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Wednesday, October 1, 1980
daily nebraskan
Rugby coach says he hopes club can improve
By Joni Kramer
The UNL Rugby club isn't doing as well as expected,
but hopes to improve, according to coach Vince Powers.
The team has lost some close matches," Powers said.
"With a current record of 4-5, the season's been pretty
even so far."
The team's fust competition against Kansas was pretty
tough, according to Powers.
"KU had been playing together for about a month be
fore we played them, where as it was our first game, and
we had only had a couple of practices," Powers said.
As far as player experience, Powers says there is a
pretty even mix.
"Sometimes it's difficult to orient people to rugby
when they're used to football, but our less-experienced
players are learning," Powers said.
The team matches usually consist of an A andB
game. According to Senior team member Jim Powers,
B matches give less experienced players more chances to
compete.
"I'm really glad we're having the B games, because it
shows we have a lot of interest in the sport -enough to be
able to fill two teams," Powers said.
Powers, last season's captain, is injured. Another team
member suffered a serious injury last week. Kevin Jensen,
a second semester player, separated his shoulder.
Keeping injuries down can be a problem since the play
ers wear no pads, Jim Powers said.
"There's a lot of contact in the sport, so the technique
of correct body positioning is vital in keeping injury free,"
he said. , , , ....
Senior Dan McGuire, his three brothers and Mike
McHugh have been performing well, he said.
"Dan and his brother Tom are playing very well, and
his two younger brothers, Jerry and Dave, are new, but
are coming along well," Jim Powers said.
The Rugby team's next match will be Saturday at
10:30 against a Grand Island team on a field by the
Lincoln Humane Society.
"We're looking for a win this weekend," Jim Powers
said. "I think we should be able to beat them. Most of
our losses have come from lack of conditioning or lack
of concentration, but we hope to perform well against
Grand Island."
The squad, which is sponsored by the Budweiser
Brewing Company, has games every Saturday during the
season, and sometimes on Sundays.
"The team is grateful for the sponsorship Bud
weiser gives us. They help fill the gap in our-expense,"
Mm Powers said.
This fall, the team has set its goals toward the Heart
of America tournament in Kansas City Oct. 18-19, he
said. The tournament includes all rugby teams in the
midwest.
"There are a lot of tough teams that attend, and
competition is stiff," Jim Powers said. None of the
eight teams in Nebraska has ever gone very far in this
tournament, but we're setting our sights toward it.
We've btaii playing a bit inconsistently so far this
season. Things haven't jelled yet. We aren't playing bad,
all we have to do is put everything together," he said.
Coaches say teams ready for JV match-up
By Larry Sparks
Nebraska's freshman football team
will be going for its second straight
victory this Friday against the undefeat
ed UNO junior varsity.
Maverick Coach Ron Pecoraro said
he is pleased with his team's 2-0 start
this season, a 20-19 win over South
Dakota State and a 9-7 victory over
Kansas State.
"We have played exceptionally well,
in my opinion," Pecoraro said. "We had
a few problems against South Dakota
State, but I was real impressed with our
performance against Kansas "State."
Frank Solich, UNL's freshman foot
ball coach, was also pleased with his
team's 62-7 victory over Oklahoma
State last week, but said he was dis
appointed that the Cornhuskers often
found themselves in third-down and
long-yardage situations.
"Even though the score indicates we
had a pretty good game, we need to
continue working hard to improve on
our consistency," Solich said.
Both coaches said their teams should
be at full strength for Friday's contest.
Pacoraro said the Mavericks are healthy
and have no players out with injuries.
Solich said Jeff Smith, who has been
out with an illness, and Ricky Green
and Brian Kramer, who were out with
injuries probably all would be back in
practice this week.
The Cornhuskers are strong at
quarterback, according to Solich.
"Turner Gill played extremely well
and Craig Sundberg also performed well
when we put him in," Solich said. "Nat
urally, we're also pleased with the de
fense for holding Oklahoma State to
138 total yards and minus four yards
rushing."
Solich also cited the outstanding play
of Brian Ripa, Scott Porter, Bret Clark
and the entire offensive line as a boost
to the team in its victory over the Cow
boys. Pecoraro said his team is also strong
on defense and noted that UNO's
strongest area is probably its linebackers.
Tim Carleson, who was the most
valuable player of the Shrine Bowl, has
done an "outstanding job" in the first
two games, Pecoraro said. -
"We need to get our offense tuned
up a little, though."
"Our junior varsity team is also our
scout team, so instead of practicing on
specific areas, we are usually playing
against the varsity. I just hope we can
play good, basic football," Pecoraro
said.
Solich said UNL hasn't scouted the
Mavericks, but expects UNO to be well
prepared. "They are 2-0 right now so we
expect them to come in here and play
us pretty tough," Solich said.
Kickoff for Friday's home opener is
set for 1:30 pjn. in Memorial Stadium.
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SpKt end Brown trades
track for the gridiron
Todd Brown
Photo by Mark BBIingdiy
By Tad Stryker
Todd Brown made his first appearance
in the Nebraska athletic spotlight in high
school track. Now, he's making another
appearance, but this time it's in college
football.
Brown, a 6-1, 167-pound sophomore
from Holdrege, is the Huskers top split end
this fall. He had some big shoes to fill after
Tim Smith's graduation and many people
wondered how a high school track stand
out would fare in college football.
While in high school, Brown played
football and basketball. He said he knows
his participation in track and field will be
remembered most.
Brown was the first Nebraska high
school athlete to break the 50-foot barrjej
in the triple jump. In the 1978 state track
meet he won the triple and long jumps and
the 100-yard dash.
"After I started setting records in track,
they (Husker coaches) started recruiting
me, Brown said. "But they first took an
interest in me when I came down here as a
sophomore to the football school."
Walk-on
Husker Coach Tom Osborne asked
Brown to walk-on which he did. This year,
he has shown he can do much more than
run and jump.
Brown caught five passes for 60 yards
against Perm State, including one on a
sharp sideline pattern to get the Huskers
out of a third and long situation. Later, he
caught a quick slant pass inside the Nittany
Lions' 10-yard-line, was hit and went
farther.
"I've wanted to come to Nebraska all
my life " Brown said. "In the back of my
mind, I always thought I could play."
Brown said he felt that many Husker
fans weren't expecting him to excell.
"Most people didn't think I could play
football here," he said. "They thought I
was too small. The people back home
thought I could, but some others thought I
was only a track man."
Brown was redshirted his first year. He
said he profited from the experience.
'Learned a lot'
"I learned a lot that year, and learned it
quickly," he said.
Last year, Brown played enough as a
reserve split end to earn a varsity letter and
started this year by catching two passes
against Utah. He caught two touchdown
passes against Iowa.
"The Iowa game really helped build my
confidence," he said. "The two touchdown
catches did a lot for that."
How does helping meet team goals com
pare with the individual accomplishment of
passing a milestone in high school track
history?
"I'm enjoying what I'm doing now
more " Brown said, "but it's kind of tough
to compare them. It (the 50-foot triple
jump) lasted a few seconds, but this is last
ing longer. I could gradually see this
coming, and I enjoy it that way."
Brown said he felt some pressure to do
well .at football because of his track
success. But playing on national television
and facing the stress of playing split end in
the Big Eight are not bothering him much,
he said.
"I try not to let the pressure get to me,
he said. "I just want to try to help us win
all our games."
