Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan • Page 41

Today's television highlights: 0 1:00 p.m. Football: Detroit at Washington 1:30 p.m. Football: CFL Playoffs 4:00 p.m. Football: Chicago at LA Rams 4:00 p.m. Football: Denver at San Diego Sunday, llov.

11, 1984 PETER GAMMONS 3 BREEDERS' CUP 5 DETROIT FREE PRESS LIONS PREVIEW 6 Call with sports news: 222-6660 It's deer time: About three-quarters of a million hunters are preparing for firearms deer hunting season, which opens Thursday. Story on Page 15C. Sports Phone, 1-976-1313 mm L-J MS wilts Iowa's Rose bid. George Puscas By JACK SAYLOR Free Press Sports Writer IOWA CITY, Iowa Chuck Long was writing a storybook finish Saturday, but Michigan State's Spartans added the final line. The Spartans' supercharged defense stopped the Iowa quarterback inches short of the goal on a two-point conversion attempt with 44 seconds left, preserving an upset 17-16 victory.

Thus did the Hawkeyes' road to Pasadena appear to dead-end as 65,887 chilled fans in Kinnick Stadium stood sadly with faces of blue and knuckles of white. Long, who suffered a badly bruised knee a week ago, had the officials signaled the goal had not been crossed. "I was celebrating real quick," Bullough said. "I knew he wasn't in The defense worked just like it's supposed to on the blackboard." Iowa coach Hayden Fry disagreed. "It hurts extremely bad when the officials wouldn't make the call," he said.

"All of our players that were in position to see the play say Chuck was over, then got pushed back. "It's unbelievable not one of the officials was right there and extremely unbelievable they waited till after the pileup Chuck Long swears he was over." See MSU, Page 11C MSU's Dave Yarema had good vibrations. Page 2C. limped off the bench to warm up the fans and light up the scoreboard. He erased a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter and then went for the game-winner.

But Long's final lunge was stopped by three Spartans linebackers Anthony Bell turned him inside, into the welcoming arms of Jim Morris-sey and Shane Bullough. "I EXPECTED them to run the option," Morrissey said. "They did it a lot last week against Wisconsin." Bullough hugged Morrissey as hard as he had Long when 71 Prep teams are still good, but fan appeal has waned Assailed in some households, condemned in some clinics, high school football marches on undaunted in its autumnal glory. Under heavy skies, in rain and muck, but with bands playing and crowds screaming from one corner of the state to another, the best of 1984's teen teams went out to do their thing this weekend. The state championship playoffs had begun.

It's the only time of the year the high schoolers get much attention anymore. In another era when the fathers of today's teens, for instance, were teens themselves absolutely nothing took precedence over the neighborhood team, especially if it won. Those days are gone. Enthusiasm and excitement still can be found on the fields, but week-to-week through the fall season, the crowds are meager. Even students ignore the game.

It might be pushing a point to say high school football is in trouble, but for years coaches have noted creeping lack of interest among students and parents alike. What's happened? The girls are elsewhere It's not all that long ago or is it? that high school games attracted 15,000 to 20,000 in the city, and 50,000 and more at Tiger Stadium. Rarely are those numbers approached anymore, anywhere. Coaches cite a number of reasons for the sharp i 1 1 i. SL-T; I 9 4Tj, ih Tf.

-7t iT. decline in high school football, among them the variety of activities available to today's teens. "There's no question about the decline," says Darrell Harper, athletic director at Southfield's Lathrup High. 'I'm not sure when or why "It's still the No. 1 game.

We're just not getting the crowds." rf. Free Press Pholo bv MARY SCHROEDR Plowing through the mud It's the march to the high school football championships: Farmington Seaholm in the fourth quarter. Miller gained 142 yards on 3 1 carries Harrison's John Miller carries the ball through mud and Birmingham and Harrison thumped Seaholm, 17-6. The prep roundup is on 12C. Class A Farm.

Harrison 17, Birm. Seaholm 6 Fordson 21, Detroit Henry Ford 12 A A Pioneer 28, Trenton 12 Flint Central 26, Midland 20 Class Wyoming Park 17, St. Joseph 0 Chesaning 24, Saginaw Nouvel 0 Marysville 13, Fenton 10 (OT) Monroe CC 15, Lamphere 0 Class Lansing CC 28, Manchester 6 DePorres 18, Pontiac Catholic 13 GR South Christian 20, ithaca 0 Iron Mountain 7, St. Ignance 6 Class Grass Lake 20, Sand Creek 19 Gobels. 28, BC St.

Philip 7 Marion 7, Beal City 0 Crystal Falls 38, Cheboygan Catholic 8 it began." He has an idea, though, and it puts the lie to the popular notion that football has lost its appeal to young men. "We're getting as many participants as ever," Harper says. "It's still the No. 1 game. We're just not getting the crowds.

The difference, I think, is the girls." When the government mandated varsity athletics for girls in the mid-1970s, Harper says, boys sports lost much of their audience. "Before, you could always count on the girls to be at the games," he says. "But now they've got their own sports, and the boys' games have lost their attraction for many of them." When the girls are missing, so are many of the boys. Most high school games today draw fewer than 1,000 spectators, even at the larger schools. "Well, that's not all of it," Harper says.

"Somewhere along the line, we lost the parents, too. They just don't come to the games, not in the numbers we'd known. I have no idea why or how it happened, but it did." Football always has drawn frowns in some households. It remains the most physical, if not the most dangerous, game young men play. Periodically, the injury toll is publicized, and it becomes a concern in kitchens and medical offices.

