The Pantagraph from Bloomington, Illinois • Page 15

Spinf Sept. 21, 1980 SECTION JIM BARN HART hj xr wtM PANTAGRAPH SPORTS EDITOR Danny Menendez: Architect of Montreal success IT SEEMS ONLY natural that the Montreal Expos have assigned Danny Menendez to sit in on the New York Yankees for 10 days. A special assistant to President and General Manager John McHale, Menendez is responsible for signing or recommending the signing of Montreal pitchers David Palmer, Scott Sanderson, Bill Gullickson, and Charlie Lea, as well as infielder Tim Raines and outfielder Bob Pate, who have been labelled can't miss major leaguers. Second baseman Raines was one of the league's better hitters while playing for the Denver Bears in the American Association and Pate filled in admirably for the Expos while rightfielder Ellis Valentine recovered from a Columbia, Mo. The quarterbacks for Missouri defender Jeff Gaylord and .1 Illinois and Missouri showed some of the forced to intentionally ground a pass.

Hurrying WllSOn, SOQring Bradley reasons why Missouri hammered the Missouri's Phil Bradley, right, sailed Ulini, 52-7, in these photographs. Illinois' over a stack of linemen for a first-Dave Wilson, left, was hounded by quarter touchdown. (AP Laserphotos) fractured cheekbone. Menendez, a second baseman at Illinois Wesleyan University from 1935-39, signed left-handed pitcher Dan Schatzeder for the Expos, and Schatzeder, in turn, was dealt last winter to Detroit for Ron LeFlore. Menendez, a St.

Louis native and close friend of Wesleyan athletic director Jack Horenberger, has been evaluating talent in various capacities for the National League baseball club since 1970. The Expos' draft fortunes took an abrupt leap in 1976, coinciding with the appointment of Menendez as scouting director. lllini fall Fumbles speed Danny Menencez COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) Mike White absorbed his first setback Saturday as coach of Illinois and came away from a 52-7 pounding offering no excuse. "What do you say?" the 44-year-old White mused after his Big Ten Conference team was drubbed by 15th-ranked Missouri.

"We got beat in every department. You don't win many games when you don't block or tackle. It was a lacing from the very start." An lllini epidemic of errors notwithstanding, White praised Mizzou. "They ran the ball effectively. Their backs ran violently and broke tackles.

They were an excellent team," he said. "Missouri was in a great frame of There was nothing that could have changed the outcome." Capitalizing on an early siege of Illinois fumbles, Missouri rolled behind the two-touchdown production of seniors Phil Bradley and James Wilder. Statistics even Big plays doom Wilder, who played less than a half, piled up 105 yards on fifteen carries for his best performance since the 1978 Liberty Bowl, helping Missouri boost its record to 2-0. The Big Eight school led 28-0 at the end of the first quarter. Illinois, absorbing its worst setback since being hammered 57-0 by Michigan in 1969, dipped to 2-1.

The lllini averted a shutout on Lance Hofer's five-yard pass to Greg Dentino with 1:45 left in the game. Wendell Ray's fumble recovery at the Illinois 3 set up Bradley's first touchdown, a 1-yard dive over center in the game's opening five minutes. Wilder blasted another yard to make it 14-0 less than a minute later. After the Tiger powerhouse rambled to the end zone on his long run, Missouri coasted to a 31-0 half time lead on Terry Hill's 30-yard run nd Ron Verrilli's 22-yard field goal. ISU mainder of the game.

"Gumble has been hobbled with injuries all year and hasn't played a full game yet," noted Cowdrey. "He was not hurt seriously today. Our injuries were mostly minor ankle injuries. I think everyone will be back next week." ISU will face Southeastern Louisiana Saturday at Hancock Stadium. Central Michigan, which has won the last eight meetings from the Redbirds, leads the series, 26-4.

Since ISU will begin Missouri Valley Conference play next fall, the series with Central Michigan will be discontinued. "I'm sorry to see the rivalry end," said Cowdrey. "But we have been an independent now for 10 years. With a chance to play in a conference, we have to change our schedule. This will be a big boost for our players and to the program." Deromedi felt that Jackson's punt return a stadium record was a turning point.

"Robert made a great run," Deromedi said. "He made all the cuts to the sidelines and came back with still enough left to run it in." ISU ran more plays from scrimmage than the Chippewas, 78-61, but didn't generate a drive of more than 23 yards in the second half until after Central Michigan had carved its 16-point lead. Illinois State 0 0 0 0 0 Central Michigan 0 7 3 a la Central Michigan Robert Jackson, 84-yd. punt return (Bojovic kick) Central Michigan Novo Bolovic, 27-yd. field goal Central Michigan Novo Bojovic, 19-yd.

pass from Jeff VanderZee (kick failed) YARDSTICK Illinois, in failing to respond to the court-ordered reinstatement of quarterback Dave Wilson a day earlier, unleashed a school record 49 passes to little avail. Wilson launched 43 of the aerials, completing 20 for 158 yards before giving way to Hofer late in the game. Bradley departed after scoring on a 3-yard run early in the final half, and third-string quarterback Mike Hyde unleashed the Tiger's lone scoring pass in the fourth period. Led by Wilder' rushing, Missouri rolled up 486 yards total offense in amassing its highest point total since pounding Colorado 57-0 in 1962. The Tigers ran off 85 plays and used a total of 87 players.

