The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 19

vqr -'wT -vv 0'1 IF wwwlrwwwwqwwwrogrgeuly T-T UPI Ir-W--rWorR-T I 1 dr) THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER Sunday Sept 6 1981 This Is It For NFL's New Coaches Following The NFL The Charlotte Observer will put its readers on the 50-yard line for the kickoff of the NFL season with on-the-spot coverage from two games today Staff writer Kevin Quirk will be in Atlanta where the Falcons launch their season against the New Orleans Saints with rookie running back George Rogers and new head coach Burn Phillips Staff writer Tom Sorensen will be in Washington where the Redskins under new head coach Joe Gibbs entertain the Dallas Cowboys Xi-6 a 1110 NFL players 12 of whom never have played an NFL game There are 10 new starters eight on offense The Cowboys meanwhile haven't lost an opening game in 16 years New Orleans at Atlanta The Saints have many new faces including five defensive starters and South Carol' na's George Rogers in the offensive backfield Another new face is the coach Phillips and he'll be watching a Falcon team which is explosive offensively But Atlanta quarterback Steve Bartkowski has a sore wrist San Francisco at Detroit The visiting 49ers are im- proved but running back Paul Hofer is injured Both teams want quick starts Green Bay at Chicago The Bears could have a very good team and the Packers have improved dramatically on offense The Green Bay defense is suspect however Houston at Los Angeles The Oiler offense has two question marks: Can Stabler last a whole game as he missed most of practice while retired and will tackle Leon Gray be able to overcome an injury and play? The Rams are touted as potential champions San Diego at Cleveland (Monday) Bombs away! It's a battle of passing offenses led by quarterbacks Dan Fouts 1 (San Diego) and Brian Sipe (Browns) The Chargers are minus holdout receiver John Jefferson though ItoW 4 i i --04 voo' $0 0 -t4 i i '''''''''i r' il: 0 rA i4 '0 S4' 1104 4: 1ik ovii 416 4 i -4 'r ''A 9 ril" i ik0 of 4 1 iii 4 1 i 41' 2 'f i of $: i ititik I 44 7: r4s: t-1 l'i sc ti-444i )' 1 syllt' ox3 4 4 ei 100 tiw 1 i From Associatod Press And Now York Times Rtooris Four new coaches and a swirl of controversy mark today's full-force opening of the NFL's 62nd season Saturday night's Minnesota-at-Tampa Bay game kicked off the season but 12 games on today's schedule bring most of the league's teams into action The new coaches are Bum Phillips (relocated in New Orleans from Houston) Ed Biles (replacing Phillips in Houston) Joe Gibbs (Washington) and Dan Reeves (Denver) The controversy is in Houston where a story in last Sunday's New York Times linked Oilers' quarterback Ken Stabler to a New Jersey gambling figure in the late 1970s Stabler says the story came from Al Davis owner of Stabler's old team the Oakland Raiders And Davis is about to return to controversy as a second trial begins later this month on his attempt to overrule other NFL owners and move his team to Los Angeles A first trial ended in a hung jury Hanging over everything is the possibility of a players' strike next season Officials of the players' union already are organizing their troops Amid all this the season begins And here's a look at the first weekend's games: New York Jets at Buffalo The Jets are optimistic and this game will provide a good test New York's offensive and defensive lines are strong Buffalo won the American Conference East last season and has only one new starter tight end Mark Brammer Kansas City at Pittsburgh Bill Kenney will start at quarterback for the visiting Chiefs with Clemson's Steve Fuller injured and out of action for several weeks The Chiefs have little offense but the Steelers were porous defensively last season and still have questions on that unit Baltimore at New England The Colts have lost middle linebacker Ed Simonini to an injury and their shaky defense will have trouble halting the Patriots' ball-control attack Seattle at Cincinnati The Seahawks had lost 12 straight games until their final exhibition contest and they have doubts about both lines The host Bengals have high hopes with quarterback Ken Anderson playing well Oakland at Denver The Broncos' Reeves has a team full of players angry at management for attempting to cut salaries The defending Super Bowl champion Raiders have question marks but they did last year too Philadelphia at New York Giants The Giants open the campaign with a host of injuries The Eagles likely will rely on a tough defense in the early weeks until the offense assimilates a new