North County Times from Oceanside, California • 17

I Sports "gKrjgvsurnu nawiiian 2 M2S2 3 ac Bills 41 Falcons 14 Vikings 17 Browns 13 Lions 19 Bengali 13 Packers 17 Bears 3 Dolphins 19 lers '6 Sleelers 30 Coitsl4 Eagles 4T Giants 34 Patr ots 4 jets 3 CowDoys Gardiios10 Ra ders Bro cos 0 4aers 2 Ran '0 Cres-4 SnCdhs'4 Blade-Citizen Monday, November 23, 1992 Byes cant stop Chargers rapid rise San Diego above .500 with 6th win when we play well, safety Stanley Richard said But then again, there's going to be times when we dont play as well as we should But its going to be important that no matter what, the defense maintains control of the game by not allowing them to put points on the board The Chargers did that Thanks to a 12 0 first quarter cushion the Chargers let Vinny Testaverde and Co chalk up yards But when the Bues neared the end zone, San Diego got stingy' That way, weve got so many weapons on offense, that they are going to finally come back and put points on the board. Richard said Sundays arsenal included a shifty Ronnie Harmon, a chugging Stan Humphries and a sacking Chris Mims Harmon wore a sour look after the game because he was mobbed by the media Two things the dedicated Har mon detests When Ross blows his whistle signaling practice is over and talking to the press But when you score two touch downs Ronnie the people want to know hats up I just doing my job Harmon said You need to go talk to the line, not me It doesn't matter if I score the bottom line is winning, period I know I boring, but thats just the wav it is Whats Harmon ultimate night mare0 Getting chased by 300-pound linemen or speaking with puny scribes0 Having all these reporters around he said, this is definitely difficult See Chargers, Page C-4 Tampa Bays Ron Hall is tackled by Junior Seau (55) and Sean Vanhorse (25) after a short gain in San Diego 29-14 victory a Pno Scott Varley Chargers on a roll; Aztecs are in a hole 1 By Jay Paris Staff Writer SAN DIEGO It wasn't thrilling Or even mildly exciting Good gollv, has winning become passe for the Chargers San Diego methodically disposed of the Tampa Bay Bucca neers Sunday, 29 14 before 43,197 at Jack Murphy Stadium The Chargers sixth ictory in their last seven outings lifts them to within a game of first place in the AFC Western Division The Chargers (6 5) jumped ahead early and never let Tampa Bay (4 7) get close enough to sniff the lead It vv as not a particularly pretty football game, coach Bobby Ross said True But in the Chaigers 10 season stretch of missing the play offs not counting the 1982 strike year they had their share of good looking losses The NFL am no beauty contest And as San Diego proved against the Bucs even when not hitting on all cylinders it has enough talent to prevail San Diego owners of the AFCs No 1 defense was burned for 287 vards with 113 coming on the ground The Chargers averaged 254 5 and 76 rushing They are going to be tunes Miami is dead ahead Faulk may not play against No. 1 team By Boyce Garrison Staff Writer SAN DIEGO Guess whos coming to dinner0 Only the top ranked Miami Hurricanes, and from the looks of it they might have a feast The Aztecs who are a 19 point underdog could be without run ning back Marshall Faulk when San Diego State hosts Miami Satur day at 4 30 Thats in addition to mjui les to several other players Faulk sprained his right knee on his first run from scrimmage in Saturday 45 41 loss to Fresno State He underwent a magnetic reso nance imaging test Saturday night and the test did not reveal any damage according to head coach A1 Luginbill But Faulk won practice tonight and Luginbill doesnt expect him to play on Satuiday Faulks absence may all but hand the Heisman Trophy to Miami quarteiback Gino Torretta This game was being billed as a Heisman showdown It could feel real good by (today i or Tuesday. Luginbill said But against this type of team its not in his best interests to play unless he 100 percent Were cer tainly not going to subject him to further injury Faulks backup. Wayne Pittman, underwent successful surgery Sat urday night at Mercy Hospital on his left leg, broken in two places From early indications, it not as sci ious as first thought There was not the amount of muscle or nerve damage they thought there would be Luginbill said It something they feel should heal, and he should be ready for spring football The first diagnosis as much more sev ere It could have been a career ending injury If Faulk cannot play, senior Larrv Maxey and junior Kipp Jef fries will fill the position They have 11 carries between them this season Also among the injured is red shirt freshman middle linebacker Mike Burns, who has a slightly sep arated shoulder He reinjured it while filling in for Mark Roberts, who went out with a concussion Roberts is probable If neither can play, Luginbill will be forced to move either Shawn Smith or Tracey Mao, both outside linebackers to the inside That will leave the Aztecs thin on the outside, because Chad Provensal is day to-day with a sen See Aztecs, Page 3 SAN DIFGO Reflection of a eekend at the Wurph Two football games ith dec id edlv different results foi local fans took place Saturdav and Sundae at JackMurphv Stadium The Charge i 29 14 1 1 Tampa Bav on Sundae was tpirt ed San Die.o State 4541 las'- it urday to Fresno State was a mon i mental upset What wt have here i two foot ball programs going in opposite directions The Chargers winneis of five of their last six games are talking plav oils The Aztec the preseason lavontt to win the We st em Athletic onfe rene title lost three league games Then stlisoi, ends when thev host No 1 mktd Miami Saturdav because thev went be going to am bow 1 unit EARLY LINE Based on how well the Aztecs placed against Fresno State look foi tlu Hum canes to score 40 50 or 60 points It 11 be their chou FAULK FAREWELL ou might want to see the Miami game for no other reason than to watt Marshall Faulks final game an Aztec No official announeemt nt has been made but the sophomou Heisman Trophv candidate should tuinpro I mean how tan his value beany higher Sonicate pudtet ingthat he will be' the st corn! plav er taken in the draft be hind ish ington State Drew BU d-ot STE.E SCr-Ol t-iFLD wi i i at luvuui' 1 1 I I ip i 1 1 Vo tit 1 ins 1 i is i i hi i i oi vv Ul V- I i- IB st in 1 ov is i i ttm an i lu 1 a he i- nil 1 oft 1 I 1 1 a 1 i It.