Only two of Missouri's touchdowns stemmed from long drives. Hill's run climaxed a 53-yard march in late in the opening quarter and Bradley scored early in the final half to conclude a 75-yard parade. After Bradley departed, Hyde teamed up with freshman Andy Hill on a 34-yard scoring pass play with 9:10 remaining. Anotoer Tiger freshman, Tracy Mack, also scored for Mizzou on a 2-yard plunge in the third quarter. In all, Illinois fumbled four times and lost possession on each occassion.

The Illini's best drive before Dentino scored late in the game were to Missouri's 6 and the Tiger 17 in the second period. Mizzou's Bradley completed 8 of 15 passes for 130 yards. The Tigers' Terry Hill rushed for 69 yards on seven carries. Illinois was restricted to 49 yards on the ground. In addition to Wilson's 158 yards through the air, Hofer penetrated Mizzou's secondary for 70 yards on four completions on six tries.

Illinois Missouri 0 0 7 0 7 28 3 14 7 52 MU-Bradley 1 run (Verrilli kick) MU-Wilder I run (Verrilli kick) MU-Wilder 41 run (Verrilli kick) MU-T Hill 30 run (Verrilli kick) MU FG Verrilli 22 MU-Bradley 3 run (Verrilli kick) MU-Mack 2 run (Verrilli kick) 34 pass from Hyde (Verrilli kick) III Dentino 5 pass from Hofer (Bass kick) INDIVIDUAL LEADERS RUSHING Illinois, Brookens 8-21, Thomas 3-10. Missouri, Wilder 15-105, T.Hill 7-69, Mack 10-42. PASSING Illinois 20-43-1-158, Holer 4-6-0-70. Missouri, Bradley 8-15-0-130, Hyde 3-3 0-54. RECEIVING Illinois, Lopez 4-42, Murphy 4-25, Foster 4-23 Missouri, A.Hill 3-54, Fellows 2-57, Meyer 2-37.

YARDSTICK III 16 24-49 228 9 24-49-1 10-37 4-4 7-56 First Downs Rushes-yards Passing yards Return yards Passes Punts Fumbles-lost Penalties-yards 21 62-259 227 11 14-23-0 6-39 6-2 9-63 Wesleyan big winner Pearce kicks up a storm, B-3 "The line did such a tremendous job, it's like my sophomore year again," said the 221-pound Wilder, who rambled for 988 yards in 1978. "The line is doing a really good job. Whatever I do, it's because of them." Preceding the lopsided contest, Illinois had beaten Northwestern 35-9 and Michigan State 20-17. "We played two real solid, emotional football games, but this one wasn't in the cards," White said of the loss to Missouri. "A better football team beat a not-so-good football team." The alert Tigers converted two fumble recoveries into touchdowns during a span of one minute, 57 seconds in the opening period.

Twenty-six seconds later, Wilder spun out of a tackler's grasp and roared 41 yards to the end zone establishing a 21-0 Missouri advantage with the game less than seven minutes old. ISU statistics on B-3 "There's no question about it, that punt return was a BIG play." Offensively, ISU moved well in the opening half. On its second possession, quarterback Steve Gumble directed a nine-play drive entirely on the ground against a 25 mph wind that stalled at the Central Michigan 19 when he fumbled on a fourth down run after coming close to the first down marker. Fumbles were a frequent occurrence. Each school fumbled six times; each lost three.

Teddy Hollingsworth made one of those recoveries for the Redbirds one play after Jeff Marin had lost possession for the Redbirds midway in the second quarter. Mixing running plays with passes to wide receiver Jim Fitzpatrick, Gumble directed the Redbirds downfield in the drive nearly resulted in a touchdown. Three times Gumble completed third-down passes to keep the drive alive. Fitzpatrick snared passes of 17 and 14 yards while freshman Kevin Jones had a 10-yard reception. Rolf Duvick, ISU's 225-pound junior tackle who suffered a severe ankle sprain on the opening kick-off, returned to the lineup to help the Redbirds on Butler's fourth-down run from the 14.

Consecutive runs by Butler, Gumble and Dave George moved the ball to the 3-yard line, where the drive was halted. "Our defense gave up yards grudgingly," Deromedi said. "ISU didn't do anything we didn't anticipate. I thought our defense played well." In the total offense department, ISU gained 177 yards rushing, while the Chippewas netted 187. Through the air, Gumble, Willie Boyd and freshman Steve Moews combined for 127 yards.

