The Salina Journal from Salina, Kansas • Page 25

The Salina Journal Sunday, September 29, 1985 Page 25. Cajuns storm back to defeat Shockers Craig Chandler Missouri Western's Chris Ball (right) pulls down Fort Hays State's Eric Busenbark following a six-yard pass reception from Robert Long. Tigers' defense shuts down Griffons By BRAD CATT Assistant Sports Editor HAYS Make no mistake. Fort Hays State's football team lives and dies with the passing game engineered by quarterback Robert Long. In Saturday's Central States Conference opener at Lewis Field, the senior from Macon, was simply brilliant while leading the Tigers to a 17-7 victory over Missouri Western.

He shattered one school mark (38 completions) and came within a whisker of breaking FHSU's single-game passing record of 401 yards. "Long's dynamite," said Western coach Rob Hicklin after his club lost its third straight contest to fall to 1-3. "He might be head and shoulders above the rest of the quarterbacks in this conference." But Long wasn't the main reason the Tigers were able to open conference play with a victory and improve their overall record to 3-0-1. It was Fort Hays State's unheralded defense which keyed this triumph as the Tiger unit blanked the Griffons through the first quarters. And FHSU coach John Vincent didn't mind thanking Hicklin for giving the Tiger staff some dandy bulletin board material.

"I have a lot of respect for Rod and his program," Vincent said after the contest. "But we were pretty pumped up because of some things he said in the paper. He said he didn't think our defense would be much of a problem." MISSOURI WESTERN VS. FORT HAYS STATE GAME IN STATS First downs Rushes-yards Passing yards Total Offense Punts-Avg. Fumbles-Tost Penalties-yards MW 19 34-117 336 22-40-2 74-453 4-3 6-34 21 FHS 19 (-10) 38-58-1 69-389 2-0 6-53 Individual Statistics RUSHING Missouri Western: Holland 1759, Raczkowski 9-32, A.Williams 4-(minus 5), Hartman 4-31.

Fort Hays State: Thomas 14-12, Worth 1-1, Long 6-(mlnus 23). PASSING Missouri Western: A.Williams Fort Hays State: Long 38-581-399. RECEIVING Missouri Western: E.Hoskins 8-185, Raczkowski 5-49, Bruder 3-43, Holland 4-28, K.Hoskins 1-15, Hagel 1-16. Fort Hays State: Knox 6-93, Stewart 10-89, Thomas 8-77, Busenbark 10-76, Humphrey 4-64. PUNTING Missouri Western: Tim- mermeyer Fort Hays State: Holloway Scoring Summary Missouri Western 0007 7 Fort Hays State 0 7 3 FHS Busenbark 5 yd.

pass from Long (Odle kick). FHS Odle 27 yd. field goal. FHS Knox 9 yd. pass from Long (Odle kick).

MW E.Hoskins 35 yd. pass from A.Williams (Bruder kick). If Hicklin has anything to do with it, no edition of the St. Joseph (Mo.) Gazette will ever again make its way to Hays. "We put it (the article) on the bulletin board on Thursday," Vincent said.

"They hit hard on the practice field that day there were a couple of fights. And it carried over to today. They really got after it." Western did rack up 453 yards 64 more than the Tigers. But each time the Griffons smelled the goal line, they got the jitters. The boys from St.

Joe committed five turn- overs, two lost fumbles near the FHSU end zone. "Fort Hays has a good ballclub," Hicklin said. "But we just self-destructed. We had our opportunities we just didn't do it." While the Tiger defense was keeping Western off the Scoreboard, Long nickel and dimed the Griffon defense to death. Almost all of his 38 completions (on 58 attempts) were underneath Western's linebackers.

"We call it our run-and-shoot set," Vincent said. "It's based on the same philosophy BYU (Brigham Young) uses. It's designed to control the ball with short passes." But it wasn't the 38 completions or 399 yards which pleased Vincent most. It was the number (1) that was placed in FHSU's interception column. Long had thrown 10 interceptions in the Tigers' first three outings.

