Lexington Herald-Leader from Lexington, Kentucky • 23

-t Ci Lexington Herald-LeXder Section Sunday September 24 1989 Scoreboard C2 4 i John McGill HoraU-Laadar porta columnist MTi i i i HmU-LaadarMichaai Malone Tailback Siran Stacy took the high road against Donnie Gardner who made eight tackles including two for losses Rawls held to 30 yards Maggard sacked 7 times as Tide wins 155 crush of a defense preying on a banged- By John Clay Herald-Leader itaff writer TUSCALOOSA Ala The dominance continues Some thought it might end Thirty-two times Alabama and Kentucky had met on a collegiate football field Kentucky had triumphed once In 1922 But last year UK had come tantalizingly dose And this year the Cats had more experience were bigger better Perhaps this year the Cats would tame the Tide happen Once again as always dominance was destructive a Crimson and I sort of expected them to be in on me" said Maggard die UK quarterback who was mugged for 45 yards in losses every time I went bade to pass I had somebody in my face I know I should have thrown some of them away but I I have The Tide gave him none smothering a Kentucky offensive line that played for three quarters without three starters Tackle Mike Nad (knee iqjury) and center Brian Cralle (wrist) did not dress Then in the first quarter guard Joel Mazzella left the game with a sprained ankle Redshirt freshman Travis Hahn (TumtoWLDCATS C6) up Kentucky offensive line holding the Wildcats to 14 yards rushing sacking quarterback Freddie Maggard seven times on the way to a 153 Tide victory at Bryant-Dermy Stadium said Bama coach Bill Curry starting his third year in Tuscaloosa as good as our defense has been since been here We were all over the And all over the Cats who dropped to 2-1 Nose guard Willie Wyatt end Steve Webb and linebacker Vantriese Davis each recorded two sacks The Tide had four tackles for losses broke up three passes and intercepted another In all Alabama 2-0 held UK to 125 total -yards and nine first downs knew they had a good defense i Ki i sV i I I i i of upset bid foiled 30-21 This was no place for of TUSCALOOSA Ala Freddie Maggard must have felt as if he were in the presence of Hurricane Hugo because here it came again another high tide whipped into 50-foot waves waves adored crimson and crashing all over him If you were a Kentucky quarterback yesterday you were a delicate dinghy in a turbulent and terrible sea You were sacked seven times You were chased battered and bewildered by an Alabama Crimson Tide team that could roll tide roll at will You were Maggard said Example: UK has a first down at its 43 when Maggard fakes a handoff to the fullback managed only a half-step when already surrounded by Alabama players So he quickly throws out into the flat to Alfred Rawls but Rawls finds three Alabama players out there waiting The play loses 4 yards we were actually trying to throw the bomb on that UK assistant coach Jerry Eisaman said they were already in his face We were turning people (receivers) loose all day but poor Freddie have time to throw The final score Alabama 15 UK 3 is testament both to will on defense and its wilting on offense Only a gritty and sustained effort by its defense spared UK from a worse beating on die scoreboard or later But outside linebacker Tony Massey could manage only a frown at that he said softly heard it we all? Teams in our conference they have super athletes on offense" Massey finally Baid you can hold an offense down but like the law of averages Sooner or later going to Stretching its string of quarters without yielding a touchdown to nine defense kept its offense within striking distance by allowing Bama only three field goals through die first 49 minutes It was 3-0 frO 6-3 and 9-3 through then but never did offense come alive What did was Bama which drove 69 yards for a touchdown with 925 to play It was 153 The law of averages strikes again The temptation is to say it was just another example of a Kentucky offense that simply score enough points to justify its hopes of beating the SECs big teams In this case however that might be oversimplifying things Kentucky was handicapped going into die game by a number of injuries to its offensive line and that number only grew larger With starting tackle Mike Nord and starting center Brian Cralle not even making the trip because of injuries UK was already in trouble And when starting guard Joel Mazzella went down with an ankle problem mid tight end Mike Meece suffered what might be a broken arm yesterday Situation went from bad to desperate UK had only 14 yards rushing and just 125 in all Alfred Rawls averaging 153 yards in total offense through two games picked up 41 against the Tide He carried 13 times for 30 yards Maggard meanwhile lost 51 yards from those seven sacks and picked up numerous headaches in die process go back to pass and beating you bade to die setup" he said it felt like they were bringing everybody in die whole stadium at you I tried not to let up but it frustrated me near the end I got beat up I was dizzy a few plays out there" Yet Maggard never asked to leave die game want to bade down from die he said a football player you want to be on the field But today was no place for the faint of With so many veteran linemen out UK was overwhelmed And all the missed Mocks served to magnify defensive quickness Road losing streak goes on got a lot of good Maggard said big people who are quick and can run and can move laterally I'd say you coukl get up a pretty good hoops team from that football Kentucky lost its 14th straight road game but it should not be so much dismayed by the defeat (Bama was an 11 -point favorite) as it surely is