Central Michigan ended with 138 yards passing to maintain a 325-304 edge in total yards. Gumble was injured on the first play of the fourth period. Boyd and Moews split the quarterbacking duties the Re It was in the next few years that the Palmers, Gulicksons, Leas, Raines, and Sandersons were on their way to Montreal. I reached Menendez at a New York hotel and learned he helped work his way through Wesleyan by filing picture engravings and answering the phone at the Pantagraph. "I owe a lot to Brick Young," said Menendez of the Pantagraph sports editor emeritus.

"He really kept me in school when times were hard. There was no money at home but I'd work up there and he'd slip me $20 now and then and tell me to buy a new pair of baseball shoes at Read's. 'Tin in New York on special assignments" said Menendez. "Ed Lopat, our regular scout, and I will follow the Yankees for 10 days just in case we meet them in the World Series. We're charting every pitch." MENENDEZ SAID he was interviewed for the St.

Louis Cardinals general manager's position and has also been interviewed for the same position with the San Diego Padres. Although Whitey Herzog was named general manager at St. Louis, Menendez predicts there'll be additional changes. "I'm No. 2 over here and there's no use going anywhere unless I'd have some authority," said Danny.

Menendez is high on Tim Wieghaus, the former Illinois State player who caught for Montreal's Memphis team in the Double A Southern League. "Defensively, Wieghaus is a big league catcher right now," said Menendez. "He can throw and he is a good receiver. He throws as well as anyone in baseball. "His bat has been sub-par up until this year.

He finished about .278 this year and .280 is accepted as the dividing line. He'll be our Triple A catcher next year without a doubt "WE'RE TRYING to cool him off. He tries so hard and then gets upset when he doesn't do well." Ironically, Menendez went against his scouts' advice when he signed Sanderson. Sanderson, who won his 15th game over a week ago, was even dropped from rotation by his own coach at Vanderbilt. "He had a bad year, his last year in school," said Menendez.

"But I had seen him at the International Cup in Montreal, at Wichita, in Alaska, and at Vanderbilt. "I had him No. 3 on my draft list. After I signed Scott, he told me: "I'm going to show you that I'm a better pitcher than a lot of think I am." Menendez credited his experience with the Yankee organization for some of his philosophy. "They look at two sides: physical and psychological," said Menendez.

"Palmer, Gullickson, and Sanderson are all of the same ilk. They all have super arms and they're the talk of the whole league." IT WAS Menendez who pressed for Gullickson when the major league free agent draft was held in 1977. "We were also interested in Paul Molitor and Terry Kennedy," said Menendez. "I said in my report that I thought Molitor was a gashouse gang type player. And Kennedy was awfully good.

"I remember going to our private meeting with a 3 5 card pinned to my chest which said, The White Sox had first pick and selected Harold Baines. We had second pick. "I told our group I wanted to stand up when I made my pitch. I said, 'What do we need They agreed it was pitching. I said, 'Therein lies you answer.

It's Milwaukee selected Molitor third and gave him $100,000 to sign. Kennedy went sixth and also got $100,000 to sign. But the best fcf the bunch could be Gullickson. "It's work, judgment, and luck," said Menendez. MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.

In a game where the total yardage was nearly the same for each team, there was one reason why Central Michigan defeated Illinois State, 16-0, at Perry Shorts Stadium Saturday. The Chippewas made the big plays; ISU didn't. Three plays made a big difference in the outcome for Coach Charlie Cowdrey's crew, now 1-2. First was an 84-yard punt return for a touchdown by Central Michigan's Robert Jackson at the 9:51 mark in the second quarter after the two squads had traded possession four times apiece. The back-breaker for the spirited Red-bird unit, which put together another excellent opening half, occurred with 10:50 remaining in the contest.

Punter Jeff VanderZee passed to Novo Bojovic the Chippewas' place-kicker on a fake field goal attempt for a 19-yard touchdown. Perhaps the key play for Central Michigan, however, was a defensive effort in the final minute before intermission. With a fourth-and-two at the Central Michigan 3, Cowdrey and troops rejected a field goal try. Lorenzo Butler, who had gotten the call four plays earlier on another fourth down play from the 14, was sent into the line. But he came up with no gain and the Chippewas had only to run out the remaining 56 seconds to hold a precarious 7-0 halftime lead.

Central Michigan Coach Herb De-romedi was not pleased with the way his squad looked before a Parents' Day crowd of 24,028 the second largest in the school's history. "When you look bad," he said, "someone else is looking good. Illinois State has a fine football team;" Among the Redbirds that looked good was senior Bill Fenn, who has been hobbled by injuries this season, but led ISU with 52 yards rushing to move into fourth place on the school's career rushing chart with 1,871 yards. "We played a good first half," Cowdrey said. "But we need to put two halves together.

ISU CM Total First Downs 15 16 By rushing 8 11 By passing 7 5 By penalty 0 0 Net yards gained from scrimmage 304 325 By Rushing 177 187 By passing 127 138 Passes attempted 2) 12 Completed 9 9 Intercepted by 0 1 Number of punts 9 5 Average distance 37.0 41.0 Number of Fumbles 6 6 Own fumbles recovered 3 3 Yards penalized 32 58 1.