"Sure, some parents are turned off," says Bill Rankin, coach at Birmingham Groves. "But we find our football is like anything else when we have good teams, we draw larger crowds." So it was that in gloomy, wet weather, the crowds came out Saturday to see the best of 1984. About 6,000 a small number matched against earlier playoff years saw Harrison High, the pride of Farmington, whip neighbor Birmingham Seaholm, 17-6. Miller's the local hero It was a fine game, better than we've seen played recently in more comfortable surroundings by better-known players and teams, meaning you-know-who. Harrison, rated No.

1 in the state, is a team of varied talents. On offense, it has running and passing ability, and on defense, it has muscle and savvy. It has perhaps the best running back in the state. John Miller, a 6-2, 195-pounder, is a senior being pursued by dozens of colleges. One look would tell you why.

Miller destroyed Seaholm, ripping the Maples for 35 yards in nine carries toward an opening touchdown and 43 yards in six tries en route to a second, and 142 yards in all. Midway in the fourth period, Seaholm finally scored, and threatened to score again. Miller, a safety on defense, eased through the developing Maples pass scheme to make a clinching interception. All around, the Harrison rooters were apologizing. 'It's a shame the field is so muddy," one said.

'You should see him run on a dry field." Miller is 1984's phenom, at least in the north suburbs. It's why many never give up on high school football. Any year, any neighborhood might have one. Power play fizzles for Wings, 4-2 By JOHN CASTINE Free Press Sports Writer The Red Wings played better the second time around against Boston, but the Bruins were still bad news Saturday night. The Wings lost a bruising game, 4-2, although they won many more battles in their rematch.

Despite the loss, the Wings remained in a three-way tie for third place in the Norris Division with Minnesota and Toronto, which played to ties Saturday. All three clubs have nine points after 14 games. Failing to score on any of six power plays hurt the Wings the most. A record Bruins-Wings crowd of 19,880 at Joe Louis Arena booed the Wings as they frittered away their last power play with seven minutes to play. Worse yet, the Wings have never beaten See RED WINGS, Page 7C Tigers to open at home The Tigers will open at home in 1985 for the first time since 1982.

Cleveland will be at Tiger Stadium for Opening Day, Monday, April 8. The home schedule but not the road schedule was released Saturday. The major league season opens and ends a week later next year. The Tigers will close the season on the road Oct. 6.

The complete Tigers home schedule appears on Page 4C. Craig faces tough decision Will he or won't he? Will Tigers pitching coach Roger Craig retire? Take a look at Craig's life in California on Page 14C. Pistons rebound from boos By CHARLIE VINCENT Free Press Sports Writer Booed off the floor at the end of three quarters, the Pistons bolted from an 1 1-point deficit in the final six minutes Saturday night and nipped the Milwaukee Bucks, 104-100, at the Silverdome. A crowd of 21,172, lulled by the Pistons' drab play in the first half, then incensed in the third period, was on its feet down the stretch as the Pistons completed the comeback that narrowed the distance between them and the Bucks to two games in the Central Division. "Fans boo you when you lose and cheer you when you win," Isiah Thomas said.

"That's the law." For more than 40 minutes it looked as if the Pistons were destined for the booing of their lives. They were dull and lifeless and uninteresting. And besides, they were behind and getting further behind. "I thought they just basically outplayed us; they were much more physical and much more aggressive for the first 38 or 40 minutes," said Pistons coach Chuck Daly. "Then Terry Tyler got aggressive, we got running and things changed." Tyler, playing his 500th consecutive game, had 13 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots.

Kent Benson was impressive, scoring 15 points and pulling in 15 rebounds. And he was right in the middle of the action when the Pistons finally asserted themselves and turned the boos into cheers. Detroit trailed, 90-79, with 6:43 to play, and any betting man would have guessed there was no saving the Pistons. See PISTONS, Page 5C Roger Craig U-M discovers big plays vs. Gophers, 31-7 quarter with U-M leading, 14-7.

With Michigan taking over at its 1 and driving 99 yards as Morris ran 68 yards and then 11 more for a score that made it 21-7. "That put 'em out of business," said Michigan coach Bo Schembechler, talking about the goal-line stand. "Up to that point they were in the game. Four shots like that (from his defense) that was excellent." WITH THE win, Schembechler won the Little Brown Jug for the 15th time in his 16 years at Michigan and avoided his first losing See U-M, Page 9C 10 passes for 74 yards, was still at quarterback. Tailback Jamie Morris, who rushed for 125 yards, was still working magic with his feet.

But this time, Michigan completed the package: With Zurbrugg running for one touchdown and passing to tight end Sim Nelson (five catches, 53 yards) for another. With a defense led by linebacker Tim Anderson's 13 tackles and middle guard Al Sincich's quickness that stopped the Gophers on three straight plays one yard from the Michigan end zone early in the third By TOMMY GEORGE Free Press Sports Writer ANN ARBOR On a drizzly, overcast, gloomy day, Michigan was aglow. It figures. It has been that kind of season for the Wolverines, who wore yet another mask Saturday while disposing of Minnesota, 31-7, before 101,247 at Michigan Stadium. Could this have been the same Michigan team that wilted last week at Purdue or was beaten three weeks ago at Iowa? Yes and no.

Chris Zurbrugg, who completed seven of Mike Downey is on vacation 7.