The News and Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina • 23

2-31 The Hews and Observer Ra legb Tuesday December 201977 I sub sinks Heels II ----4 717 401) 4:4 io 0 tJ tl 0 1' i e) Al i 4rt 0----- IP 1 0:4 ttig 1 I uee i st) Oakland at Baltimore AFC Championship qfr Pittsburgh at Jon 1 at L60 rt Denver nee 2 1 Oakland Dec 26 Chicago Minnesota Chicago at Dallas Minnesota Fi "Op i 4 4 1 tot Nsirttg r( ode- 1 Ii Ti tz 0( 1 10 ot 4 ot ole 1 IS 5 1 Ake I-- 4 in 11-: ia NFC Championship 11111111) Jan 1 1 at Los Angeles It Los NFC Championship Jan 1 in I 01 4v" 1 tt I of 10 los a' United Press intornatieisel Walker Lee UNC pened because we would have had more continuity- the kind we've had alt year" said linebacker coach Gary Darnell "We had to shift some people around and that's something we haven't had to do" Pistons seek new coach of IS Old 0 yard run by Paschal on a third-and-11 draw play UNC advanced to the Nebraska 30 On fourth dowb there Biddle kicked the longest field goal of hie career 47 yards The ball was low and struck the crossbar before bounding over Nebraska took the kickoff and picked up three first downs before film bling Sorley made a 14 yard pickup to the UNC 48 when he dropped the ball and linebacker Bobby Ga) recovered Carolina marched to the Nebraska 23 by means of a 13-yard run by Paschal and a I6-yard pass from Kupec to Mike Finn But a Kupec pass was deflected and intercepted as the fourth quarter began with Nebraska starting at its 26 Garcia came in and directed his team 74 yards in 11 plays for a touchdown Again fullback plays gave the Tar Heels trouble and Garcia capped the surge with a 10-yard pass to wing-back Craig That made it 17-14 with Still the Tar Heels had the upper hand But then came the two that led to the winning touchdown and one that gave the Cornhuskers the ball in the final minutes bied Coach Bill Dooley talks with split end Injuries hurt Bear coach Pardee savors NFL drama Continued from page 21 Gay nursing an assortment of bruises and cuts and crying unashamedly echoed Curry "The first time he didn't draw me up I knew he had the ball I could see him from the back side But some of the other guys couldn't see it" Fumble hurt Another costly play for the Tar Heels was a Kupec fumble with 2:04 remaining after Nebraska had taken the lead for good Kupec failed to grasp the exchange from the center and Nebraska recovered to wipe out the Heels' final bid "I just didn't get the snap" Kupec said "I don't know whose fault it was Maybe mine But that's a split second thing and you just don't know" In those closing minutes Carolina played without timeouts One was used said Kupec because of a change in the Nebraska defense and he couldn't change the play on an audible "We were going on a set count so I couldn't audible" he said "There was nothing to do but call the timeout" Nebraska Coach Tom Osborne said the winning play was a great one but could have gone the other way "We'd been running the ball right up the field and I figured they'd be looking for the isolation play (tailback following the fullback' up the middle) and we ran an isolation fake "They blitzed the cornerback and he almost got in It will go down as a great play and a great call but it was an inch away from being a lousy play and a lousy call" Osborne said the win was one of his team's biggest "Maybe this was not the greatest season Nebraska has had but to me personally it was one of the greatest wins Nebraska has ever had because we showed so much heart This is probably the biggest comeback we've had all year" One reason for the Tar Heels' collapse near the end could have been injuries to several key performers including tailback Amos Lawrence and defenders Rod Broadway Curry and Dave Simmons "I don't want to use Amos (injury) as an excuse though" UNC Coach Bill Dooley said Defensively however the Tar Heels did show obvious signs of weakness after the players were hurt "A couple of things probably wouldn't have hap Super Bowl XIIL at Superdome New Orleans Jan 15 bility to beat them" he said Certainly Landry was impressed with the way the Bears squeezed into the playoffs "That's the worst feeling in the world to go out on a field like that and know your playoff hopes are at stake" the Cowboy coach said The Minnesota-Los Angeles NFC pairing marks the