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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 1981)
monday, October 19, 1981 page 8 daily ncbraskan Gill passes more difficult test, prepares for Tiger exam By Larry Sparks Manhattan, Kan. - Anybody who thought Nebraska quarterback Turner Gill's performance against Colorado was a fluke had probably changed his mind by the time the Huskers had finished their 49-3 thrashing of the Kansas State Wildcats here Saturday. Gill rushed for 79 yards and completed 10 of 14 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns enroute to Nebraska's third straight victory. Husker Coach Tom Osborne praised Gill's performance, saying it was a tougher test than the 59-0 win against Colorado. "Kansas State jumped around a lot. He (Gill) saw a lot of different pictures to day," Osborne said. "I thought Turner maintained his composure. He had to audible quite a big more than he did last week." Gill said he has had confidence in him self all along but agreed he and the team M eight Conference Standings Nebraska 2-0-0 Iowa State 1-0-1 Oklahoma : 1-0-1 Colorado 1-1-0 Missouri 1-1-0 Oklahoma State 1-1-0 Kansas 0-2-0 Kansas State 0-2-0 Saturday Results Colorado 1 1 , Oklahoma State 10 Iowa State 34, Missouri 13 Nebraska 49, Kansas State 3 Oklahoma 45 , Kansas 7 Games Oct. 24 Colorado at Iowa State Kansas State at Kansas Louisville at Oklahoma State Nebraska at Missouri Oregon State at Oklahoma will be tested when they play at Missouri Saturday. "We're playing pretty good ball now. I'm just trying to play good and hope the team plays good," GUI said. "This (the last two games) helped get our confidence back so we can go into Missouri next week. We're all looking forward to that one." Nebraska took control early in Satur day's game as it held Kansas State on its first series and then mastered a six-play, 52-yard drive that ended in a 23-yard pass from Gill to tight end Jamie Williams for a touchdown. Williams got his second touch down of the day only three minutes later when he caught a 13-yard Gill pass in the end zone. "Turner kind of improvised a little bit on that. They dropped a guy off my man and I was covered," Williams said. "He just kind of lobbed it up. He told me after wards he knew I was tall and knew I could get it." The Huskers were stopped on their final series of the first quarter, which was the only time Nebraska punted all day. The Wildcats put Nebraska in a hole early in the second period by downing a Scott Fulhage 48-yard punt on the Husker 7-yard line. I back Mike Rozier came to the rescue with a 93-yard touchdown run down the side line. "All I saw was daylight and all I was thinking was touchdown," Rozier said. "It was weak on the back side on the pitch so I just went away from the strong side- they were in and went to the weak size of the defense," Gill said. Nebraska made the score 28-0 late in the' half when fullback Mark Moravec ran over from the 2-yard line to cap an 8-yard, 11 -play drive. Kevin Siebel added the extra point. The Huskers had yet another chance in the half when safety Jeff Krejci picked off a Kansas State pass at the KSU 23-yard line. Rozier fumbled, however, two plays later on the 16. The Cornhuskers ate up more than half of the third period on an 18-play drive that covered 73 yards but the drive stalled and a 24-yard field goal attempt by Seibel was wide to the right. Continued on Page 9 1 VJ ' cfjf ' .-: 4 , , J I v& L . -" x- . i I i I jf &' I - ' .l.y ...iMA ' i'11" ' """" ' Plnjto by Kent Morgan Olsen Nebraska I-back Roger Craig (21) breaks free for yardage in Saturday's romp of the Kansas State Wildcats. Basketball team searching ranks for new center By Bob Asmussen There is a familiar name and number on the Nebraska basketball team. The name is Smith and the number is 40. The man wearing that uniform number this year is Terry Smith. He is one of three candidates to fill the center spot vacated by Andre Smith. "Center position is a question mark for us," said Ne braska basketball Coach Moe Iba. "I think we've got three people who can play center, Terry Smith, Victor Chacon and Lenard Johnson. "The loss of Andre is a big minus," Iba said. "We can't do anything about it. We've got to have someone come in and replace him." Iba said the strength of the team will be at guard. The Huskers return Jack Moore, Eric Williams, Ray Collins and Greg Downing. Downing and Collins will likely swing be tween guard and small forward, Iba said. "Jack Moore is a good player and I imagine he'll start," Iba said. 