We just told him, Hey, dont worry. Sure enough, Hendricks spent the rest of the game just where he wanted to on the sidelines. By beating the Chargers at their own game, offense, the Raiders posi MARK CHARGERS Continued from D-l connected on a 55-yard pass to Ron Smith and had the team in scoring position with a first down at the Raider 14. But one pass for John Jefferson was overthrown and a second was intercepted by Lester The Molester Hayes when Jefferson fell down on the slick stadium turf.

After tying the score at 7-7 with a 48-yard pass from Fouts to Charlie Joiner, the Chargers immediately let Oakland regain the upper hand by letting Plunkett scramble out of the pocket and hit Cliff Branch for a 48-yard gain. That play came on a third-and-19 and set up a five-yard scramble by Plunkett for the go-ahead touchdown. San Diego was forced to punt from its own 22 on the next series. A 41-yard punt by Rick Partridge was returned 14 yards and the Raiders in business at the Charger 49. Plunkett went to work again, passing to Bob Chandler for 16 yards, Chester for nine and King for 21 and a TD.

The Chargers marched 75 yards the next time they had the ball and it appeared they would get a score to put them back in the game. But Fouts pass' for Jefferson was high and behind the receiver. The errant toss deflected to Oaklands Burgess Owens at the one and returned to the 26. The next time the Chargers had The lack of execution there was the last time the Chargers had a chance to run their offense. With the game slipping away, the Raiders destroyed the theory that the good guys always win in the end by running 15 plays and consuming the games final 6:43 as the Charger offense watched helplessly from the sidelines.

But again, it was a Charger mistake that proved costly. With 2 minutes to play and Oakland faced with a third-and-five from the San Diego 43, defensive tackle Wilbur Young, subbing for Gary Johnson, jumped offside. The penalty gave the Raiders a third-and-inches and van Eeghen powered to a first down to keep the drive alive. Three plays later and faced with a third-and-four from the Charger 29, Plunkett was flushed from the pocket, scrambled and skidded to a first down at the San Diego 24. That play came with 1:22 to play and signaled the end for the Chargers.

It was really frustrating not to get the ball back, Gibbs said. We had our two-minute offense all set up and ready to go. We ha.d four basic plays that we were set to run. We knew wed be out of timeouts and we were in what we call a red ball situation, so we gave Fouts the freedom to audible to anything he deemed necessary. We just wanted to try and get the ball up the field.

Instead, the ball remained in Oaklands possession and the classic ending to what was a very good game and a very good story line was ruined. airport David Burns. And this is just a sample of what theyll get when they return as the Super Bowl champs. Were going to paint the town. Save Our Raiders pennants were seen in the crowd.

Police said a few intoxicated people were arrested but said most of the crowd was well-behaved. After holding Oakland and getting a 28-yard punt return by Mike Fuller, the Chargers drove 41 yards on six plays to score on a six-yard burst around left end by Chuck Muncie. That narrowed the gap to 28-24 and it appeared the story line was unfolding. I felt real good about our chances when we pulled within four points, Coryell said. I had a good feeling all week and I had a good feeling when we started to come back.

We were well-prepared and I really knew then that our comeback meant the game would come down to one big play a big pass, an interception or a fumble recovery. The coach was never more right. After a pair of Chris Bahr field goals made the score 34-24 Oakland early in the fourth period, the Chargers used up eight minutes on a 72-yard, 13-play drive and had to be content with a 27-yard field goal by Benirschke. That cut the margin to 34-27, but it could have been closer. On third down, the Chargers flooded the left side, clearing an area for tight end Kellen Winslow.

Winslow broke clear, but Fouts pass was too high and too hard to handle. The play we ran there was similar to the short TD pass that Joiner caught, offensive coordinator Joe Gibbs said. We ran what we call a pick play. Thats where we flood an area and have the other receivers pick off the DBs, leaving a receiver open. The play worked, but we didnt execute very well." through Its a tremendous turnout, said quarterback Jim Plunkett.

It was a great game for us. As happy as they were with the victory, the Raiders fans vocally objected to owner A1 Davis plan to move the team to Los Angeles. After all this tonight, they cant leave here, said Oakland resident the ball disaster struck again. This time running back Mike Thomas lost the handle, and Oakland linebacker Ted Hendricks recovered the fumble at the Charger 29. Plunkett kept the Oakland drive alive with a 24-yard toss to Cliff Branch on a third-and-20 situation.

Four plays later, Mark van Eeghen powered in from three yards out. Again the Chargers came back, as Fouts whipped his team 64 yards on 13 plays, finding the end zone with 74 seconds to play on an eight-yard pass to Joiner. But seconds later, a silly mistake cost San Diego another opportunity to score when an unnamed Charger was offside, negating a fumble recovery on the kickoff at the Oakland 12. As is the case in most bad guy vs. good guy novels, the second half of the story belonged to the good guys.

Trailing 28-14, the Chargers took the opening drive of the second half and scored on a 26-yard field goal by Rolf Benirschke. San Diego should have scored a touchdown, but Jefferson, an All-Pro wide receiver, dropped a sure TD pass. I missed an easy one, the classy Jefferson said after the game. I was harrassed a little by the defense on the play and when I broke open I wasnt in a good position to catch the ball like I wanted. clinched the 34-27 victory that sends them as the American Football Conference representatives to Super Bowl XV.

Theyll take on the Philadelphia Eagles Jan. 25. The fans guzzled beer and led raucous cheers in the airports main concourse, then let loose in a frenzy when the Raiders stepped off their chartered jet shortly after 9:30 p.m. Raiders escorted OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) The Oakland Raiders managed to break through the San Diego Chargers rugged line time after time yesterday, but they needed a police escort to get out of the Oakland Airport when they returned home.

