Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 39

college football DETROIT FREE PRESSWEDNESDAY, JAN. 1, 1986 5C Teammate, fumble upstage MSU's White Charlie Vincent BIRMINGHAM, Ala. It was supposed to be the beginning of Lorenzo White's bid for the 1986 Heisman Trophy. It was supposed to be the night he awoke the Deep South to the fact he was the rightful successor to Bo Jackson. The All American Bowl was to be the showcase, and Lorenzo White was to be the star.

Somewhere along the way the pages of the script got I jumbled. Somewhere along the way, Mark Ingram got the impression he was not just a part of White's supporting cast. It was evident, however, that that was all Georgia Tech saw him as. On the biggest play of a deadly dull first half, the Yellow Jackets completely forgot about Ingram, a junior flanker from Flint. They let him stand all alone, split to the left.

And they let him run into the end zone, all alone, to catch the pass from Dave Yarema that staked the Spartans to a 7-0 lead. Foul, cried Georgia Tech athletic director Homer Rice. Foul! Foul! Foul! Rice thought the Spartans had cheated. Used deception. Taken advantage.

He got on the press box phone and called the officials to the sideline phone, where he could lodge his complaint. starters, then overcame the handicap with a nasty defense. "They were well prepared for me," said White, who rushed for 158 yards nevertheless. "Every time I got the ball, I had to try to cut back from their pursuit, and a lot of the times when I cut back they were there already." White's night included gains of 12, 18 and 27 yards. But three times he was thrown for losses and four other times he was stopped at the line of scrimmage.

And his last carry was the biggest disaster of all. When the Spartans finally got the ball back, for one, final, futile effort 70 yards from the Georgia Tech goal and with only a minute left on the clock he was helpless. The Spartans didn't need a runner then. They needed a bomb. And a miracle.

They didn't get either. "Usually in passing situations, I stay in and block, but in that last series, I released and went into some of the pass patterns," White said. Georgia Tech's defense had center stage then, though. They swarmed all over Yarema, sacking him once, forcing a couple of incompletions and intercepting his final throw. And in the end, Lorenzo White Heisman Trophy candidate could do nothing but stand on the sidelines, hands on his hips, helmet in his hand, and look to next year.

Poor Lorenzo White. His Herculean durability got the Spartans here, but in the end he had to take a big part of the blame for the loss. He had fumbled just three times in 386 regular-season carries. But on his 33d and last carry Tuesday night, with the Spartans trying to protect a 14-10 lead, he fumbled. And the Yellow Jackets used that turnover to push in the winning touchdown.

"For me this was the start of the Heisman bid," said White, who has a habit of setting goals. "It was a great start, but right now, during the course of the game, I wasn't thinking about that; I was just trying to help my team to victory. "On the fumble, I was going down and somebody hit the ball from the side. I tried to cover up the ball, but it got' knocked away." DESPITE INGRAM'S TOUCHDOWNS, White had been the most enduring player on the stage that was Legion Field's 1 00 yards of artificial turf. He was, as he had been all season, the man the Spartans went to over and over.

It was no surprise. But Wisconsin knew what to expect and could not stop him. Indiana did, too. And Minnesota. And all the teams the Spartans had faced this season.

Few did as well with him as did the Yellow Jackets, who tied their offensive hands behind them by suspending three There's a rule on the books that says a player cannot line up more than 1 5 yards from the ball if he does not go into the huddle. Rice said Ingram didn't go into the huddle. The officials said he did. Look at the films, said Rice. We will, said the officials.

In the wake of Georgia Tech's come-f rom-behind, 17-14 victory, of course, that point is moot. BY THE TIME THE NIGHT was over, Georgia Tech knew it no longer could overlook Ingram, who scored both Michigan State touchdowns on passes from Yarema. At the end of the night, he was voted the game's most valuable player. And had it not been for an atypical mistake by White, those two touchdowns would have been enough to give MSU its first bowl victory in 30 years. -h 1 Ga.

Tech 17, Michigan St. 14 Spartan kid finds a home at Tech How they scored ALL AMERICAN BOWL -(at Birmingham, Ala.) 1st 2d 3d 4tti Final 0 7 0 7 14 0 0 7 10 17 Michigan State Georgia Tech First quarter No scoring. Second quarter Michigan State; Ingram six-yard pass from Yarema (Caudell conversion). Drive: 48 yards, lour plavs. Key: Yarema's 37-yard pass to Ingram after Moore's interception of Tech pass at Tech 48.