"For as many times as we throw the ball, we'll be satisfied with only one interception," Vincent said. "Today, he was so much more disciplined. When it wasn't there, he was putting it in the nickel seats, which is what you have to do." Long didn't throw many passes away in the first half when he completed 21 of 26. The biggest completion came on the first play of the second quarter when Long connected with slotback Eric Busenbark for a five-yard touchdown. The TD capped a nine-play drive, which featured 18 and 20-yard completions from Long to tailback Ter- ry Thomas.

Western had two great opportunities to get the game tied before halftime. But after driving the Griffons 78 yards to the the FHSU 6- yard line, Western quarterback Andy Williams fumbled the ball without being hit and FHSU's Adam Lowitz was Johnny-on-the-spot. On Western's next possession, the Griffons moved from their own 20 to the FHSU 11 before running back Jeff Holland was stripped of the ball and Charming Day came up with the turnover. "We forced the second one (fumble) but the first one was like a miracle," Vincent said. "But we'll take it however we can get it." The Tigers improved their advantage to 10-0 on their first possession of the second half when place-kicker Tom Odle capped a 52-yard march by hitting a line drive through the uprights from 27 yards out.

The FHSU lead was extended to 17-0 with 9:04 remaining in the contest when Long hit split end Randy Knox with a nine-yard scoring pass. A 30-yard completion from Long to slotback Kip Stewart highlighted the five-play, 60-yard drive. Western averted a shutout when Williams hit Eric Hoskins with a 38- yard TD pass with 6:06 remaining. Fort Hays State will remain at home next Saturday when the Tigers entertain Kearney State in a 2 p.m. homecoming contest at Lewis Field.

Nebraska plucks Ducks LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) Reserve I-back Paul Miles rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns to lead 16th-ranked Nebraska to a 63-0 victory over Oregon Saturday. Nebraska rolled to a 42-0 halftime lead as Miles scored on runs of 46 and 1 yard and rolled up 113 yards rushing by intermission in relief of starter Doug DuBose. DuBose, ranked fifth nationally in rushing, went to the sidelines with just over six minutes to play in the first quarter when he injured a knee carrying to the 1-yard line on Nebraska's first scoring drive. Fullback Tom Rathman ran in from the 1 to cap that drive.

Reserve fullback Ken Kaelin then added a three-yard score in the opening quarter. The 2-1 Cornhuskers put 28 points on the board in the second quarter on a one-yard run by Travis Turner, a 25-yard run by Keith Jones and on Miles' two runs. Von Sheppard scored on an eight- yard wingback around to open the second half for Nebraska. Sheppard added another six points on a 27- yard reverse about six minutes later before the Husker reserves completed the game. Third-string fullback Dan Casterline capped a 99-yard drive with a four-yard TD run in the Nebraska fourth quarter.

The Ducks slipped to 2-2 with the loss. In nine first-half possessions, Nebraska scored six touchdowns, missed a 30-yard field goal and tried a fake field goal from the Oregon 18. The Husker defense snuffed Oregon's potent offense, allowing just Neb 29 77-444 145 77 9-14-0 4-39 3-0 8-68 41:09 OREGON VS. NEBRASKA GAME IN STATS Ore First downs 7 Rushes-yards 27-73 Passing-yards 33 Return yards 55 Passes 7-28-4 Punts 9-43 Fumbles-lost 4-2 Penalties-yards 9-75 Time of Possession 18:51 Individual Statistics RUSHING Oregon, Cherry 12-55, Willhite 5-11. Nebraska, DuBose 8-27, Rathman 12-52, Miles 17-156, Sheppard 3-59.

PASSING Oregon, Miller 6-20-2 24, Coppedge 1-5-1 9. Nebraska, Clayton 5-8-0 108, Turner 2-3-0 20, Blakeman 2-3-0 17. RECEIVING Oregon, Cherry 3-14, Barnes 1-8, Jackson 1-9. Nebraska, Sheppard 2-65, Lindstrom 2-40. Scoring Summary Oregon 000 Nebraska 14 28 14 Neb 1 run (Klein kick) Neb 3 run (Klein kick) Neb 1 run (Klein kick) Neb 46 run (Klein kick) Neb 25 run (Klein kick) Neb 1 run (Klein kick) Neb 8 run (Klein kick) Neb 27 run (Klein kick) Neb 4 run (Cheolha kick) 14 passing yards and 32 rushing yards in the first half.

