Johnson City Press from Johnson City, Tennessee • 19

i i JOHNSON CITY PRESS-CHRONICLE ini XOfil ftOM I uoa Will ml i ii Dec 2 1984 pasft tenacious c-a The game wasnt really put away until the final 29 seconds when Mark Watkins Camiel Manuel and Stallings all buried two free throws apiece to seal it "I thought UNC-A played well Dowd said "They got after us well and gave us a game Like I said this was something we needed Just about everytime anybody got the ball for us we were double-teamed all over the floor That forced us to have to adjust I think we did a pretty good job of adjusting One player who had no problems adjusting was Webster who showed his 15-point six-rebound performance against a touring Yugoslavian team Monday night was no fluke Webster led the Bucs with 16 points and eight rebounds displaying a certain intensity that if properly channeled could make him tough to contain "It was a decent start Webster said of his debut "There were a couple of things I could have done better there were some offensive rebounds I should have put back in and I could have done better (than four of eight) from the free throw line Despite those seemingly minor transgressions it was Webster who ignited a spark in the Bucs who struggled to take a halftime lead Websters tip-in slam of a missed shot by Watkins certainly the most authoritative jam at ETSU since the days of Troy Lee Mikell cut the Bulldogs lead to 23-22 with four minutes to play in the first half and his shot bank shot tied the score at 29 two minutes later Stallings free throw with three seconds left enabled ETSU to take a 30-29 lead into the second half During the first 13 minutes or so of the final period the Bucs threatened several times to blow out UNC-A James Tandy Stallings Manuel and Webster all contributed points in that stretch but it was Webster who seemed to stand out "I dont think about the points really he said "I just try to make the most out of the playing time I get There was a stretch out there were I just faded I got tired but I still try to play hard Playing hard is Websters trademark He aver- Please see BUCS Page 24 By Chris Dortch P-C Managing Sports Editor It wasnt a glittering debut East Tennessee States season-opening 77-71 victory over UNC-Asheville Saturday night just an educational one' Indeed the -NA1A Bulldogs playing with all the tenacity their' nickname implies hung tough with the Buccaneers until the end They out-rebounded their taller foes shot a slighter higher percentage from the floor and in general didnt play like a team that was supposed to lose to an NCAA Division I school As far as ETSU head coach Barry Dowd is concerned thats just what the doctor ordered "That game was good for us Dowd said "a lot better than if wed have won by 20 points "Fm not pleased we won by six but if wed have hit our foul shots I wouldnt have been upset at all "You cant simulate the kinds of things in practice we faced out there tonight Theyd played six games this was our first We made some mistakes out there I cant Jje too happy with 14 turnovers but it showed us what we need to work on They took us out of our offense and forced us to have to adjust We got a lot more out of that than if everything had gone right for us Tm kind of glad this happened to us said junior guard Wes Stallings "If wed have done everything right what would there be to strive for the rest of the season? We really didnt play that bad we did score 77 points There was just some times when we got out of control" In particular the Bucs seemed to be a bit out of control in the games final seven minutes Freshman Lavelle Websters layup with 7:18 to play gave the Bucs a 65-50 lead but in the next four minutes they scored just five points to Ashevilles i4 1 Then with just two minutes to play the game turned into a free-throw shooting contest and ETSU was losing Jamie Phillips Albert Sams and James Tandy the latter pair pretty reliable free throw shooters all missed the front end of one plus one chances and if not for equally unsuccessful floor shooting by the Bulldogs the Bucs could have been in trouble ETSUs Lavelle Webster (31) goes up to slam a rebound through the hoop Tennessee continues domination of Vandy McGee sets Vols record By Jimmy Smyth P-C Executive Sports Editor NASHVILLE Tim McGee going for an early pass from quarterback Tony Robinson had a problem with the artificial turf at Dudley Field Saturday But the junior wide receiver from Cleveland Ohio who left the game was around later when the Volunteers put their gridiron machine in cruise control to win (heir seventh game of the season 29-13 over Vanderbilt The Vols led 26-0 before the Commodores struck back Now coach Johnny Majors team can take its 7-3-1 record more proudly to El Paso Texas where it meets Maryland in a rematch of last years Florida Citrus Bowl game The Sun Bowl-bound Vols defeated Maryland 30-23 in last years post-season meeting McGee following the injury which he said occurred "when the turf buckled my ankle returned to action in a big way following two inconspicuous catches of five and two yards prior to the injury Please see McGEE Page 22 pleting 20 of 31 passes for 273 yards plus an additional net of 11 rushing to break Jimmy Sweater's total offense record of 2011 yards in a single season Robinson with 1805 yards going into the game needed 206 yards but wound up with a cushion of 78 yards Robinson a junior from Tallahassee Fla also boosted his Tennessee percentage record for a season from 613 to 617 The previous holder of that record was coach Majors with 610 in 1956 Robinsons 273 passing yards didnt overcome Alan Cockrells one-season record of 2021 yards He needed 331 yards Jones who carried the ball 23 times for 119 yards needed only 98 yards for the SEC record but had a 21-yard cushion Jones new career totals are 2852 yards on 517 attempts leaving him still 12 carries away from Curt Wat sons record of 529 career attempts McGee needing eight receptions to break Larry