third time in the last four years those two teams have met in the playoffs The Vikings beat the Rams 24-13 for the title last year and edged them 14-10 for the crown in 1974 The teams played once this season with the Rams scoring a 35-3 victory "The Vikings are a great football team" said LA Coach Chuck Knox They have outstanding talent It's always tough when we play the Vikings and we don't expect it to be any different this time" Knox is concerned over injuries to some key Rams players including safety Bifl Simpson who is out for the season with a knee injury "We're not as good as we have been in other years but we have a chance to be as good or better" Knox continued "We've been getting better Injuries have hurt us Because of that the depth hasn't been there like it has in other years" Meaningless victory Pittsburgh's victory over San Diego was meaningless because the Steelers had already moved into the playoffs courtesy of Houston's victory over Cincinnati "We should give (Oiler Coach) Bum Phillips the game ball" said Steeler quarterback Terry Bradshaw The Steelers dropped a 21-7 decision to Denver earlier in the this year but Bronco Coach Red Miller dismissed that pointing out that the playoffs are a brand new season Miller described it this way: "Now" he said "begins the dash for the cash" Nebraska 0 7 0 14-21 North Carolina 0 14 3 0-17 NCar 12 pass from Kopec (Biddle kick) IS run (Todd kick) 11 pass from Kupec (Biddle kick) Biddle47 10 pass from Garcia (Todd kick) 33 pass from Garcia (Todd kick) A-49456 Nebraska Carolina First downs 21 17 Rushes-yards- 52-206 55-169 Passing yards 161 93 Return yards 0 Passes 14-17-0 8-13-1 Punts 3-37 3-4 Fumbles-lost 4-2 3-2 Penaities-yards 2-10 5-35 INDIVIDUAL RUSHING NEBRASKA (Attempts-Yards): Burns 7-38 Donnell 9-59 Hipp 18-52 Sorley 8-21 Criag 1-5 Anthony 6-39 Garcia 3-minus 8 Total 52-206 NORTH CAROLINA: Paschal 16- 77 Lawrence 8-35 Collins 2-8 Kupec 14-minus 3 Loomis 8-33 Johnson 16 Lee 1-minus 2 Total 55-169 INDIVIDUAL PASSING NEBRASKA (CompletionsAttempts-YardsTOs): Sorley 11-14- 105-0 Garcia 3-3-56-2 Smith 0-1-0- Total: 14-17-161-2 NORTH CAROLINA: Kopec 7-11- 75-2 Lawrence 11-18-0 Lee 0-1-0-0 INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING NEBRASKA (Catches-Yards): Smith 4-78 Craig 4-53 Burns 2-9 Hipp 2-6 Miller 13 Spaeth 1-12 Total 14-161 NORTH CAROLINA: Williams 4- 44 Paschal 1-16 Loomis 1-10 Finn I16 Collins 1-7 Total 8-91 DETRorr (UPI) era! Manager Bob Kauffman of Detroit is in no hurry to displace Coatil Bob Kauffman of the Pis tons but he's still look- ing "I want someone in" Kauffman said Monday in a telephone interview from San Antonio Tex where his Pistons were scheduled Tuesday night to make the Spurs their fourth game in five nights "but I don't want to make a precipitous decision "There are many suitors" he said "but not all are necessarily right for the marriage" Detroit has lost two games and won one since Herb Brown was fired last Thursday and temporarily replaced by Kauffman who had no prior coaching experience The Associated Press Jack Pardee's face was florid the price of spending his afternoon standing in a freezing rain and sleet storm But the Chicago Bears coach was not complaining His club had just struggled to a dramatic 12-9 overtime victory against the stubborn New York Giants to gain the National Football League playoffs for the first time in 14 years And Pardee looking a little bit like a defrosting ice man as droplets of rain fell from his forehead felt wonderful The Bears had survived a see-saw battle against the Giants winning on a last-play field goal by Bob Thomas whose kicks had been mis-firing all day Chicago had run out the string as far as it could and Pardee's nerves had to be frazzled But the coach loved every moment of it "Because of the weather conditions the overtime tin missed field goals everything this is a bigger win than it would have been under normal conditions" he said "The beautiful thing about our profession is the chance to feel nervous" Pardee had every chance for that as the complicated NFL tie-breaking formula forced the Bears into a must-win situation in the final game of the season' Most exciting thing "It's the most exciting thing in the world knowing you have to win" said Pardee "You worry you lose sleep and you battle it But if you get