I in! in 1 i- I l' til pe i nn I I ift Well ani 1 It EASA PICKINGS 16 nil, 1 ivtlliitni; I 1 JMI I sh a. 4 I ti i a I he har.e iswut i i tt 1 i hull uni Mu li i i st sn 1 1 in. i ail ev hi dominate tin 4 7 1 Ok Til ip i I.iV is a one ot tile It t.l ft ot 1 it VeJis pus; th 0 tv plavt ttw iti'U vt 1 t't ft i eoupetiti a St holfit Id 1 1 USC, Fresno likely in Freedom Bowl 49ers quarterback Steve Young is sacked by Sean Gilbert of the Rams in San Franciscos 27-10 win History is no match for Rice By Lisa Nehus Saxon Riverside Press Enterprise ANAHEIM It appears likely that Southern Cal will plav Fres no State in the Freedom Bowl at Anaheim Stadium on Dec 29, Freedom Bowl executive director Don Andersen said Sunday Fresno State officials Sunday accepted an inv nation to play in the game after beating San Diego State Saturday 45 41 Freedom Bowl officials won't be able to fill the other slot until Dec 6, when the College Football Bowl Coalition makes its selections The coalition is entitled to claim one team from the Pactfic-10 Conference Once that choice is made, Freedom Bow I officials are contractually bound to select one of the remaining bowl-eligi-ble Pac 10 teams Its likely we will choose SC, Freedom Bow 1 spokesman Dennis Biekmeier said Sunday, after the bow I selection committee met Anaheim to discuss options The alternative is Stanford, Hawaii gains first Holiday Bowl bid with 42-18 win over Wyoming, See Page C-3 Biekmeier said But it appears likely the bowl coalition will lay claim to the Cardinal (6 2 confer ence, 9-3 overall), which finished in a tie with Washington for first place the Pac 10 Blockbuster Bowl officials have made it known they would like nothing better than a Penn State Stanford matchup on New Year Day The Trojans dropped out of contention for a bid to a New Aears Day bowl game Saturday, hen they suffered a 38-37 loss to UCLA at the Rose Bow 1 That loss denied the Trojans a share of the Pac 10 title USC (5 3, 6-3 1) finished a tie with Washington State for third place in the Pac 10, one game behind co champions Stanford and Washington The Huskies (6 2, 9 1 1 will face See Freedom, Page 3 ANAHEIM It happens ev ery time Jerry Rice reaches up ith those soft, supple hands and plucks a football out of the air He is not just catching passes now He is catching a piece of his tory He did it again on Sunday at Anaheim Stadium, one of his favorite, old haunts, personally breaking open a close game in the fourth period, faking inside from the oppositions 42, then swerving into the clear tow ard the sideline to spear a spiral over a helpless Rams defender and glide into the end zone to help put the home team aw ay, 27 10 This time it wasnt Joe Mon tana, it was Steve Young doing the throwing But where the won drous Mr Rice is concerned, it doesn't seem to matter It could just as well have been Neil Young, as Steve This was Rices 99th career touchdown for San Francisco ty ing him for second place ith back Tell me Jem asked some wide-eyed reporter with a micro phone, do you ever look at film of yourself and marvel0 "Not this year Rice said unable to hide his own laughter This year, the man wearing the familiar No 80 49ers jersey hasnt really looked like Jerry Rice Or played like him Or talked like him Weve been going through a lot of transition he said on Sun day And, yeah its weird My expectations are so high Some times I catch myself downing my self during games I just hav to realize there are some things I can't control Like the lack of timing between him and his new left handed quarterback. Or the num ber of balls thrown in hisdiree tion in an av erage game Or the different, more varied game plan See Bisheff, Page 3 STEVE BISHEFF Hall of Famer Don Hutson The NFL record is 100 set by the Seat ties Steve Largent. The now retired Largent did it in 14 sea sons This is Rices eighth Obviously, this is the year he begins his assault on the all time record book, hich is interesting Because this is also the year frus tration has begun to tug at him harder than any opposing comer i i.