Time: 2:03 left. Spartans 7, Yellow Jackets 0. Third quarter Georgia Tech: Rampley one-yard sneak (Bell conversion). Drive: 64 yards, four plays. Key: King's 54-yard run lo one.

Time: 11:14 left. Spartans 7, Yellow Jackets 7. Michigan State: Ingram 27-yard pass from Yarema. (Caudell conversion). Drive: 38 yards, two plavs, set up by Montgomery's punt out of bounds at Tech 2.

Time: 4:41 left. Spartans 14, YeHow Jackets 7. Fourth quarter Georgia Tech: Bell 40-yard field goal. Drive: 57 yards, 14 plavs. Time: 7:08 left.

Spartans 14, Yellow Jackets 10. Georgia Tech: King five-yard run (Bell conversion). Drive: 42 yards, eight plays alter retaining ball on roughing-the-oasser penalty. Time: 1:50 left. Yellow Jackets 17, Spartans 14.

Attendance: 45,000. Team statistics AP Photo Georgia Tech's Nate Kelsey is hit by MSU's Dean Altobelli. He carried twice for 10 yards. Spartans succumb to penalties MSU Tech First downs 14 16 Rushing 7 9 Passing 5 5 Penalty 2 2 Rushing yards 179 199 Rushing plays 39 48 Sacksyards lost 531 617 Avg. gain per rush 4.6 4.2 Passing yards 85 99 Passes attempted 15 23 Passes completed 6 12 Interceptions thrown 1 1 Avg.

gain per pass 5.7 4.3 to be as far away from home as I was," he said. "It was a great feeling to be back home. It was just nice." He ran on the Michigan State track, in the shadow of Spartan Stadium. He worked out with Tony Mandaric, Michigan State's freshman offensive tackle. He spent some time with his dad.

And one day he picked up the telephone, called Georgia Tech coach Bill Curry and said he was not returning to Atlanta this fall. "I told him all the reasons I thought he should stay," Curry said. "He was getting his classwork done, he had the respect uf his teammates, but he just felt like Atlanta was a long way from East Lansing." So Curry called MSU coach George Perles and told him Georgia Tech would release Kelsey from his scholarship commitment if the Spartans would like to have him. And late in the summer Kelsey and Perles talked about his future as a Spartan. He would be a backup player, but both were sure he could contribute.

They shook hands. Kelsey was to become a Spartan. Sometime in August, though, he began to have doubts again. "I had some questions as to whether I wanted to be emotionally happy or I wanted to do what I felt was right," he said. "I felt I needed to be at Georgia Tech because I'd made a decision to attend Georgia Tech and I like to complete things that I start.

"They were in conflict. When you go far away from home you get a little homesick. That's what was telling me, 'Go home, go But I wanted to stay at Georgia Tech; there were just a lot of strong emotions. I wanted security, as all people do. "It was a little scary being a little bit away from home.

But I realized I really needed to continue to grow and I wasn't sure if I could grow as a person, the way I wanted to, in East Lansing. I felt like I needed to be challenged more." Perles says he still isn't sure just what changed Kelsey's mind. "One morning I woke up, and there was a message that said he was on his way back to Atlanta," Perles said. By CHARLIE VINCENT Free Press Sports Writer BIRMINGHAM, Ala. Nate Kelsey went home last summer and it looked so good he didn't want to leave.

Kelsey is the square-jawed, crew-cut young man who wore No. 1 in Tuesday night's All American Bowl. No. 1 in the black jerseys. Georgia Tech.

But Kelsey doesn't drawl, and grits aren't his favorite food. Until a year ago he had no idea who Bobby Dodd was. Or Maxie Baughan. Or Eddie Lee Ivery. Or any of the other heroes of Georgia Tech legend and lore.

Nate Kelsey grew up in East Lansing, wanting to be a Spartan. And he could have been. He played tight end on the East Lansing team that lost to Birmingham Brother Rice in the Class A high school playoff final two years ago at the Sil verdome. And he played in the Michigan High School All-Star Game. But a telephone call from a stranger changed his direction.