to the middle of Continued from page 21 Nebraska coach Tom Osborne called it a great comeback "North Caroina had a great football team and played extremely well in maintaining possession of the ball" Coach Bill Dooley said there really wasn't much difference between the teams "Those two pass plays were the difference" he said "That's the way Nebraska does they run at you and run at you and boom hit a pass" UNC scores first Although Carolina chose a 15-mile per hour wind after winning the opening toss Nebraska held the advantage in field position for several minutes Neither team could the ball however until a Cornhusker gamble backfired Late in the first quarter after several exchanges of punts the 'Huskers faces a fourth-and-5 at the UNC 40 From punt formation Tim Smith attempted to pass into the left flat but the wind caught the ball and blew it back incomplete That gave the Tar Heels who had not moved passed their 32 a first down at the UNC 40 and the Heels proceeded to march 60 yards in 11 plays An 18-yard halfback pass from Lawrence to Williams was the big mover From the 12 Carolina ran a trick play it had installed for this game and the shifty move produced a touchdown On the play Kupec faked twice the second time to Mel Collins on a reverse Then the Carolina quarterback threw in the left corner to Williams who was all alone for the score with 13:52 left in the half Stung by that sudden development Nebraska moved 64 yards in six plays to tie the game Two fullback plays by Dodie Donnell netted 17 and 15 yards the second one going for the touchdown Senior tackle Rod Broadway was hurt on the play and left the game The Tar Heels took the kickoff and drove 83 yards in 20 plays to go ahead 14-7 Lawrence sprained his ankle making a nine-yard gain on a sweep but Kupec came up with big plays running 16 yards for a first down on third-and-11 and firing 16 yards to Doug Pas chal who made a great catch in the right flat Short gains on running plays moved the ball to the 15 where an interference call kept the drive alive at the 11 On second-and-9 on another play action fake Kupec threw 10 yards to Bob Loomis for the touchdown with 3:11 left in the half Nebraska responded with a long march after the kickoff that just fell short Tom Sorley's passing moved the ball to the Carolina 7 but time was running short On second down from the 7 Sorley was hit by Dee Hardison and Ken Sheets and the half ended 14-7 The Tar Heels made it 17- 7 on their first possession of the third quarter Driving from their 12 with the help of a third-down pass from Kupec to Williams and a 20- 41 qt ob A 111P Id 10 11 a i 0 0111 iS I we o' 'o 61 Pik 1S a Ot so I Pat 14 14 14 14 1 tit to pi Id if ja I 3 oq 4 'a itst Mei 1660 go a le December with no pressure on you that means you're out of it" The Bears however are very much in it and will meet Dallas next Monday in the first round of the National Conference playoffs In the other NFC playoff Minnesota will be at Los Angeles a rematch of last year's championship game pairing In the AFC Oakland's defending Super Bowl champions play at Baltimore and Pittsburgh plays at Denver Dallas and Denver spent the last Sunday of the season tuning up for the playoffs by playing each other in a game won by the Cowboys 14-6 Afterwards both coaches naturally were thinking of the playoffs "The whole season is now" said Coach Tom Landry of the Cowboys "I look at the Cowboys and I see Walter Payton" Payton finished the year with 1852 yards rushing the third highest single season production in NFL history His bid to shatter OJ Simpson's rushing record of 2003 yards ended in the sleet and rain at Giants Stadium when he managed only 47 yards But he caught a 15-yard pass that positioned the ball for Thomas' game-winning 28- yard field goal "Those were the most important yards I've ever gained because it meant the playoffs" Payton is looking forward to the Cowboys "I think Dallas will be tough but we have the capa 1977 season becomes a free agent Feb 1 and it is not clear whether he will be offered a new one "I'm not going to say if we're going to offer Roman Gabriel a contract" said Vermeil who knew the quarterback during his assistant coaching days with the Rams "Roman Gabriel will not retire" Vermeil said ''He's in better shape than he was three years ago He's in good