alarmed by the injuries Its offensive line was a major strength going into the season Now a major question If UK had a chance it was in the second period Trailing 6-0 die Wildcats drove 60 yards to the Alabama 11 On third down from the 12 Maggard scrambling away from a rush drilled a perfect pass to A1 Baker wide open in a corner of the end zone Baker dropped it Far the serond straight week a UK receiver had dropped a certain touchdown pass So die Wildcats settled for a field goaL Instead of a 7-6 lead UK had a 63 deficit The turning point" said a disgusted Donnie Gardner defensive tackle just catch it He didn't have the desire Why? I know Because it aeerrm like do everything in die world to make sure you catch it" Freddie Maggard figured it icvidihave made all the difference we'd gotten ahead" he said think our guys would have let Alabama score Maggard even aware that Baker had dropped his pass 1 figured something had happened" he said I didn't hear about it until after die because an instant after the pass was thrown a charging Alabama player hit Maggard like a Made truck Hit him in the head and toppled him to the ground was Maggard said He wore the look of a man been in a hurricane: Eastern rules Hilltoppers 24-3 with Thomas By Christy McIntyre Harakf-Laadar itaff writer RICHMOND Defense and Markus Thomas made the difference Thomas rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns and Eastern defense stifled Western Kentucky last night as the No 1-ranked Colonels beat die No 19 Hilltoppers 243 before 19200 fans at Hanger Field really liked the way we played defense said Eastern coach Roy Kidd whose team improved to 341 No wonder The Randy Wardlow blocked a field-goal attempt by Pat Levis in die third quarter and Reggie McGee returned it 44 yards to die Western 41 Defensive end David Wilkins sacked Western quarterback Scott Campbell and faced a fumble that was recovered by Greg McKee In all the Colonels recorded five sacks including two by nose guard Toby Gilbert And tackle Mark Bousquet stopped Western tailback Don Smith on fourth-and-one at midfield setting up the final touchdown defensive line simply manhandled our offensive line" said first-year coach Jack Har-baugh who watched his team fall to 2-2 They (Turn to EASTERN backpaga) West Virginia scores last 20 points By Jerry Tipton Herald-Laadar itaff writer LOUISVILLE On the biggest afternoon in University of Louisville football history the rebuilt Cardinals gained a measure of cred-ibility A victory will have to wait Unbeaten and ninth-ranked West Virginia needed a fourth-quarter rally to subdue inspired and ambitious of 30-21 yesterday The Mountaineers 4-0 scored tiie final 20 points 17 in the fourth quarter to hand the Cardinals their first loss in three games and disappoint a record crowd of 39132 very disappointing of coach Howard Schnellenbeiger said "but one that will help us know where we are and know where we can get to West Virginia had a very gutty performance They battled back and battled bade and made enough plays to win the game They deserved to win" Quarterback Major Harris and distracted linebacker Renaldo Turn-bull led the WVU comeback Thor efforts helped erase Louisville laH (Turn to ofL CIO Herald-Leader David Parry Major Harris who passed for 245 yards and a touchdown eludes of defensive end Mike Flores a 1 UK basketball strength coach Ray "Rock" Oliver is aiming for the NFL Page C3 Both quarterbacks were major-league US team down 9-7 going into last day of Ryder Cup Backpage MIBHMSJ1 Top 25 No 5 Michigan 24 No 24 UCLA 23 No13 Pittsburgh 30 No 10 Syracuse 23 Wary fay Cl No 1 Notre Dame 21 Michigan State 13 Story PayaCS I SEC No 8 Arkansas 24 Mississippi 17 Georgia 23 Mississippi State 6 Story PayaCT State schools Georgetown 14 Hanover 14 Wary Pay CIS one of the front-runners in tiie Houdini ah Heisman Trophy race directing an attack that scored 20 straight points and moved die streak of regular-season wins to 15 tops in the nation When it was finally over Harris had passed for 245 yards and scrambled for 73 more On several of his completions he was an escape artist who defied belief hitting a receiver just when it seemed as if the well-prepared Louisville defense had him in its greedy clutches knew it would be hard to contain him" Nagle said He threw a lot of good passes when he was gang down But my ineffectiveness in the fourth quarter was die key When wenreded to (torn to PEED CIO LOUISVILLE He see the final plays because his face was buried in what literally was a crying toweL A couple of friends tried to console him but it help much Browning Nagle knew a golden opportunity had been lost In the history books what happened yesterday at Cardinal Stadium will be recorded as die expected West Virginia victory over Louisville: But the final score Mountaineers 30 Cardinals 21 was deceptive was a one-point said Louisville coach Howard Schnellenberger a wry smile covering his disappointment as fully as Ms mustache covered his stiff upper lip: And he was right In die third quarter the Cards had a 21-10 Baseball i lead At that time the sellout crowd of 39132 an all-time school record had every reason to believe that all its wishing hoping and hell-raising would not be in vain Alas however Nagle and die of offense went flat as a 25-cent beer at precisely the same time that his West Virginia counterpart Major Harris began to bubble and sparkle like vintage champagne RUNNING PASSING and improvising Harris showed why Indians 4 6 3 2 Brewers 4 Blue Jays 1 Onoies 10 Yankees 2 National Cubs 3 Pirates 2 Reds 11 Braves 5 Giants 3 Astros 1 Cards 11 Phillies 5 Padres 7 Dodgers 1 American Twins 5 Athletics 3 Story Pay C4 i I i.