Southern Illinoisan from Carbondale, Illinois • Page 13

(q a Padres sew it up I TT (TCr7 1 1 Cs Ray Kroc gets jt PtT rTw JJj iXS) his way posthumously jf Page 15 Sor I -fr. -J Poor play religion get in hot water V- attempt to mix religion and sports. In an interview with the Com-mericial-Appeal this week. University president Thomas Carpenter said "a number of good friends (of the university) are sensitive to it and unhappy with it." He defined good friends as including substantial donors. Hall said the underlying concern is that some players are not being played because of their religious beliefs, instead of their talent, although no evidence of that has surfaced.

Dempsey has always maintained that he plays the best players, regardless of their religious beliefs. Dempsey got into hot water this summer with a speech at a national convention of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Dempsey spoke of the "charismatic" movement whose practitioners believe in healing physical ills by the laying on of hands. He later invited audience members to come forth and be healed. Around a dozen people stepped forward.

The FCA is a non-denominational organization. The FCA later issued a formal complaint against Dempsey, and Dempsey apologized. Hall says he believes the concerns expressed this week by boosters about Dempsey's mixture of religion and sports will die down as soon as Memphis State begins playing better. a Southeastern Conference weakling, pasted Memphis State two weeks ago, 22-6, in a contest Dempsey later described as "the worst game I've ever been involved in." Bobby Hall, sportswriter for the Memphis Commerical Appeal, said Memphis State was "the most unorganized team you've ever seen" against Mississippi. Lowlights of the fiasco included offside penalties on defense, delay of game penalties, 12 men on the field and confusion over whether to go for a two-point conversion.

The Tigers, who returned 18 starters, play Cincinnati this week. The on-the-field problems have only exacerbated tensions in the college community about Dempsey's object to is mixing religion and sport. It shouldn't matter whether an athlete is a Christian, Jew or atheist. The only thing that matters is his ability." Dempsey could not be reached for comment. He has steadfastly issued a "no comment" on any ACLU action.

Not all fans are happy with Dempsey's on-the-field maneuvers, either. The Tigers were unimpressive in a 17-2 opening day victory at home over I-AA foe Arkansas State (a team SIU plays host to Saturday). Memphis State had only eight first downs, including two by penalty, and were battled on even terms except for two long pass plays. Mississippi, I Ywmm fre I IT ifcfc? tvrt 'ft $Mi: C'jwr' i 27 straight wins By Scott Monserud Of The Southern lllinoisan Rey Dempsey's honeymoon at Memphis State has been a short one. The former Southern Illinois University football coach has Memphis State followers upset with the fervor of his religious pronouncements and the raggedness of his team's play.

The American Civil Liberties Union in Tennessee, meanwhile, is pursuing a complaint about the way Dempsey involves his team in religion. Bruce Kramer, a lawyer for the ACLU, says the group will file suit if necessary to stop athletes from being pressured to accept fundamentalist Christian beliefs. "We've had any number of complaints," Kramer says. "What we oowo By Scott Monserud Of The Southern lllinoisan Ray Dorr knows there's no exact science to picking the right quarterback. He recalls a guy named Tom Fleck, "the worst practice player you ever saw." Washington coaches refused to play Fleck.

Finally, in a hopeless cause, Fleck was inserted. He nearly pulled the game out. Fleck went on to win the starting job Dixon despite practice habits that had the coaching staff scared stiff of what might happen on game day. In reverse is the situation of Southern Illinois University quarterback Darren Dixon. The senior has consistently shown in practice that he should be the starter.

In the last two games, however, Dixon has been decidedly subpar. What to do? Dorr has given Dixon one more shot to prove he's the man who belongs at quarterback. Joe Graves will play at least one series in the second quarter Saturday against Ar-kanas State, but Dixon is the man. At least for now. "He understands what we're trying to do better than anyone else," Dorr says.

"The thing Darren has to understand is that he doesn't have to win the game by himself. Just execute the game plan, and let it win for you." Dixon's task is a formidable one. Arkansas State, 2-1, is ranked No. 17 in I-AA by the NCAA. The Indians last week crushed Tennessee-Martin, 72-14, and feature a defense Coach Larry Lacewell believes is the best he's had in six years as Indians' coach.

If SIU is to get its offense un-tracked, it has to start with the play of the quarterback. Dorr is clearly not satisfied, nor settled, on his quarterback. "We can't find a quarterback who says, 'I want to be the quarterback. Don't take the job away from I don't care who it is, I want someone to say 'I want Darren has done that better than anyone else, however." Dorr considered giving freshman Pat King a chance to start this week. Freshman Kevin Brown also got a long look.

Neither, however, displayed the leadership to take the job away from Dixon. "I'd like to give them a chance, but neither is ready," Dorr says. "They've made some strides but they have to practice like they belong on the first team. They have to ck TO I -tfff 0 v- V. -1 DO 11X00 How Salukis, Indians stack up Page 14 believe in their hearts they are the ones who play'll Saturday.

I didn't see that in practice." Neither freshmen has mastered the mental approach to being a starter, Dorr says. In last week's written exam on the game plan, they "didn't do well" he says. "Right now they are the untested commodity," Dorr says. "You want to put them in a situation where they will succeed. With a young quarterback, they have to understand why they're getting a chance.

