The Salt Lake Tribune from Salt Lake City, Utah • 87

The Salt Lake Tribune COLLEGE FOOTBALL Sunday September 6 1992 D3 New Coach But Same Old Results for Aggies 'Key' Punt Return Lifts T-Birds To Win Over Northern Arizona GAME SUMMARY GAME SUMMARY kiams I 6 7-29 IL Milan 1 1 II-1 tt61 Cokastoocti 20 poss from Bonds Meow Ischl MMi G1396 35 konblit Nikon (Gotdon kick) siji Robmson 3 tun (luck blocked) Si 111 Rot wow 90 kickoli token teiticton luck) FG Bekten 20 SUU lbsys 70 pun( Nolian luck) 1-4811 Ihuni ltdi 1111199 Mime S4 First Doors It 56415 Rtaties-1oKto(21 35-95 93 Passing Yotoli 450 Rosati Vcrts 51 7461 Cornis-Nsint 1531-2 11145 Ptir1s 4-1 Fumbles-101 2-2 7-50 Petiole 4-33 30 39 Una ol POssesuon 2121 11014121861 1111119 ILISIIIING Robinson I459 00ogotnet 9-26 Roney 4-6 Omits 6001 SOurem Won 24-92 Hoskins 1-40 CarnDbol 3-11 tAcKeencas 64 Key 34 R0(066134-42) PASSiNG NAV lone I5-32-2 $48 Soulhein uson Rotorm i5-1 63 GotOon 4-1-0 30 RECINING ptaj Csittonles 52 Avery 5-48 Catztetwood 2-25 Cabbage 248 SiAnian i-S Souks Son Wok Key 5410 Moray 4-12 Rodettood 1-1 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FLAGSTAFF Ariz A 70-yard punt return by Mike Key late in the fourth quarter lifted Southern Utah past Northern Arizona 20-17 Saturday night Key took the ball at his own 30 dodged two NAU tacklers and raced untouched down the right sideline for the score Any hopes for an NAU comeback were dashed on the Lumberjacks' next possession when Southern Utah cornerback Darren De Gracie intercepted John Ronda with 2:17 remaining in the game Southern Utah took over on the Lumberjacks 30-yard line and ran out the clock for the win The loss wasted a solid effort by the NAU defense which limited Southern Utah to 233 yards total offense The Lumberjacks held running back Zed Robertson the leading back in NCAA Division II football last year with 1828 yards to 94 yards on 24 attempts Robinson had averaged 166 yards a game last season Carter gained 146 yards on 22 carries and scored three times breaking five tackles on a 30-yard score in the second quarter Greg Angelovic making his first start at QB for the Aggies had his problems against the Wildcats He completed 14 of 29 passes for only 105 yards and was intercepted three times Utah State also used Anthony Calvillo and Dean Grosfeld at quarterback but Weatherbie said Angelovic will be his starter against Utah "Greg was our starter for this game and he's still our quarterback- Weatherbie said "He was telegraphing his passes badly looking right at the receivers I thought he matured in this game but it's kind of sad that you have to mature this way" The Aggies had six turnovers in the game managed just 26 yards rushing and converted only two of 16 third-down conversions "The turnovers played a big role in this game especially in the first half" Weatherbie said "We can't shoot overselves in the foot like that By Dave Petruska SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE TUCSON Ariz New coach new offensive scheme same old results for the Utah State University football team Charlie Weatherbie's debut as the Aggies head coach was ruined by the Arizona Wildcats who defeated Utah State 49-3 before a crowd of 37239 at Arizona Stadium Saturday night Weatherbie became the fourth straight Aggie coach to lose his opening game The last Aggie head coach to win his opener was Phil Krueger in 1973 in a 10-3 win over Weber State The Wildcats used an opportunistic defense and the running of sophomore Ontiwaun Carter to beat the Aggies Arizona turned four USU turnovers into touchdowns and limited the Aggie offense to 234 yards "I knew we were going to be young on offense and a little slow in learning but I didn't think it was going to be this tough" Weatherbie said and expect to win Despite the problems on offense the Aggies did give the Wildcats a scare in the first half twice driving inside the Wildcats 20-yard line but came away with only three points on a field goal by Sean Jones The other scoring threat ended on the Arizona 17 when Tai Gordon was stopped for no gain on a fourth-and-one "If I had it to do all