"I had never heard of Georgia Tech," Kelsey said, "until an assistant from Georgia Tech called me and asked if I was interested in coming down and looking at the school. "I said, 'Like, you're the Bulldogs, And he said, 'No, that's Georgia. We're the Yellow And he explained to me how they were in a rebuilding program. "The only southern schools I'd heard of were Georgia and Auburn, Clemson, Alabama schools that were good all the time." After the romancing to which high school stars have become accustomed, Kelsey chose Georgia Tech over Michigan, Michigan State and Air Force. He packed his bags for Atlanta, said so long to his dad and headed south.

It was not what he expected. First, he hurt his shoulder. Then a knee. The Yellow Jackets redshirted him while they tried to find a place for him. TIGHT END.

LINEBACKER. Fullback. None of it worked. Kelsey had a fine first year in the classroom, but he didn't progress any on the gridiron and he was homesick. So when classes ended he couldn't get back to East Lansing fast enough.

"I contemplated whether I wanted 281 71 4.0 20 547 12 637 8 111 0 230 12 233 54 4.3 21 328 13 636.7 214 0 447 01 Total yards Offensive Plays Avg. pain per plav Fumbleslost Penaltiesvards Interceptionsyards Punlsaverage Punt returns yards Blocked punts KickoH returnsyards FG madeattempts 35:03 24:57 Time of possession Individual statistics play), which would be a penalty. The officials disagreed. There was nothing lonesome about the second Spartan TD. That came after Greg Montgomery's punt out of bounds had pinned the Jackets at their 2.

The return kick gave MSU the ball at Tech's 38. White gained 11 yards, then Yarema threw a strike down the middle and Ingram snatched it in the end zone, despite Tech cornerback Mike Travis' tight coverage. That gave State a 14-7 lead, which looked golden until the penalty flags flew down the stretch. "The last drive was a thing of beauty," Curry said. "Taking it in the end zone when it counted is as fine as anything we've accomplished." "Breaks, like in every game, make the difference," MSU coach George Pedes said.

"We had an untimely fumble and an untimely roughing penalty and it hurt. "We got beat by a better team than us and that's how it goes." RAMPLEY HIT 12 of 23 passes for 99 yards with one interception. Yarema was six-of-15, also with one interception. In the end, it was an Alabama jubilee for the Engineers, who countered White with four running backs led by King, a 5-foot-9 sophomore who helped Tech total 199 yards on the ground to State's 179. While White was gaining his yards (he wound up the season with 2,066 yards), the big plays were coming on Yarema's passes to Ingram.

The first touchdown was reminiscent of Army's old Lonesome End routine. A 37-yard pass to Ingram, flying down the sideline, had taken MSU to the Tech 1 1 Before third do wn at the 6, State used a time-out and decided to send White on a pitch-out. "But when we came out of the huddle, nobody was on me," Ingram said. "I looked at Dave and he looked at me and he just tossed the ball to me." Tech accused Ingram of not having been in the huddle and lining up 15 yards from the huddle (the old sleeper ALL AMERICAN BOWL, from Page 1C Still, the damage seemed minimal and the Spartans began what would have been a game-clinching drive late in the final period. But White, hammered all night by Tech's Black Watch defense, fumbled away the ball at the State 42.

But with the Yellow Jackets moving in, Anthony Bell picked off Ram-pley's pass and carried it back to the Georgia Tech 30. The interception was nullified when MSU was called for roughing Rampley on the play. Tech retained the ball and finished off the game in eight plays. King zipped five yards for the winning touchdown with 1:50 left. The victory vindicated Curry's decision to send veteran quarterback John Dewberry, leading receiver Gary Lee and two other players home for curfew violations.

"This is the finest experience I've ever had in athletics," Curry said. "These players have overcome an awful lot of things. Todd Rampley was put in the most difficult circumstances one can possibly imagine." Michigan State Aft Yds Avg Lng TD RUSHING While 33 158 4.8 2 7 0 Yarema 4 -18 2 0 Morris 2 8 4.0 8 0 PASSING Att Cmp Yds TD iirt Yarema 15 6 85 2 1 RECEIVING No. Yds Lng TD Ingram 3 70 37 2 Rison 1 18 18 0 Belk 1 4 4 0 Morse 1 -7-7 0 PUNTING No. Yds Avg Lng Montgomery 6 220 36.7 56 PUNT RET.

