The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 103

Sunday November 12 1995 SECTION (The (Charlotte (Observer Earnhardt eases off the edge As championship reign ends at least for now growing more wary of risks Hampton Ga No nascar driver ever has had as macho a reputation as Dale Earnhardt The seven-time Winston Cup ability to take race cars where none had gone before and to save cars that seemed certain to crash has brought nicknames like The Dominator The Intimidator The Terminator and Ironhead Among the most vivid memories of Earnhardt for many fans is his pushing the throttle flat against the floor of the Richard Childress Racing No 3 black Chevrolet diving far to the inside at Daytona International Speedway to twice So it was surprising to hear some of what Earnhardt had to say Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway where the season finale NAPA 500 is scheduled today at a point in my career where I go over the edge said Earnhardt 44 more calculating and I try to be nsk-free I try to save my car and not drive it to death I do get to the edge then going to be on the careful side of Ever since big fast tracks began opening in the 1960s drivers have talked about that ragged edge the line where speed overcomes their control of the cars Seemingly there never was such a boundary for Earnhardt an inheritance from his late father Please see Higginspage 12G rocket from the back of the field to win Busch Clash special events On one of those occasions he spectacularly passed 12 cars in just laps In Daytona 500 he took the same route to pass 13 cars and fall just short of winning the race for the first time overtaking everyone ahead of him after a late restart except winner Sterling Marlin JOHN BAZEMOREAssociated Press King for a day: Dale Earnhardt signs autographs and talks with fans in the garage area at Atlanta Motor Speedway where after season finale he will all but certainly be supplanted by Jeff Gordon as Winston Cup champion Hornets prevail inOT Johnson Rice lead win over Toronto By RICK BONNELL Staff Writer Larry Johnson scored 12 of the Charlotte 18 points in overtime for a 1 23-1 1 7 victory over the expansion Toronto Raptors Saturday night at Charlotte Coliseum Glen Rice hit two free throws wit 12 seconds left to clinch it with a five-point lead Johnson finished with 34 while Rice added 31 Willie Anderson had 24 off the bench for the Raptors while Tracy Murray scored 22 Toronto pulled ahead 105-101 with 58 seconds left after Toronto point guard Damon Stoudamire hit four consecutive free throws off fouls by Greg Sutton and Kendall Gill The Hornets had previously made up an 1 1 -point deficit to lead by two with three minutes left when Gill followed up his own miss The Hornets came back with two free throws by Johnson who was fouled by Murray inside with 53 seconds remaining The Raptors led by three with 18 seconds left when Sutton stripped Stoudamire Rice launched a jumper just inside the three-point line to tie the game at 105-105 with seven seconds left Stoudamire launched a 12-footer with seconds left in regulation that fell off the rim Oliver Miller attempted to tap it back in but Hornets center Matt Geiger blocked away the attempt to end regulation Priester punishes Duke Clemson tailback gains a school-record 263 rushing yards By LEONARD LAYE Sports Editor CLEMSON SC Raymond Priester popped up from his 32nd carry of the day and trotted off the soggy field his Saturday work as done as Blue Devils A few moments later with about five minutes remaining in 34-17 ACC football victory he discovered just how much damage his churning legs had created His 263 yards established a new school single-game rushing record and helped the rejuvenated Tigers to a fourth straight win one they needed to become eligible for a postseason bowl appiearance And at the time he even know it said Pnester a 6-1 sophomore the announcer said it it kind of shocked Running in the rain through gaping holes that frequently left him untouched as he rambled past the line of scnmmage Priester piled up 94 yards in the first half then ripped off another 169 the second He has 1201 for the season When it was over his offensive lineup wanted to hoist him onto their shoulders for a ride off the Memonal Stadium field He said no refusal and surge 7-3 (6-2 the ACC) with one regular season game to play were tnbutes to an offensive line that took some senous lumps before reaching Please see Tigerspage 9G Record breaker Florida State tailback Warrick Dunn scoots Seminoles teammate EG Green en route to a 43-yard touch-ahead of North Carolina defender Russell Davis (96) and down run Saturday during the Seminoles' victory FSU keeps Heels down