over I would have tried to draw Arizona offside on that fourth-down play and if they didn't bite for it then kick the field goal" Weatherbie said The Wildcats scored on the first possession of the game capping a 60-yard drive on a 18-yard touchdown pass from George Malauulu to Chris Corral with 12:07 left Corral was out of bounds before the reception but it was ruled he was knocked out by an Aggie defender making him still an eligible receiver Arizona made it 14-0 on the first play of the second quarter on a 6-yard run by Carter The touchdown drive was set up by a diving interception by Arizona linebacker Brant Boyer Wattle 1 Malta 7 44 24 7-0 nol 111 pass from AsoOA (AcLoughiln iuck) 6 is 1Mcioughin WY) 05074 Jones 21 30 not (McLoughlin Arca) 45 tumcAe recovery ItAciougren luck) 20 poss from MO touutu itActougten racy) 4 run itActousylm luau 13 Ain (Actoucyvo AKA) A-37 239 Woe gloss Arbrervi 15 Are Doeve 20 30-53 ssrtes-voPcvzie 56-222 161 Possvvg Vorcts 75 nvnus4 Rerun rcvis 29 20-424 Como-AM-int 6-15-1 4-36 Punts 2-52 6-2 FurnbtesAost 0-0 6-56 Pehones 4-90 27 24 tine POItellaty 32 36 40IVIDUAL MOOS St hpe4 645 Appelovic 6-41 Gortion 9-6 Comons 24 Verson 1-2 Grope 4- tml-us 1) Vrotil 1-(mvxm 1) Come 2-(mirus 5) Anzono Cagier 22-146 Levy 942 lova 9-23 enly 4-22 Couver 44 Johnson 1-0 Lovell 3-0 Moopoulu 6-(mmus 20) SI A(geortc 29-3-405 Co 6-12-146 Gros-Arid 0-4-0-0 Nuona Itriceckaiu 6- 15-1-75 Stay 0-0-0-0 Si Jervure 6- 91 A thornpson 427 Lee 4-13 Worts 3-49 Gorgon 2-4hims 2) Thompson 1-3 MOM COITt4 43- Levy 2-22 (Actey 1-10 Utah Shows Few Positive Signs Against 'Huskers a Continued From D-1 Loss to Nebraska Leaves Utes Without Rowley Continued From D-1 mom 4kt -4 I 'ix-- '4 t- tv -eks i 1 4 I 1 41111 NT I 1) 1 --0 4 I a V- I -NIL lip to ji- (11 11 It l' 1 1 1 1) '4 li AP 11: sr lo T'L doo rr i 'Ilk I I ta 'AN -4 111111Lti I ''I201 -000I 1f I -I 41 5CAINc4tmooPair -r 4 LI (6 41 A 1 yr '7-1 i my trf 14 jsNIrkit a 16 1 CS' 7 41S11041173411f --Ni i' -i- i 4 IF -v't 1 kSi I 1 I v- 1 Nt wit i tit 2 ---s 0 11S4 4- it 4 'N 1 The Assoosted Press Keeping Utah defender Errol Martin at arm's length Cornhuskers running back Calvin Jones breaks loose for good yardage Redshirting Most Likely Option for (lies' Rowley score The Tiuskers also dropped a sure touchdown pass in the end zone and had another TD called back by a penalty "I thought we'd play better" said Ute coach Ron McBride "I thought we were more capable than we showed" "I'm a little surprised that it went the way it did" said Nebraska coach Tom Osborne "I didn't expect that it would be pretty well put away by the half I really thought it would go four quarters" But that wasn't the worst No rock bottom came a little under five minutes into the second quarter when Bryan Rowley went up for a pass with Nebraska strong safety Steve Canner Canner came down with the ball Rowley the Utes'All-American receiver came down with a fractured ankle "He's out for the season" said McBride "It's a tough loss" said quarterback Frank Dolce "Ifs not just the way Bryan plays the game It's his leadership his confidence the way he practices A lot of guys on this team look to him" But it sort of crystalized the whole afternoon The Utes started off well enough They stopped the Huskers on four downs to open the game but stalled quickly on offense and punted One snap later Nebraska fullback Lance Lewis blew straight up the middle for a 57-yard touchdown "Lousy tackling lousy fundamentals" summed up strong safety Sharrieff Shah And there would be a lot more of that The Conahuskers went up 14-0 on tailback Derek Brown's 26-yard dash around the right side then grabbed a 21-0 advantage when quarterback Mike Grant scored on a 16-yard keeper GAME SUMMARY with 12 Utes on the field Nebraska made it 28-0 on Andre Mc Duffy's 6-yard run up the middle while Carmer-s interception set up Nebraska's final score of the half a 14-yard Grant-toCalvin Jones aerial with 2:07 left in the quarter "We're net good enough to line up and stop them but but we are good enough to slow them down and we didn't do that" said McBride who was particularly