running back (either Perry Harrington or Hubert Oliver) and two new guards Dallas at Washington The Redskins have 22 new II 1 1980 Statistical Leaders Scoring: John Smith (New England) 129 points (Billy Sims of Detroit had 96 points tops for a nonkicker) Touchdowns: Sims 16 Rushing: Earl Campbell (Houston) 1934 yards Passing rating: Brian Sipe (Cleveland) 914 rating points (based on all Passing statistics) Pass attempts: Dan Fouts (San Diego) 589 Pass completions: Fouts 348 Pass completion percentage: Joe Montana (San Francisco) 645 on 176 of 273 Pass Yardage: Fouts 4715 Touchdown Passes: Steve Bartkowski (Atlanta) 31 Receptions: )(mien Winslow (San Diego) $9 receptions Reception yardage: John Jefferson (San Diego) 1340 Touchdown receptions: Jefferson 13 Interceptions: Lester Hayes (Oakland) 13 Punting: Dave Jennings (NY Giants) 448-yard average Punt returns: iT Smith (Kansas City) 145-yard average Kickoff returns: Horace ivory (New England) 276-yard average Burn Phillips he's relocated Nelson Impressive IN mon impressive Haas Maintains Lead In BC Open Tourney East Carolina Rips Catamounts 42-6 A 4 I 1 I Sports in Brief 7::: :7 4it ji i 4: 7 40 :40: (40 iiir 7 'ift "7----- 'I ''-AIT'--'4 41tot '''t---'r-' -s- --t 1 4 '4 ::::40 i (I t- 6'k--: --5 (If' ss i 4-' t' 1-: 'tlidtr From Associated Press Reports Charlotte's Jay Haas birdied four of the last nine holes Saturday ending a tie with Tom Kite and Denis Watson and taking a three-stroke lead in the BC Open golf tour nament in Endicott NY Haas shot a two-under-par 69 Saturday to go Into today's championship round with a 201 total Haas shot a 65 Friday and took the lead after opening the tournament at the En-Joie Country Club course Thursday with a 67 First-round leader Calvin Peete who opened the tournament with a 64 shot a 73 Saturday and fell six strokes behind Hass Kite finished with a 69 making him the closest challenger at three strokes behind Haas Watson of South Africa bogeyed three holes on the back nine and finished with a 70 putting him four strokes behind Haas NCAA Considers CFA Offer NCAA officials will decide Tuesday whether to convene a special reorganization convention demanded by an increasing number of College Football Association schools The special convention to pare down the 137-member Division I-A to 80 or 90 schools has apparently been offered by many CFA members as a compromise in the conflict over football television rights The CFA adopted by a 33-20 vote last month a four-year package with NBC for the same years 1982-85 that the NCAA has reached agreement with ABC and CBS and the 61 CFA schools have until next Thursday to make their final declaration on adopting the NCAA or CFA television package The NCAA has said CFA schools would be subject to probation for going with NBC a move that would probably result in an effort to set up a separate national organization a coffin-corner punt by WCU's Eddie McGill With the slender 6-1 Nelson getting things under way with a 27-yard gain on a keeper the Pi- rates moved the length of the field in 14 plays Blue a 6-0 190-pound senior from Laurinburg ran over right tackle bounced off one tackler straightened up and sprinted 13 yards to open the scoring A 66-yard kickoff return by Dwayne Norman gave Western Carolina a retaliatory play The Catamounts couldn't get beyond the 14 though and settled for a 31-yard field goal by Biasucci East Carolina drove 80 yards its next possession Nelson provided the start on a 32-yard sprint and then a touchdown run of 24 yards keyed by split end Ricky Nichols's block Down 14-3 the Catamounts again moved the ball downfield were stymied and settled for a field goal a 45-yarder by Biasucci with 5:03 remaining in the second period Again East Carolina went son the march The Pirates needed only 13 plays to drive 80 yards for their third touchdown Second-string halfback Leon Lawson ripped off right tackle for 3 yards and the touchdown The Pirates dominated first-half statistics with a 12-8 edge in first downs and 191 yards rushing to Western Carolina's 95 Quarterback Nelson gained 93 yards on six attempts leading all rushers Blue had 60 yards on 11 tries Western Carolina's Melvin Dorsey a transfer from Georgia led the Catamounts with 50 yards rushing By BOB QUINCY Observer Staff Writer GREENVILLE NC East Carolina executed four long scoring drives behind the impressive quarterbacking of Carlton Nelson and defeated Western Carolina 42-6 Saturday night The host Pirates warming up for next Saturday's game at North Carolina scored the first three times they had the football with nearly flawless