Seivers record of 51 in a season had 10 for 190 yards against the Commodores McGees totals are 54 for 809 yards Reveiz failed to break his own field goal percentage record when he missed a 47-yard attempt late in the second quarter Reveiz hit on 20 of 23 this season for 869 per cent Last year he hit 27 of 31 (871) Punter Jimmy Colquitt came closer to his uncle Craigs record Jimmy averaged 525 yards on two punts His new totals are 201 attempts for 8816 yards Craigs career punts numbered 204 leaving him three in front of his nephew Majors bragged on the Volunteer defense saying "I could not have expected anything more out of our defense than what we got the first half Majors said "Vanderbilt showed great pride by coming back like they did MacIntyre said "Tennessee did a good job of checking off on the blitz We just never got untracked to do the things we need to do on Please see VOLS Page 22 touchdown run in the second quarter that kept the Vols from going to the dressing room with only a 5-0 lead Reveiz kicked a 37-yard field goal on the second play of the second quarter and Vanderbilt quarterback Mark Wracher was tackled in the end zone by Richard Cooper and Reggie McKenzie for a safety to break the scoring ice The 12-0 halftime lead became less than shaky when the Vols scored twice in the third period on 19 and 55-yard passes from Tony Robinson to Tim McGee The Commodores with senior quarterback Kurt Page at the controls after coming in with six minutes left in the third period scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns on drives of 78 and 92 yards before Reveiz 29-yard field goal finished the scoring for Tennessee Page who injured his shoulder in the Virginia Tech game had been listed as an improbable starter but by halftime when the Commodores hadnt been able to By Jimmy Smyth P-C Executive Sports Editor NASHVILLE Its a great rivalry but Tennessee wins most of the games In a way of course Tennessee wins all of the time but rival Vanderbilt got little comfort that its 29-13 loss to the Volunteers here Saturday was dealt out by an instate foe A crowd of 41497 fans and a national television audience (WTBS) watched the game which was played in sunny clear mid- 50s-degree weather Although the game seemed rather dull in a scoreless first quarter the expected offensive show did arrive a little later It was the seventh win in eight games for the Johnny Majors-coached team over the Commodores It was much the same story in the Bill Battle era 5-1 and in the Doug Dickey era 5-1-1 Overall its now 47-26-5 Johnnie Jones stunned the Commodores with a 57-yard shoulder injury MacIntyre said "Doc (Kreis) and Dan (Campbell) did a good job of getting him ready Tennessees Tony Robinson put on a dazzling performance com put any points on the board expectations were that coach George MacIntyre might insert him into the lineup "I want to compliment Kurt on coming in with a very painful Flutie outdistances Byars for Heisman AP Laserphoto Doug Flutie was the first quarterback to win the award in 13 years I i I i 4 high-level conversation "He said he was watching the show on television and he saw this as an opportunity to congratulate me Flutie received 678 first-place ballots Byars had 87 for first and Bosco 20 Not since 1971 when Auburns Pat Sullivan was voted the Heisman winner has a quarterback won this award In becoming the first collegian ever to pass for more than 10000 yards in a career Flutie punctuated an unprecedented career on Nov 23 with a last-second pass of 48 yards that gave Boston College a 47-45 victory over defending national champion Miami Fla The pass which actually covered about 64 yards and fell into the arms of Fluties roommate Gerard Phelan came in the game that boosted Flutie over the 10000-yard mark and left no doubt he would be remembered for more than his numbers After Saturdays regular-season finale a 45-10 victory over Holy Cross Flutie had 10579 passing yards and 11317 yards in total offense both NCAA career records He finished the season with 3454 yards passing and 27 touchdowns completing 233 of 386 pass attempts Flutie flew via private jet to New York after the game at Worcster Mass to be at the Heisman presentation Fluties relatively small size 5-foot-9 has cast his future in professional football in doubt But Gil Brandt vice president of personel development for the Dallas Cowboys is not among the skeptics saying "Doug Flutie never loses He only runs out of time It really doesnt matter though for with the Heisman Trophy on his shelf he can claim the title of the best football player in college By John Nelson AP Sports Writer NEW YORK Doug Flutie the most prolific passer in the history of big-time college football didnt want to believe that he would win the Heisman Trophy until he did "Ive been surrounded by media feeding me 'Doug youre going to win Doug youre going to win Doug youre going to win "I didnt want to let myself believe that said Flutie who had no choice but to believe it on Saturday when he was awarded the trophy which annually signifies the best college player in the nation "Its something so far out said the Boston College senior quarterback the first at his position to win the award in 13 years "Its something you dont even dream will happen Flutie won the award with 2240 points in a national ballotting of 1050 panelists from all phases of the sports media Running back Keith Byars of Ohio State was second with 1251 points followed by quarterbacks Robbie Bosco of Bngham Young with 443 and Benue Kosar of Miami with 320 "I dont consider myself above them in any way Flutie said at a news conference following the announcement "They all are great athletes in their own way Before fielding questions from reporters the affable well-spoken Flutie accepted congratulations from President Reagan who was in Camp David Md Flutie spoke to Reagan on a telephone behind the bar in the room which the news condfer-ence was held "He just congratulated me Flutie said of the.