unhappy by his team's inability to stop the option But setting up a lot of the defensive problems was an offense that didn't log a first down until the second quarter "If you don't move the ball your defense is on the field too much" said McBride "If you give that 'Big Red Machine' enough shots they are going to do some damage" "I thought we matched up with them" said tailback Keith Williams "But it all came down to execution and we didn't It was a mental thing" By Joe Baird THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE LINCOLN Neb Bryan Rowley will apparently join a growing list of redshirting Utah seniors Last year Ute linebacker Pita Tonga took a redshirt year after injuring his knee at Oregon State Less than three months later basketball forward Josh Grant went the same route after a slow comeback from knee surgery Now Rowley's season appears to be over after fracturing his ankle Saturday in the second quarter of Utah's 49-22 loss to No 11 Nebraska Ute coach Ron McBride has said as much Rowley wants to wait and see but acknowledges the odds of a comeback this year are not in his favor "It depends how long it takes to heal- said the Ute receiver who was a 2nd-team All-America last year and was being touted as a first-teamer this season "If it takes too long Ill come back next year But if it heals quickly and were in the hunt 111 come back if the team needs me- Not likely says Ute orthopedic surgeon Robert Burks who described the break as a cracked fibula "The earliest he can come back would be 6-8 weeks" said Burks "The redshirt decision is for he and Ron to make But right now we're looking at him missing 80-90 of the season" CI Bad Day Part II: Utah quarterback Frank Dolce threw 10 interceptions all last season In Saturday's loss to the Cornhuskers he was picked off four times "In the first half I was a little off- conceded the senior QB who was intercepted three times in the half gi Utah Notes: The Utes ended up with 382 total yards just a little below their per-game average last season of 400 But most of the production came in the second half Utah had just 108 total yards at intermission McBride gave high marks to tailbacks Keith Williams and Pierre Jones who rushed for 108 and 46 yards respectively and each scored a touchdown Utak 0 Itebessio 21 14 7 7-49 57 fun Bener kook) 26 fun Iftennett bok) 16 fun (Benner luck) 6 Oil Ronne fuck) Jones 14 pass from Giant genre' WS) 6 in (Benne luck) 7 pctss from ()Me lOcess toted) ROI (friones tun) 11 poss from Gfo t1 (Stop tuck) 25 fun lfrJones fun) A-76234 Uteh Nebraska 16 Farb Doves 24 36-175 Rustes7o fclope 47-399 207 Poising Woos 125 mous4 Return Worcis 53 21-38-4 Como-104S 13-25-1 7-38 Punts 543 1-1 Furnbes-Lost 3-1 4-21 Penoltses 9-60 3127 Too of frossesson 2933 DIDIVIDUAL ItADOPS 11 WOWS 14- 102 Piones 844 nOefson 34 hiebtosito (frown 15405 Jones 11- Leos 645 Gkont 543 Dosce 21-384- 2t17 tkebrosko Gong 12-22-1 121 COMWeil 1-2441 Roble 0-1-0-0 Anoeson Oaks 347 Lust 5-58 Netrosko Loon 340 OLhoernoci 2-26 Hughes 2-15 Ciones 1-14 ranked Cornhuskers the frontline Nebraska offense and defense it was 42-0 Utah will see a lot of teams this season that resemble Nebraska's second unit But they won't see the likes of frontline offensive stalwarts like NU quarterback Mike Grant and rushers Derek Brown Calvin Jones and Lance Lewis the backfield whizzes who amassed most of the Cornhuskers 524 yards total offense Nor will they see offensive lines that average 295 pounds and explode like a stampede of Olympic sprinters out of the blocks They won't see suffocating defenses of this ilk with the Corn-huskers' "Blackshirts- allowing Utah only 124 yards of offense while NU built its 42-0 lead Four pass interceptions and a fumble recovery plus three sacks of Utah quarterback Frank Dolce were calling cards issued by Husker defensive backs Tyrone Byrd Steve Carmer and John Reece and linebackers Travis Hill and David White Maybe a spanking of this proportion from what many consider to be Nebraska's best team in a decade is no cause for alarm for Ute partisans Its the more palatable Western Athletic Conference