ball-handling ECU took a 7-0 first-quarter lead and coasted to its seventh straight victory over the Catamounts Nelson a 190-pound junior from Portsmouth Va saw limited duty last season and missed the entire spring practice due to injuries He gave a sparkling performance which included a 24- yard touchdown run and a 34- yard scoring pass to split end to Ricky Nichols Although both teams were dominated by inexperienced players the Pirates showed exceptional poise Nelson set the tone with his ball-handling and running and halfback Harold Blue was a constant threat and rushed for two touchdowns After scoring the first three times they had the football for a 21-6 halftime lead the Pirates didn't let up ECU constantly placed defensive pressure on the visitors from Cullowhee Western Carolina never was in contention after its second field goal The Pirates were unstoppable from the wishbone in the first half as Nelson directed drives of 97 80 and 80 yards for touchdowns Kicker Chuck Bushbeck who spent much of the week in Pitt County Memorial Hospital for treatment of Hodgkin's disease kicked three extra points The first half was virtually all offense The Pirates moved the ball so well they were not forced to punt Western Carolina got Dean Biasucci field goals on two of its first three possessions East Carolina showed it meant business on its initial possession when it started at its 3 following round lead in the LPGA Rail Charity Golf Classic in Springfield She played what she called an "uneventful round' on the 6281-yard Rail Golf Club course sprinkling three birdies on the front nine and three on the back slOPe Bunched two strokes back at 69 were Dale Lundquist Vicki Fergon Patty Sheehan and Patty Hayes US Team Trails Europe Sprinter Evelyn Ashford won the women's 100-meter dash in 1102 seconds Saturday night and became the first double champion of the track and field World Cup in Rome Ashford won the 200 meters Friday night But the US team suffered two setbacks Saturday Henry Marsh after finishing first In the 3000-meter steeplechase was disqualified for not clearing two of the obstacles properly And discus thrower John Powell failed to show up At the end of the second day Europe led the men's standings with107 -points East Germany had 98 the Soviet Union 91 and the United States 87 Europe also led the women's team race with 69 points a half-point ahead of East Germany The Russians were third with 64 and the United States fourth with 51 Pleasant Colony Triumphs Pleasant Colony the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner used a stretch run to win the $229000 Woodward Stakes at New York's Belmont Park Pleasant Colony ridden by Angel charged into third place turning for home He then overtook pacesetting Amber Pass with a less than one-eighth of a mile remaining and won by 134 lengths Amber Pass finished 1 IA lengths In front of Herb Water who was two lengths in front of Relaxing the only mare in the field Sneva Wins In Milwaukee Tom Sneva took advantage of Bobby Unser's misfortune winning the Tony Bettenhausen 200-mile championship car race in Milwaukee Sneva who battled Unser and Rick Mears for the lead most of the day was leading Unser by one second when he rolled in for his last pit stop under the green flag on lap 166 on the one-mile paved oval Sneva's UPI Photo Jay Haas Holds 3-Shot Lead I Torn Kite is alone in 2nd crews changed tires and refueled his Bignotti-Cosworth in 18 seconds Unser who had taken the lead while Sneva was in the pits didn't fare as well when he came in for his final stop seven laps later He ran out of gas and then broke a header on the engine Mears finished second and Unser was third Crosby In Golf Finals Crosby In Golf Finals Nathaniel Crosby youngest son of the late entertainer Bing Crosby came from behind for a 2-up victory over Oklahoma State All America Willie Wood and advanced to the finals of the 81st US Amateur Golf Championship in San Francisco Brian Lindley beat former professional Bob Lewis Jr of Warren Ohio in the other semifinal match 3 and 2 The all-California final match between Crosby of nearby Hillsborough and Lindley of Fountain Valley in Southern California is scheduled for 36 holes today on the Olympic Club's 6679-yard par-70 course Britz Takes Early Golf Lead Jerilyn Britz shot a 67 and took the first Score Phone Bits And Pieces The San Diego Clippers waived guard Henry Bibby and signed free agent guard John Douglas Bibby a former UCLA standout averaged 45 points in 74 games last season after joining the Clippers following faur seasons in Philadelphia Bibby a Franklinton