No. Yds Avg Lng Parker 1 7 7.0 7 Morse 1 7 7.0 7 KICKOFF RET. No! Yds Lng TD Ingram 3 40 14 0 Rolle 17 7 0 TACKLES Solo Ast Sckvds Total Bullough 9 7 2 3 16 T. Moore 8 7 0 0 15 Parker 5 7 0 0 12 Bell 8 2 0 0 10 Bobbit 5 3 0 0 8 INTERCEPT. No! Yds Lng TD T.

Moore 13 3 0 Military marches to 2 bowl wins Tuesday's bowl games Georgia Tech Att Yds Avg Lng TD 16 122 7.6 56 1 10 RUSHING King Collier Mayes Rampley Kelsev Faslev 1.7 6 0 2.2 6 0 8 0 3.8 9 0 2.0 2 0 20 -2 30 2 1 PASSING Att Cmp Yds TD Int Rampley 23 12 99 0 1 Wmm "fi yr 1 I 7 Yds Lng TD 7 9 No. 3 3 2 2 1 1 14 22 23 10 21 9 10 9 21 9 RECEIVING Collier Mayes Massey Kelsev Davenport King PUNTING Snow is the only team in the nation that could win 12 games, needing to beat Oklahoma in tonight's Orange Bowl to accomplish that. Texas finished 8-4. Despite being limited to 194 total yards, Air Force drove short distances and the defense made that stand up. The Falcons' scoring drives covered 64, 32, 23 and eight yards.

Army coach Jim Young said he put the halfback option plays into the offense just last week. William Lam-pley connected on a 33-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and Chris Jones passed for 26 yards in the third period. It was Jones' first collegiate passing attempt. He is a junior. "I guarantee you they sure executed them well," Illinois coach Mike White said.

"They were thrown by two different guys and caught by two different guys and our coverage wasn't too bad." Young, formerly Purdue coach, is 5-0 in bowl games. It was his second straight bowl victory with Army, which made its first post-season appearance last year in a 10-6 victory over Michigan State in the Cherry Bowl. Free Press Wire Services The eyes of Texas and Illinois must have rolled upward in disgust. Perhaps some eyebrows were raised as well as two service academies the Air Force and Army won bowl games over more highly regarded foes Tuesday. Air Force, though ranked 10th, didn't command much respect east of Colorado.

But it beat Texas, 24-16, in the Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston. Army, though 8-3 entering the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, lost to Navy in its regular-season finale and appeared to be on the way down. But the Cadets had two halfback touchdown passes and turned four turnovers into three touchdowns to beat Illinois, 31-29, despite Illini quarterback Jack Tru-deau's Peach Bowl-record passing. Trudeau finished 38-of-55 for 401 yards and three touchdowns in a steady rain. The attempts, completions and yardage were all game records, while his three touchdown passes tied the record.

His last completion was a 54-yard touchdown strike to All-America David Williams with 34 seconds remaining to get the Illini to within two Doints. But his Dass on the two-point No. Yds Avg Lng 6 227 37.8 44 No. Yds Avg Lng 1 11 11.0 11 PUNT RET. Mauldin conversion attempt was batted away by Army's Peel Chronister.

The Illini finished 6-5-1. They rushed for only 77 yards to Army's 291. AIR FORCE COACH Fisher De-Berry said: "I don't know if we've proved anything. But I read where the Washington Post said (teams in Colorado) didn't play good football, but we play good badminton. I hope maybe we proved today that we can play good football and badminton.

Not many teams win 12 games in a year, I don't care if it's on the playground in grammar school or in the NFL." The Falcons' victory, their fourth bowl triumph in the past four years, might enable them to become the win-ningest team in the country this season. Thev fcre 12-1. Top-ranked Penn State No. Yds Lng TD 1 11 11 0 1 18 18 0 KICKOFF RET. Lilly Mayes Solo Ast Sckvds 213 0 0 0 0 Total 9 8 8 6 6 TACKLES Anderson Roof Ingram Pounds Travis 1 3 0 0 AP Photo No.

Yds Lng TD 1 2 "2 0 INTERCEPT. Lilly Air Force quarterback Bart Weiss gains nine yards to set up the Falcons' second touchdown. He scored from the 1..