The Black Shirts also recovered two Duck fumbles and intercepted a pair of passes. With the help of the turnovers, Nebraska held good field position troughout the half. Of 100 snaps in the half, 88 were on the Oregon side of the 50-yard line. Oregon quarterback Chris Miller, who has averaged more than 200 yards passing in his first three games, managed just six completions in 20 attempts for 24 yards. He was picked off three times, two of which led to Nebraska touchdowns.

The Ducks' Tony Cherry, the nation's ninth-leading rusher, was held to 55 yards on 12 tries. Oregon managed to penetrate Nebraska territory only twice in the contest. OU slips past Gophers MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Second-ranked Oklahoma's tough, speedy defense, led by ends Darrell Reed and Kevin Murphy, held off a late rush by Minnesota Saturday night, enabling Earl Johnson's short touchdown dive and two 21-yard Tim Lashar field goals to hold up in the Sooners' 13-7 victory. A fumbled punt by Sonny Brown at Oklahoma's 19-yard line led to Minnesota's only score, a 12-yard touchdown pass from Rickey Foggie to Kevin Starks with 4:15 left in the game. Minnesota, 2-1, had one more chance to pull off the upset, getting the ball on its own 30-yard line with 1:05 to play, but could advance no farther than Oklahoma's 32-yard line.

Despite holding the ball for 21:54 of the first half and out- gaining Minnesota 195-30 yards, the Sooners were only able to take a 10-0 halftime lead. On Oklahoma's second possession of the game, Lashar's first field goal capped an 11-play, 56- yard drive to make it 3-0 with 3:43 left in the first quarter. The next time they had the ball, the Sooners went 60 yards in 14 plays and took a 10-point lead on Johnson's 1-yard touchdown leap. The fourth-down play came 5:09 into the second period. Oklahoma ran for 168 yards 73 by Spencer Tillman, who went qut with a pulled hamstring two plays into the second quarter and picked up 14 first downs in the opening half.

But when Lashar missed field goals of 49 and 50 yards, the Sooners were unable to put any more points on the board. Buffs score narrow win over Arizona TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) Colorado quarterback Mark Hatcher plunged into the end zone from two yards out, capping a 40-yard scoring drive set up by a pass interception, to give the Buffaloes a 14-13 victory over Arizona Saturday night. Hatcher's touchdown late in the third quarter came after safety John Nairn had picked off a pass at midfield and returned it to the Arizona 40. Colorado improved its season record to 3-1, while Arizona fell to 3-1 overall.

Colorado got its first touchdown on a seven-yard run by halfback Ron Brown in the second quarter. Arizona's defense forced three third-quarter turnovers as the Wildcats fought back from a 7-3 halftime deficit to go ahead 13-7 on quarterback Alfred Jenkins' 11-yard pass to split end Jon Horton and Max Zendejas' second field goal of the night. Zendejas kicked a 46-yard field goal in the first quarter and added a 54-yarder in the third. He missed a game-winning attempt from 61 yards with 3:09 remaining in the game. Zendejas' 54-yard effort equaled his career best, achieved on two previous occasions.

I By STEPHEN WHITE Sports Writer WICHITA Throughout most of the contest, it appeared the contrast of Wichita State's outstanding kicking game and Southwestern Louisiana's atrocious kicking game would spell the difference Saturday night at Cessna Stadium. Though that contributed to a 15-0 Wichita State lead midway through the third period, it proved not to be decisive. Wichita State's inability to push the ball in for touchdowns after taking over at USL's 4- and 22-yard lines in the first half and a critical breakdown in the Shockers' extra- point blocking proved to be the difference. Southwestern Louisiana's Rajin' Cajuns came storming back to record their second spectacular come- from-behind victory in as many weeks, upending Wichita State, 2315. "I think we were way, way better than we ever were last year, but we're not good enough to make major mistakes and still win," said WSU coach Ron Chismar, whose Shockers fell to 1-3 after posting a 29 mark a year ago.