More than 9,000 fans jammed the airport. Some of them had been waiting since shortly after the Raiders Lottes gocugG ()utteG DqgCxod" cdn) Oakland owner A1 Davis on whether hes looking forward to the possibility of accepting the Super Bowl trophy from NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle should the Raiders defeat Philadelphia: No, not really. I just like to win. All that stuff is for somebody else. Ive met him before and I hope to meet him again just so that we win the Super Bowl.

Whether or not the Raiders win the Super Bowl, Davis and Rozelle will meet again in the very near future. Davis and the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission are suing the National Football League for a reported $150 million over the NFLs block of a Raider transfer to Los Angeles. Davis on the Raiders 34-27 victory over the Chargers I said before the game that it would be like a Rocky Marciano fight. The one left standing at the end would be the victor. I am glad it was us.

I am just so happy for our players today. This is the greatest victory in Raider history. Davis, when asked if he was worried when the Chargers came back in the second half: No. We match up very well with their defense and they know it. They know that we can score against them.

All-Pro linebacker Ted Hendricks on Oaklands victory: We did everything we had to do today to win. We got the big first downs when we needed them, we held the ball when we had to and we ran the clock out at the end of the game. But give Dan Fouts a lot of credit for reading our defense and their offensive line for picking up the different things we were doing. The Chargers actually did a good job on the notorious Mad Stork, particularly on blitzes, Limiting him to one tackle and two assists. But it was Hendricks who recovered a Mike Thomas fumble at the San Diego 29 early in the second period which led to Oaklands fourth touchdown and an insurmountable 28-7 lead.

Ray Guy on his even-better-than-usual afternoon, four punts for a 56-yard average I just had a good day. Its a heck of a lot different coming here than going to Cleveland. I just felt great and I was kicking great in practice yesterday. I was consistently dropping them inside the 10. (hie of Guys four punts yesterday went for 71 yards, a new AFC Championship Game record.

The old record was 68 yards set in 1963 by Bostons Tom Yewcic in San Diegos 51-10 AFL Championship Game. Guys 56-yard average was also a record, eclipsing the old mark of 51.4 by the Chargers John Hadl against Buffalo in 1965. More Guy: I was trying to keep the ball away from their punt returners. I wasnt nervous out there. Usually my palms are wet, but today I was okay.

Running back Mark van Eeghen on his offensive lines play during Oaklands final drive which consumed the last 6:43 of the game: The line took some bigger splits, but basically there was nothing fancy. They just came off the line, which enabled me to cut back. Their line started talking to themselves and once you have the other team worried and can cut back, a lot of things open. We knew what we had to do keep the defense on the bench. It was very gratifying.

I think the whole team should be proud, especially the offense for killing that last seven minutes. I dont think we could have given the defense a better New Years present. Van Eeghen ended up as the games leading rusher with 85 yards on 20 carries and one touchdown. Offensive tackle Art Shell on the importance of the Raider running attack: Theyre a good front four, a good defensive unit. But we feel weve run prety well against everyone all year.

Youve got to get some kind of running game going against them. If you dont, and you get in obvious passing situations, theyll kill you. We were fortunate. For the game the Raiders outrushed the Chargers, 138-83. The Chargers actually had a better average, though, 3.6 to 3.3.

Shell on the Raiders quick score: We scored first, but it wouldnt have mattered if San Diego had scored first. Youve got to play the full 60 minutes for the win. I dont think the momentum went to San Diego in the first half. They scored a quick 10 points, but we knew that if we stuck to the game plan, we would come out victors. Guard Gene Upshaw on what he told his team at halftime when it was leading 28-14: I told all my guys that when the Chargers come back in the second half theyre always a differ ent team.

And they were a different team this time. Ever since Don Coryell got here, theyve always been a different team after halftime. I dont know what he tells them or if he threatens them, but theyre a different team. Upshaw on his offensive teams lack of respect: They (the Chargers) are supposed to be the team that bombs away and were supposed to ground it out. People were concerned about their offense and forgot about ours.

We knew our offense could do it and we pulled out and did it. Upshaw on the possibility of meeting Pete Rozelle should the Raiders defeat the Eagles in the Super Bowl: I hope he comes into our locker room when we win so I can boo. Asked why he dislikes Rozelle, Upshaw said, Ive got my reasons. He did some things I dont appreciate. Im Just glad I play for the Oakland Raiders.

If I played for any other team he would probably have me out of the league now. Upshaw on the Raiders feelings that the officials have been intentionally against them the last two weeks because Davis is suing the NFL: Its a feeling held by all the Raider players. Weve seen them take too much away from us in the past. What did we have today, two interceptions and a fumble taken away, and the flags all were real late. We feel theyre definitely trying to take it away from us.

What it does to you is make you try harder to win. You dont want it to get down to one crucial play and give the official a chance to take control. Im not criticizing. I think they do a good job. But we seem to be the penalized more than anybody else.

Running back Kenny King on the win: This game will definitely shut people up who say that Oakland doesnt have any offense. Everybody was starting to celebrate with about one minute left. I didnt start until the very end because I knew anything could happen. The Charger defense knew that we could put points on the board. The first two games we had great success with running plays.

Today we mixed it up. Plunkett called a great game. With a team like San Diego, you have to maintain ball control. They have such great personel on offense, you know if you give them any chance they will score. Don Norcross Staff Photo by Mike Franklin OAKLAND QB JIM PLUNKETT.