They can't foul it up." Dorr, still looking for his first victory as a collegiate head coach, isn't in a position to worry about hurt feelings. "You're dealing with a touchy situation," he says. "You've got a senior quarterback who is also a captain fighting for his position. Not that any of that bothers me." Dixon has been presented with a game plan that will answer once and for all whether he can throw the football well enough for the Salukis to win. Dorr has stuck with a conservative approach in the first three games, relying on a ball control offense that has sputtered and self destructed.

"This week, we're throwing caution to the wind," Dorr says. "We've made a commitment to throwing the football. That'll put the pressure on Darren. Can he do it? We'll answer that. We're prepared to gamble." The Salukis will test the stingy Indians' defense with the introduction of several new "quick-hitting" plays.

Dorr also has devised schemes to get tailback Derrick Taylor more involved in the offense, both running and catching the ball. The Salukis will show more motion than they have all season in order to free Taylor. Arkansas State's defense is ranked 10th nationally, allowing only 219 yards per game. "They flow real well," Dorr says. "There three linebackers are really good." The Indians have been vulnerable to the deep pass, an area Dorr says the Salukis will have to test.

He's reluctant to do so, however, because of the problem that surfaced against Western Illinois last week, an abundance of third down and long yardage situations. "We can't get in third and long," Dorr says. "If we're going to win, we've got to convert third downs, and to do that, we've got to get in third and short situations." Gametime is 1:30 p.m. as Rey Dempsey: Honeymoon over in Memphis? Herrin 1971-74 was a little surprised with the players' actions. "I thought I'd be thrown in the showers after the game," he says.

"But instead I found several people sitting around crying quietly. It had finally gotten to them how much they had won." "Everybody was going after us," See Teams, Page 15 pnng knows he'll get a scholarship offer. Recruiting takes a lot of time, effort and research." Dear Coach Dorr: Fans can walk up and down the sidelines in high school football games. Why aren't fans allowed to walk the sidelines during college games? Tom Greenwood, Jonesboro "The NCAA has a crowd control rule. Your team can be penalized if you can't control the crowd.

Last year, when the fans jumped over the fence here to tear down the goal posts. Southern could have been hurt. If it's a close game, and you get a penalty because of the crowd, it could really hurt you. In order to control the crowd, the NCAA has stepped in and restricted fans from being on the sidelines." Ask the Coach is a weekly feature of the Southern lllinoisan. Readers are encouraged to send questions to Ask the Coach, Southern lllinoisan, 710 Illinois, Carbondale, 62901.

By Mike Este! Of The Southern lllinoisan Few hard-core Herrin High School football fans will forget Sept. 7, 1974. On that date, the Tigers' 27-game consecutive winning streak came to a screeching halt with a 28-0 loss to Du Quoin. The string began after the third game of the 1971 season when Herrin lost 20-8 to Carbondale. The winning streak was the longest in school history and the longest in Southern Illinois up to that time.

Harrisburg has since tied the mark. The Tigers finished 9-1 in 1971 after the loss and were 20-0 for the next two seasons. They won the South Seven Conference title outright for two years and were co-champions in 1971. Over the three- year span, me ngers posted a record. It's no wonder, therefore, that all talk about the greatest team in Herrin history revolves around the three squads in the early 1970s.

But which one was the greatest? Paul Restivo, the mastermind be hind the winning streak, says the 1971 squad gets the nod. "The 1971 team was probably the strongest and most physical team I ever had," Restivo says. "We had three deep in every position, so we had a lot of competition." The streak didn't begin in 1971, Restivo says. "When you summarize all the glory, you have to look to 1969," says Kestivo, a nrst-year Herrin coach then and the Tigers' athletic director now. "Not knowing much about the kids, we took the seniors and put then on offense and the juniors on defense.

We gave every kid the opportunity to play." The Tigers suffered through 1969 with a dismal 2-7 record, including a season-ending win over Marion. But there was light at the end of the tunnel. "We flourished after winning that Marion game and it put us in the direction we wanted to go," Restivo says. The coach and his team: Paul Restivo led the team as its coach in the early 1970s and now serves as athletic director at the school now. Making up the 1971 team, which Restivo thinks was the toughest of the teams of the era, are: Top Row: (61) Bill Beltz, (88) Joe Hosman, (83) Bruce Smith, (33 Jerry Watson, (23) Mike Childers, (81) Barry Jeralds, (21) Rick Brandon, (10) Steve McCree, (79) Jack Mueth, (63) Rocky Howard.

Second Row: Chuck Koerner, coach; Bruce Jilek, coach; Mike Sweeney, manager; (74) Ken Clarida, (73) Leonard Ainslie, (78) Dan Kenner, (28) Jim Miller, (27) Randy Lively, (82) Tim Bryne, (50) Keith Ferrari, (12) Chris Dillman, (75) Donald Nickens, Pat Creek, manager, Paul Restivo, head coach. Bottom Row: Tony Gualdoni, Manager; (22) Steve Goins, (72) Mark Redfearn, (50) Denny Beltz, (62) Paul Kosco, (60) Glen Nunley, (69) Mike Garavalia, (26) Dave Erwin, (53) Fred Smith, (20) Mark Desjardins, (40) Rodney Jones, David Killman, manager. Editor's Note This is the first in a series of articles about the greatest high school football teams ever to play in Southern Illinois. Each Friday for the remainder of the high school season, the Southern lllinoisan will feature what is considered the greatest team in one school's history. The Tigers bounced back to go 7-3 the following year.