"Fifteen points isn't enough to win many games, but I think 16 would have won tonight." A seemingly insignificant blunder at the time, WSU had its extra-point kick blocked after Valasco Smith scored on a 13-yard run to extend WSU's lead to 15-0. The missed point changed the complexion of the contest when USL mounted its comeback. A four-yard touchdown run by Thomas Jackson drew the Cajuns even with 7:12 to play. And instead of deciding between going for the lead or a tie, the Cajuns needed only to tack on the routine PAT-kick to take the lead. In the first half, however, it was USL's kicking game that blundered and WSU's that excelled.

USL lost its starting punter, Terry Falgout, after his first punt when he suffered a sprained ankle when a WSU end was blocked into him. Backup punter Glen Floyd shanked his first punt out of bounds only 11 yards downfield. His next kick traveled only nine yards and left Wichita State at the Cajuns' 15- yard line. A 42-yard punt by WSU's Dave Armagost had pinned the Cajuns' at their 2-yard line before Floyd shanked his second punt. Two plays later, WSU had first- and-goal at the 4 but had to settle for Brad Fleeman's 21-yard field goal.

USL marched right back, but the Cajuns' kicking woes continued as Patrick Broussard missed a 31-yard field goal attempt. Fleeman tacked on 39- and 26- yard field goals to give Wichita State a 9-0 lead at the intermission. WSU's lead went to 15-0 as Smith covered the last 39 yards of a 48- yard drive, scoring at the 7:17 mark WICHITA STATE VS. SW LOUISIANA GAME IN STATS USL WSU First downs 21 14 Rushes-yards 65-318 33-136 Passing yards 84 127 Comp-Att-int 7-18-1 13-31-0 Fumbles-lost 8-1 1-0 Punts-Avg Penalties-yards 4-34 1-10 Individual Statistics RUSHING USL: Jackson 19-139, Kizer 1965. Campbell 14-14, Williams 11-68.

King 2-(5). WSU: Smith 16-86. Eaton 9-31, Denson 4-6. McDonald 4-1. PASSING USL: Campbell 6-16-1-62.

King 1-2-0-15. WSU: McDonald 13-31-0-127. RECEIVING USL: Perkins 3-39. Savannah 2-28. Herrick 1-6, Culpepper 1-11.

WSU: Pierce 5-51, Smith 3-26. Denson 2-21. Fewin 1-18, Eaton 1-7, Owens 1-4. PUNTING USL: Broussard Floyd 2- lO.o, Falgout WSU: Armagost Scoring Summary SW Louisiana 0 0 6 17 23 Wichita State 096 WSU Fleeman 21 yd. field goal WSU Fleeman 39 yd.

field goal WSU Fleeman 26 yd. field goal WSU Smith 13 yd. run USL Williams 4 yd. run (pass failed) USL Broussard 50 yd. field goal USL Jackson 4 yd.

run (Broussard kick) USL Jackson 3 yd. run (Broussard kick) of the third quarter. Derrick Westfield then set up the Shockers with an interception at USL's 34-yard line, but the Shockers failed to capitalize and the momentum, though not immediately, shifted 180 degrees. Jackson, the second-leading rusher in USL history, personally took matters into his hands in the second half, rushing for 134 yards after carrying only twice for a total of five yards in the first half. Late in the third quarter, Jackson popped through WSU's line for a 63- yard gallop to set up the Cajuns' initial score, a four-yard run by Dwayne Williams.