foes Utah must beat for postseason consideration Yet the image persists of the Huskers' fullback Lewis steam-rolling up the middle 57 yards to a touchdown with Ute arms flopping in vain to stop him Or Grant skirting the vulnerable Ute flanks on the option and piling up huge gains Or Grant pitching to Brown and Jones who attacked the same uncongested outside lanes Meanwhile Utah's offense sputtered Remember now all 11 starters returned from a team that averaged almost 400 yards per game Ute senior quarterback Frank Dolce deserved a badge of courage for standing inside a Husker vise all day San Diego State is no Nebraska But suddenly on a hot and humid Midwest afternoon one was swept back to a hot September night in 1986 at Utah's Rice Stadium The Utes were coming off an amazing 8-4 season in 1985 The bulk of the starters were back on both sides of the ball Utah was picked in at least one preseason poll to win the VAC Early in that game against the Aztecs all-WAC linebacker Mark Geiselmayr had his knee torn up A career over A Cinderella season gone kaput Utah went 0-7 that season: ultimately 2-9 and last in the WAC In a soldout stadium here Saturday senior wide receiver Bryan Rowley the heart and soul of this team that harbors such high expectations suffered a fractured ankle There are 10 games left for the Utes eight in the WAC the eight that will really count But with Rowley out and the Utes clearly staggering from the gate there are ominous comparisons to be drawn between 1986 and 1992 The Utes have a hefty paycheck for visiting Nebraska' They also own severely bruised egos and must play at least seven weeks vithout their all-WAC receiver Since nearly everyone felt the Utes would be 0-1 on September 6 it'll take another seven days for the jury to decide what this 1992 Utah team is made of There wasn't a shred of evidence on the positive side Walsh Is Solid BYU Quarterback Tradition In His Debut Looks Secure in Walsh's Arm Division IA 'Worst' Too Tough for Weber As Cougars Win IM Continued From D-1 IE passing The tat quarterback threw for 245 yards although 72 of them came on a fluIdsh deflected pass to Nate Burchette for a touchdown with 2:18 left in the third quarter At that point Weber trailed 23-13 and still had a chance Aggie coach Jim Hess admitted later "The way those guys can put points on the board I was scared" No problem The breaks were ready for come Hess's way on back-to-back snaps it looked like Weber had recovered Aggie fumbles On one defensive back Ron Hitchcock was returning the ball for a touchdown when the whistle stopped play On the other Puler Is arm was ruled in motion when he simply dropped the ball Almost inexplicably New Mexico State retained possession both times -That was discouraging" agreed Ars Ianian "That was some good hard-hitting football on our part and we didn't get anything out of it" New Mexico State took advantage of the two breaks scored a pair of TDs in the next seven minutes and put the game out of reach ''I feel like we stopped ourselves all night long" said Arslanian ''But I don't want to take anything away from those guys" Early Weber State was in control despite the fact Martin completed only five of his first 12 passes In one stretch he misfired on six in a row Said Hess -We tried to mix our coverages and keep him out of his rhythm" -Maybe" said Arslaman "we were out of sync Or maybe we thought it was going to be easier than it was" Still the 'Cats used an inspired defense and one of three quick New Mexico State turnovers to take a 6-0 lead But a Chad Zehca punt traveled 64 yards and rolled out of bounds at the 'Cat one setting up New Mexico State domination of the half's final 912 minutes By Kurt Kragthorpe THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE EL PASO Texas After all the waiting and wondering about how BYU would replace Ty Detmer sophomore John Walsh was just about all the Cougars could want in a young quarterback Saturday night at Texas-El Paso Walsh delivered the football sharply in a game plan nicely tailored to a rookie quarterback The coaching staff called mostly