Conservative Seminoles grind out 28-12 victory More inside Mayor elects to enjoy life on Senior tour By SAM ADAMS Raleigh Bureau CHAPEL HILL It rained but Flonda State pour it on Saturday against North Tar Heels Flonda normally explosive offense turned conservative and outlasted North Carolina 28-12 at Kenan Stadium a lackluster game in which both teams labored through a steady and often times annoying rain thought we played well under the Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said called a very conservative game It was conservative compared to the way I like it Sixth-ranked Honda State (6-1 in ACC 8-1 overall) was coming off its first-ever ACC loss last Tommie Frazier runs for two touchdowns and passes for another as top-ranked Nebraska routs Kansas to clinch a tie for its fifth straight Big Eight titlepage 7G Appalachian State improves to 10-0 defeating mountain rival Western Carolina to clinch at least a share of the Southern Conference titlepage 7G For the second straight season East Carolina earns a berth in the Liberty Bowl Behind Marcus Crandell the Pirates beat ulsa 28-7page 1 0G week at Virginia The Seminoles came into the game averaging 53 points and had blown through Duke State and Wake Forest with a 73-point average this season The defense seemed to carry the team holding the Tar Heels to just 230 yards of offense its lowest total since 1992 The loss put more of a damper on the bowl hopes for North Carolina (2-4 in ACC 4-5 overall) The Tar Heels have to win their remaining two games just to assure a winning season North defense deserves some credit for holding Please see Seminolespage 9G BOB JORDAN Associated Press Ouch: North Russell Davis hits Florida State quarterback Danny Kanell Kanell completed 16 of 27 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown in the 28-12 win Saturday -W game Opponents hit wall of deception MYRTLE BEACH Out of the rain and wind whipping across The Dunes Golf Beach Club Saturday came the self-proclaimed Greatest Sports Trivia Question grinning and talking as fast as a small-town politician which he also is Hugh Delane (Rocky) Thompson adorned in electric blue knickers strode across the fallen bodies of such giants as Hale Irwin and Lee Trevino into a tie for second place in the Senior PGA Tour Championship with one round to go He shot 68 equaling the best anybody in this elite field has done this week and came in fussing because it been a 67 But not fussing for long There were stories to tell He told the one about how he became the Greatest Sports Tnvia Question which is what player on the PGA Tour in one official tournament round played with Doug Sanders Bob Goalby Tommy Bolt Chi Chi Ro-dnguez and Ben Hogan? The answer of course is Thompson Back around 1972 he was paired with Sanders and Bolt Sanders quit after nine holes and Please see Greenpage 1 3G Carolina at SL Louis Kickoff 1 TV: WCCB Ch 1 8 NFL GameDayPage 14G Countdown to KickoffPagel 5G chameleon defense of blitzes keeps teams guessing and in the end gasping By CHARLES CHANDLER Staff Writer In the seconds before the ball is snapped and a play begins linebacker Sam Mills knows how the unpredictability of the Carolina Panthers defense is spooking opposing offenses quarterback looks things over long and hard" said Mills quite get into his checks check to one thing then check to the other can tell with the linemen on pass plays because they start peeking all over the place They really make out what our alignment is" Indecision Confusion Panthers coach Dorn Capers calls it eitheror and what he wants to force the opposing offense to play He and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio do it with a leading-edge defensive approach designed to attack and deceive The Panthers blitz from almost every area of the field But they fake as much as they fire which keeps the other team guessing The effectiveness of the defense is the pnmary reason the Panthers (4-5) have won more games in a row (four) than any previous expansion team won in a season Carolina will tty to even its record and jump into the race for a wild-card playoff berth today in St Louis against the 5-4 Rams (1 kickoff WCCB-TV channel 18) Rams coach Rich Brooks says the job Carolina has done assembling one of the fiercest defenses the team's first season is and While the Panthers rank 16th in the NFL in total defense (325 2 yards allowed per game) Please see Pantherspage 1 6G i i TTie Panther Poll Don't forget to make your call to the The Panther Poll After each Panthers game we II ask your opinion about a key call or cntical play Just dial (704) 377-4444 then punch 1075 hear the question then cast your vote Read the results In sports section I.