shape and he can still play" But Vermeil said a decision on Gabriel's status must take into account the Eagles' other quarterbacks Jaworski Johnny Walton and Mike Cordova "John Walton has NFL quarterbacking talent and Mike Cordova is a fine prospect" Vermeil said "There are a lot of decisions that have to be made" Status of Gabriel remains uncertain WC446 11110A TO bls 1PE TO PHILADELPHIA (AP) It's hard to tell what role if any veteran quarterback Roman Gabriel will have in the future with the Philadelphia Eagles based on Coach Dick Vermeil's comments Monday Gabriel is a 16-year National Football League veteran and was the league's Most Valuable Player in 1969 as a member of the Los Angeles Rams The 37-year-old Gabriel who needs 556 yards passing to reach the 30000-yard mark was used sparingly' behind Ron Jaworski this season He was 1-for-1 in passing in a brief appearance against Tampa Bay in the Eagles' opener threw only two incomplete passes in a loss to Detroit and was in for only two plays Sunday in a 27-0 victory over the New York Jets Gabriel signed to a one-year contract before the LOW RIGES1 Tj 23 8 40 ehannel GB's Rites 000 HRU (MEM 4140311LEZMI OCK NANO 1A 40 CHANNEL cil-A 1 EC1342 fgpXua- rlb 1 -1 :1 lo s3 0L- 9p g4it(3 (011 Gri4 Maxon 40 THE --1-zat 4-- GTX-4040 I 4-I Wint pulp "14' 40 CHANNEL PUNc8A ce olliatim 2 CHANNEL SCAN Attl' A'1-c111 mitNo RF Gain RI frequency S-RF Meter Della Tune 99 14Gcr sch 9u Squelch Control 99 ntrol Adjustable Squelch Delta TUrte 0 SquelCM11 Volume and Buill in ANL Volume A Tone Controls Tone Controls Output A StMeter 23 CHANNEL 400 it Avi 0 vitaiti MRIS ORIEL i 0 Itralf a000 -m MFR's ORIG LIST mn a LIST $21995 I TIGER 40 rads 40 1 XL-50 SABRE browning XC8-71 1 I 461 I YEAR PARTS 1 I til i a LABOR WARRANTY 1' li Alt 31 l'' 1 4 1 i 11mM 1:31 Di lir--- sAiriaror ire L'i 144)It" 11 MIS 1'1 -IP 444a WORLD'S MOST 40 CHANNEL '1c 40 CHANNEL tar 40 CHANNEL DELUXE MOBILE 40 CHANNEL NI Circuitry 99 HETRO-LOCK Synthesizing System LED Channel Readout ANL Switch RC Noise 13anker LED Channel Readout PLI Circuitry A 14 Meter Receive-OSlide Fine Tuning PLI Circuitry Variable ANL Delta Tune PA Function Volume Control on Mtke RF Gam 7999 I 8999 FRF l''terna It 94199 pea er PA A Ester Speaker Jacks Tone Control Tone A Squelch Jack Controls MR'S ORIG LIST: S17995 MFR'S ORIG LIST: $22995 URI'S ORK LIST: $25995 MS ORIG LIST: $23151 SUREELBASE sjhao OB 43 14 40 CHANNEL xuvrilimp CB5100 40 CHANNEL SI3r111111illitil III sill A1 BASE BASE OUTLET 10-1 1 I 4999 womys 2568 WILMINGTON St n999 1 CB-5000 SIMI DELUXE SASE STATION RALEIGH 11 11- 7 Pa Diva! frequency tEC 'signal readout STORE PLI 6021 frequency Pcmer volume souelch contrOls we 0111T VAMP tototit HOURS coos pestoomot ILSTM CHICKS LED q'Tlal 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Commuously vanatie fine tuning SWR Meter k04 "ywuRs II Am 0 WILL et ACCEPIPO OW wHIN SiR Meter RHDAY-it AM MAIO accomermilo sy MAttli COPOt Separre pkra Switch Budt-rn LED diVal clock VISA CM otopair AP WPC 59 CAPOS SATIOIDAY -10 AM la 6 011 FON TII KANN OF IDENTIFICA MTH'S ORIG LIST: 831007 PAWS ORIG LIST: 812117 SUNDAY -1P 11 to 5PM VON OOKYL PEACHBOWL GAME? Stay on with us for New Year's Eve Check in on Friday night we'll get you to the game and back treat you to a "Peach Bowl Brunch" before the game serve you a free drink and put you up for two nights The Pigskin 2 9 Package per person An extra night only $1995 double occupancy 95 New Year's Eve: We make it special Our New Year's Eve begins at 9 pm in our famous Castle Room with dancing entertainment drinks all evening long Midnight Buffet and a Champagne toast for only $20 per person Or Join us in Tingles our exciting new tempotheque for music dancing noisemakers hats and a Midnight toast for only $5 per person ii ca5inaz4 HAMPIONSHI ONIG 1 r- I VI i ESTI I NG qlrgiil NOMATCHES IN RALEIGH THISWEEK it DORTON so TUES 2 ARENA DEC 7TH i FOR MID-ATLANTIC TITLE i GREG VALENTINE 1 VERSUS x'4 --441'-'WAHOO WAITE RIC FL A IR vs TV: CONWAY i PAR XI 1 MIL X2 -MIGHTY IGOR AlwiONAINT WFAVN AKA WARM'S A VMS 1 NO MATCHES IN RALEIGH THIS WEEK DORTON 0 TUES -Y7 ARENA DEC 11TH FOR MID-ATLANTIC TITLE 441v GREG VALENTINE el VERSUS MAME TGR RIC FLAIR vs YI MIGHTY IGOR THE DIINFEY 'k117C-CViall Intentate 75 at Howell Mill Road Atlanta Georgia 404351-6100.