quick-release patterns keeping pressure away from Walsh and allowing him to build confidence Veteran receivers Otis Sterling and Eric Drage also made him look good by making tough catches in traffic While the older more polished Steve Clements seemed to have more leadership ability in practice Walsh showed some feistiness in the game environment He argued with officials yelled at his teammates and jawed with Miner safety Fred Patterson after being tackled 13 Add Quarterbacks: Sophomore Shawn Gray started for UTEP after junior Mike Perez played the last two years against the Cougars Gray is considered the least proficient passer of the two but he completed his first eight passes before being intercepted by cornerback Patrick Mitchell late in the first half a Game Notes: History will show that Walsh's first pass as a starting quarterback was a 12-yard completion to Drage on the Cougars first play from scrimmage Walsh was following a strong tradition of BYU quarterbacks making their first career starts The previous nine quarterbacks all won in their first time at the controls Most of those starts came in the middle of the season Kicker David Lauder another JC transfer was impressive in his first major-college game Lauder knocked the ball high and deep on kickoffs and was perfect on extra points besides making a 34-yard field goal The most exciting play of the game BYU track sprinter Tyler Anderson's 61-yard catch and run was called back because Anderson stepped out of bounds before making the reception By Steve Luhm THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE LAS CRUCES NM Going into the season opener Saturday night it appeared Weber State came to the right place in an effort to beat a Division 1-A oppo- GAME SUMMARY nent Sr I 7 8-21 lollesSos It Sok 7 44-37 New Mexico 4 non lock blocked) State had won 'TelvtRcharell' three games in the wsu-40em9 Pule" (Cele kook) last two years el pan corn Pik The Aggies ien kick) The min tcuon 4m(I hadn't beaten a 2DossiTornmotnon-Big West Con- Nmsu--bustoo 7 tun tCuttn 91c9) IS tun 1Culon ference opponent since 1988 ws-stv 5 pan trom Marten In its college football edition 'a Sports Illustrated 26-73 Rustes-totdoge 62-277 called this pro- gram the worst in 1:30341 Comb-Mtn! I4-24-1 the country mak- t27 Fumtliet-torm ing the publication 2335 71tne Posseseet 3925 as popular here as wool it is in Provo 37 thcncucti 9-29 Robinson 9-20 lee Wee St Ituenill 26-431 No matter ZOO 45-77 Dubign 14-70 Aggie quarter- back Charles Pu- 241128 leri threw two 5urche" touchdown passes me 1Tu 12781OW'223 and scored another while fullback Lawrence Truehill ran for two more as New Mexico State spoiled the 'Cats trip to Division 1-A Final score: 37-21 "Hats off to those guys" said Weber coach Dave Arslanian "They're not used to winning but they did a real good job- The most disturbing numbers for the Wildcats were the Aggies 405 yards of total offense including 277 on the ground and quarterback Jamie Martin's 17-for-34 After the Miners answered with Kenny Brown's 5-yard run Walsh came right back and connected with Drage in the back-left corner of the end zone Walsh's only wobble of the first half then came when Pete Shufelt intercepted his screen pass over the middle UTEP concerted the turnover into a tying touchdown with a drive kept alive by a personal-foul penalty The key play of the half was BYU defensive end KeVin Nicolrs fumble recovery at the Miner 18-yard line leading to Jamal Willis' 2-yard TD run Walsh followed that with a 24- yard touchdown pass to tight end Byron Rex for a 28-14 halftime lead Walsh opened the second half slowly throwing another interception while the Miners brought junior quarterback Mike Perez off the bench in place of Shawn Gray Twice Perez completed passes in 3rd-and-20 situations to keep his first drive going leading to another Brown touchdown run Just when UTEP was making a move Walsh and Ball made their key plays and the Cougar defense followed with the fourth-down stop After David Lauder's field goal BYU again forced the Miners to turn the ball over on downs before UTEP managed a late score.