native was the New York Knicks' fourth-round draft choice in 1972 Light heavyweight's James Scott's attempt at a comeback were hindered when former sparring partner Dwight Braxton won a unanimous 10-round decision inside Rahway State Prison at Woodbridge NJ Scott an inmate at Rahway was stripped of his No 2 ranking by the World Boxing Association almost two years ago because he was unable to fight outside the prison Cali 24 Hours A Day For Sports Results A 'A -k kts 4 kk A 4 370Ais35 Wolfpack Downs Richmond 3rd-Quarter Burst Lifts State as did South Carolina's George Rogers last year and every school with a cleat wrench thinks it has a Heisman candidate Redden is good He gained 1- 039 yards rushing in the final six games last year after recovering from an injury to finish with 1151 He gained 83 yards on 18 carries in the first half but he wasn't the guy giving the Pack most of its trouble It was Krainock who got the Spiders rolling for touchdown drives of 52 and 47 yards on its last two possessions of the half Krainock completed seven of eight passes for the half for 98 yards and in the two scoring drives hit five straight for 68 Continued From Page 1D ers weren't Richmond is no patsy No pushover A reputable opening-night opponent the Spiders improved from 1-9 to 5-6 last season in coach Dal Shealy's first season and are supposed to be better Their defense leaves a lot to the Imagination but the offense is potent First off tailback Barry Redden Is seen by those caught in the Spiders' web as a Heisman Trophy candidate You know about Heisman Trophy candidates in 1981 Just let a player from a school off major-college football's beaten path of powers win a Heisman '4''' F''9 'r VV! ''7'" ''4 7' tli le 1 4 i 1''''''' i': ''4 5 :1 -1 4 4 CO 0 i 1 44 klis'' L-- 4( 1 :147 i :4 0 07' 4- Am 4:4 -'0' ts 't" 40 g14:" -1' :1 1 r4'1 'x PI: 40': 4: 4 kolor t4''''''''' 4 300'''''' i :41: 44:: A 't H1 I 'r 4::" itt- 41 uz: 1 'N 11 i '1-4' ti: 44 1 -r 7: 4 2 1atx 41t till' :4 i'L 4 a NtL12 0 1 '4f 'f At V'': 'I I 'Citaf -0111 tariocre re'4 4 :44 i riz i 4''' '''''Ve 0)01r i 3z rat 4 A 1 "50404 1'' itmik ''4 "1' 1 iy'''' le '-v---44" '''4 416 th 40 ''') -1-! 7" kt ft' gt I i )1i 1r 4 Alp 0 4: 411 ''''4: 4 7 t'''' 44:: t5 I 1-4''is- '17 sI IP 1 '''''1 f' L''''' Ati 7' Z'! I 4k' A ''''zj' ''i' I'll' kil1 A :4" i'''') 4: 17 1 tkeit-kila yards This of course was mixed in with thrusts of power and speed by Redden It was Krainock who got the ball into the end zone though the first time on a 1-yard sneak the second on a I4-yard pass to split end Clayton White Both were unusual plays When Krainock sneaked through the middle to cut into the Wolfpack's 10-0 lead he disappeared momentarily in a pile While officials dug through the tangled bodies Kralnock emerged and sprinted to the back of the end zone It was a touchdown though even without the sprint Krainock's scoring pass to White gave the Spiders their 14- 10 halftime lead State wide receiver Mike Quick of Hamlet fumbled an early scoring threat when he caught a 15- yard pass from Avery but fumbled at the Richmond 7 But the Pack drdve 57 yards for Auten's 45-yard field goal And it drove 68 yards for a touchdown with 12:38 left in the half with freshman Joe McIntosh the backup tailback from Lexington gaining 29 yards on his first four collegiate carries Avery passed two yards to tight end Bobby Longmire for the touchdown the quarterback making a deft 360-degree spin to the right and lofting the ball over the line to the left Longmire was wide open Vikings Ruin Smith's Opener SPOCIal To The Observer CITY Elizabeth City State took advantage of Johnson Smith's inexperienced specialty teams in setting up two touchdowns and defeating the Golden Bulls 28-13 Saturday in the college football opener for both teams The host Vikings scored first on iC 20-yard interception return of John Henry Thomas's first passing attempt of the season Smith then took charge piling up 274 rushing yards to Elizabeth City's But a blocked punt and a blocked field goarsset up the VI- kings within Smith's 10 yard-line twice Smith freshman tailback Daryl Wesley gained 123 yards on 17 attempts and fullback Jeff Steele picked up 94 yards on 26 at tempts "We are leaving this game with our heads held up high" said Smith coach Wylie Harris "Our Inexperience on specialty teams caused our loss of the game but feel good that we were able to dominate one of the top teams of the (CIAA) Northern Division sta tistically" AP Pholo Joe McIntosh (43) Of NC State Drives For Short Cain the Wolfpack downed RiOmond's Spiders 27-21 ardosiAlealoo16.