'The other guard spot is wide open. Who we play will depend a lot on who the opposition is." Bright spot at guard One bright spot at guard is returner Ray Collins. Collins broke his foot last year against Colorado and didn't play the rest of the season. Iba said Collins foot is coming along fine and he is at full strength. Another possible contestant in the guard spot battle could be Handy Johnson, transfer from Southeastern Iowalunior College. "I feel that I can be an asset to the team," Johnson said. "I think we'll have a real fine team. I hope that I can help out." Johnson came to Nebraska along with his coach at Southeastern, Charlie Spoonhour, and Chacon. After six years at Southeastern, Spoonhour said it was time to make a move into Division I. He is the assistant basketball coach. "I was in a situation where if I was ever going to go to, a Division I school, I had better do it," Spoonhour said. "Time was starting to catch up with me." Spoonhour said he's happy to be in Lincoln. He said he likes Nebraskan fans' enthusiasm for basketball. "There's a lot of interest in our team," Spoonhour said. Spoonhour said he is worried people are expecting too much out of Chacon. He said when people hear height mentioned, they associate it with the instant stardom. "Victor's a talented player," Spoonhour said, "but he's got a great deal to learn about United States basketball. He didn't practice at all last fall because of an injury and that hurt him." The power forward position is also wide open. Iba said one of the teams strengths is its players that can swing from one position to another. The main competitors for the power forward spot will be Jerry Shoecraft, Kenny Walton, Claude Renfro, Lenard Johnson and Smith. Iba said those players could also play the other forward spot. "Last year I didn't have that much experience," Renfro said. "The experience I gained will help me to contribute more this season." Three seniors There are three seniors on this year's team: Moore, Shoecraft and Collins. Moore said seniors will have to set an example for the new players. "With seven new kids coming in there's going to be leadership responsbilities placed on our shoulders," Moore said. Moore agreed with Iba in saying that finding a center was of utmost importance, but is optimistic about the team's prospects. "We've got to find someone to play inside," Moore said. "Johnson, Chacon, Smith: one of those three have to come in and fill the spot." Moore said the loss of Andre Smith will cause the team to do different things on offense. "We'll spread it around on offense," Moore said. "Somebody's going to have to pick up the scoring slack. We've got to put the loss of Andre behind us." Renfro said the team can have a good season. He said he is optimistic about the team's chances in the Big Eight. "I think our goal is to win 20 games and get invited to a post-season tournament," Renfro said. "If we come to gether as a ball club we have the talent to win a lot of games this year," Moore, who is entering his final year as a Husker, said he wants to end things on a positive note. "This is the last go round for me," Moore said. "Per sonally there's nothing to hold back for. I'vs enjoyed it here. The media, press and fans have been super." Other new members of the team are Brett Hughes, a 6-1 guard from Waterloo, Ind.; Terry Scarlett, a 6-6 for ward from Las Vegas, Nev.; and John Matzke, a 6-6 for ward out of Lincoln. sfoxoffte shorts The Nebraska women's tennis team lost two games in a quadrangular meet at Bloomington, Minn, last weekend. The Huskers lost to Wisconsin and Minnesota with 8-1 scores in both games. The No. 4 singles player Susan Hayes account ed for Nebraska's only win in both matches. The Nebraska rugby club defeated St. Louis Royal 7-0 and Kansas City 14-4 in the Heart of America tourn ament at Kansas City Sat urday before falling to Des Moines 20-0. The Huskers are 11-1 for the season. The Husker volleyball team lost to Texas 12-15, 13-15, 4-15 in the finals of the Oral Roberts Invitation al at Tulsa, Okla. Saturday. To get to the finals, Nebra ska beat Oklahoma 15-8, 15-2 and Southwest Missouri State 15-12, 15-11.