Sophomore running back Rodney Jones scampered for 1,130 yards. However, the 1971 team is the one that stands out in Restivo's mind. Standouts on the 1971 squad included Joe Hosman, Jerry Watson, Leonard Ainslie, Dan Kenner, Glen Nunley, Randy Lively, Randy Shadowens and Paul Cosco. Restivo says Mike Childers was the most versatile player and Rick Brandon was a top-notch punter. Jones also had another great season, grinding out 1,355 yards rushing.

Herrin averaged 359 yards a game, while opponents were limited to 110. The Tigers averaged 35.9 points a game. After the loss to Carbondale, Herrin ripped through the remainder of the schedule, defeating Centralia 33-13, Benton 34-6, Harrisburg 46-6, Johnston City 55-6, Marion 62-14 and Murphysboro 40-0. In 1972, the Tigers were unstoppable, outscgring opponents 280-95. It was the first undefeated Herrin team since 1932.

The closest game was a 15-14 win over Benton. The Tigers drubbed Harrisburg 41-0, West Frankfort 43-0 and Marion 40-8. Jones, who was named to the All-State team in 1972, closed out his prep career with 3,850 yards rushing. He had scored 44 touchdowns and averaged 7.6 yards per carry. "Rodney was probably the most dynamic runner we've ever had," Restivo says.

The following year, Chuck Foster took Jones' place. Cczch By Ray Dorr from their choices, for any number of reasons. "During the high school season, we'll see games in person on Thursday and Friday. We've been to about 15 games this fall looking at kids we know we're interested in. Each Wednesday and Thursday, each position coach calls his top 20 recruits.

You are allowed no personal contact at their home or school in-season. They are allowed to visit your campus, however. Last week, we had around 15 players in for a visit. This week, we'll have around 20 kids. i Ink back into hibernation thes Most mcruffinQ "Teams could stop Jones and Foster," Restivo says.

"But we had other talents. We had good kickoff and specialty teams, too." In 1973, the closest game for the Tigers was a 6-0 win over Carbondale. Herrin finished the year with its 27th consecutive win, a 28-18 victory over Marion. Restivo says he "In November, you'll go back on the road. We'll get film and evaluate our top players.

We're allowed to visit six times, three at their school, and three in their home. "In researching a recruit, we have the position coach evaluate him, we look at the height, weight and speed chart, we have the high school coaches' evaluation and we have two coaches whose team played against him evaluate. "The signing date for high school players is in early February-. Junior college players can sign in December so they can enroll for the second semester. We'll consider looking at some junior college players this year.

"In Southern Illinois, this is a good year for senior talent. We're looking at around 25 players. There are around five players we believe have an excellent chance to play at this level of competition. Tfce youngster really knows he's getting recruited when the head coach comes to his house. Then he beains in CHICAGO (AP) These Chicago Cubs, though worlds removed from their 1969 predecessors, still live with the fear of failure.

"We're not relaxing. The intensity level may be down, but we're definitely not relaxing," Chicago shortstop Larry Bowa said Thursday after Pittsburgh's Johnny Ray delivered an eighth-inning, game-winning sacrifice fly. to complete the Pirates' 7-6 come-from-behind win over the Cubs. The loss was the third straight to the Pirates and the fourth in a row for the National League East Division-leading Chicagoans, matching their longest previous skid of the season as they headed for three games in St. Louis.

It also froze the Cubs' magic number to clinch their first post-season trip in 39 years at 3. But more important, perhaps, it made for some furtive glances in a clubhouse where smiles have been standard post-game apparel. Though no team members remain from the 1969 squad which lost an Dear Coach Dorr: There isn't as much discussion about football recruiting as compared to basketball recruiting. When is most of the scouting, evaluating and actual recruiting of high school and Junior college football players done? Mike Zipfel, Red Bud. "Recruiting actually starts in the spring.

In May and June, the coaches visit high schools. They are not allowed to talk to the players at their school until the completion of competition in their senior year. We send out research cards to all high schools in areas we recruit asking the coach to recommend his best player and a player in the conference they compete in. "We compile our master directory of players we're interested in and then narrow the list down in the fall. We may actually recruit around 150 kids.

A Mot of things happen from there. They may not have the academics to get into Southern Illinois University. They may eliminate us MAGIC NUMBER 8-game lead late in August to the "Miracle Mets" the lesson isn't lost on veterans like Bowa, who was completing his minor-league stint before being called up to the Phillies the following season. "We're just not playing like we should be," said Bowa of the four-game stretch. "Maybe because nobody is making a run at us and the Mets have been losing, we're saying mentally, 'Not to "But the next thing you know," they'll win seven in a row," he added..