Thinking ahead, the Cajuns' went for two so they could tie the contest with another TD. But Clint Campbell's conversion pass was intercepted. Broussard atoned for his earlier miss with a 50-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, then Jackson's four-yard TD run and Broussard's kick put USL ahead, 16-15, with 7:12 to play. Jackson added a three-yard TD run with 46 seconds to play after WSU turned the ball over on downs at its 15-yard line. Chismar lauded WSU's kicking game, which kept the ball away from standout return specialist Joe Redding while pinning USL deep several times.

But, ultimately, the Shocker special teams made a mistake that proved costly. "We played hard and we played well good enough to win. But we made some major mistakes. We don't score (a TD) on first-and-goal at the 4, we got an extra-point blocked, and we let them go for 61 yards (63, actually) on a basic dive play. That was ridiculous." McPherson dips Ottawa McPHERSON (AP) Vic Ullon passed for one touchdown and Derek Pierce ran for another as McPherson defeated turnover- plagued Ottawa 13-6 Saturday night in a Kansas Conference game.

Thomas leads OSU romp STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) Tailback Thurman Thomas scored four touchdowns to lead No. 7 Oklahoma State to a 45-10 victory over Miami of Ohio Saturday night. Thomas scored on a 58-yard punt return just 1:44 into the game, and added three touchdown runs from the 3 and twice from the 1 as the Cowboys improved to 3-0. After the punt return, Gary Gussman drilled a 35-yard field goal for Miami of Ohio to make the score 73.

Thomas then capped a 13-play, 76-yard drive by going in from three yards out. The Cowboys made it 17-3 when Joey O'Donnell kicked a 36-yard field goal late in the first quarter. Miami tailback George Swarn, averaging 156.5 yards rushing coming into the game, was held to just seven yards on 12 carries. His five- yard touchdown reception at 9:54 of the second period ended the Redskins' scoring. Thomas, the nation's No.

2 rusher, gave Oklahoma State a 24-10 halftime lead with a one-yard leap midway through the second quarter. Thomas' final score came at 6:34 of the fourth quarter. He finished with 90 yards on 23 carries. Oklahoma State's vaunted defense put points on the board in the third period when defensive end Harry Roberts returned an interception 19 yards for a touchdown. The Cowboys' final score came with 50 seconds remaining when Curtis Luper scored on a one-yard leap.

Miami of Ohio, from the Mid- American Conference, dropped to 12. MIAMI (OHIO) VS. OKLAHOMA STATE GAME IN STATS Mia OSU First downs Rushes-yards Passing yards Return yards Passes Punts Fumbles-lost Penalties-yards Time of Possession 11 26-54 197 53 21-38-3 7-41 0-0 6-38 29:40 21 58-298 72 110 8-17-2 4-39 1-1 5-43 30:20 Individual Leaders Graham 7-38, Thomas 315, Swarn 12-7. Oklahoma Thomas 24-91. Nash 13-63, Miller 3-62, Timmons 10-44, Luper 4-16, Green 1-15.

Morris 13-25-1-132. Marlow 8-13-2-65. Oklahoma Rankin 8-16-272, Dykes 0-1-0-0. Swarn 10-94, Dauch 531, Murphy 2-24, Arthur 1-32. Oklahoma Dillard 3-31.

Beck 1-20, Brown 1-9. Dykes 1-8. Scoring Summary Miami, Ohio 370 Oklahoma State 17 7 7 58 punt return (O'Donnell kick) Gussman 35 3 run (O'Donnell kick) O'Donnell 36 5 pass from Morris (Gussman kick) 1 run (O'Donnell kick) 19 pass interception (O'Donnell kick) 1 run (O'Donnell kick) 1 run (Dennis kick) Swarn, ranked sixth among the nation's rushers entering the game, was stymied on the ground but did catch a team-record tying 10 passes for 94 yards. Oklahoma State quarterback Rusty Rankin completed 8 of 16 passes for 72 yards. His third-down completions of 19 and 20 yards kept alive the drive that resulted in Thomas' second-period touchdown.

The four touchdowns by Thomas left him one short of the school record set in 1976 by Terry Miller, who scored five times against Kansas State. Thomas, who rushed for 237 and 190 yards previously, now is averaging 156 yards per game..