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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 1984)
Page 12 Thursday, October 11, 1SS4 Daily Nebraakan Wrestling Mopes Miage By Brent Cobb Dtify Nebnukan St&ffEe porter Nebraska wrestling coach Bob Fehrs has a difficult task ahead of him this year. He must rebuild a team that finished higher than any other Nebraska wrestling team every finished fourth in the nation. He also must com pensate for the loss of two of Nebraska's most successful wrest lers Jim and Bill Scheer. On the surface, that would be enough of a challenge for any coach. But Fehrs also must rebuild his team with a proportionately small number of scholarships. -"With eleven full scholarships available plus returning people on scholarship, you have to spread your money pretty thinly," Fehrs said. "In the past we only needed to fill one or two spots and so we could invest all our time, money and effort to get them." Of the 17 new faces, there are 16 freshmen and one junior col lege transfer. The junior college transfer is (Kyle Jensen who is the top can didate to start in the position vacated by three-time All-American Bill Scheer. Jensen is familiar . with the Scheers' reputation be cause he is from the same South Dakota town Mobridge. Jensen was a two-time Ail-American at Bismarck Junior College. In addition to Jensen, several other newcomers appear to be in good position to break into the starting lineup. Freshman recruit Cody Olsen looks to be the front runner at 1 77 pounds Last year, Jim Scheer was the NCAA champion at that weight class, but as a freshman, Olson's responsibility is not to replace Scheer. "My first goal is to make the team then do as well as I can. You're not expected to do as well as a freshman, but each time you do win it's a plus for you," Olson said. Fehrs said he expects at least some of the freshmen to make Wave to roll When cornerback Dave Burke made a leaping interception to kill an Oklahoma State drive last week, restless fans waiting for the first Nebraska score let about a third of the traditional red balloons go in appreciation. Rollie Hughes manager of the Nebraska Union RecRoom, then realized that the defense didn't really have a fan-appreciation gimmick like the of fense has ballons. So, the "Black Wave Handkerchief will debut this weekend at Memorial Sta dium. "Since fans are so into the wave these days, and the de-. fense has been doing so well, we thought this would be a good way to honor the defense," Hughes said. But there's more to it. A good sale of handker chiefs will not only give the Blackshirts some extra sup port, it will give the UNL Bowl ing Club close to $4,000 of its projected $10,500 budget for the 1984-85 season, said Hughes, who advises the club. The bowling club sells Big Red bowling goods outside the Nebraska Union each home, game. The Missouri game, how ever, is the one gaiae Campus Activities and Programs will allow the G i-rr.crrwer club to seel funds in addition to its regular sale. that transition before the season begins. "I think that perhaps well see four freshmen break the starting lineup before the season is over, but I cant even tell specifically which four they'll be," Fehrs said. "With the team we have return ing, I think its going to be extreme ly difficult for some of the return ers to keep people of the talent of some of the new recruits from breaking into the lineup." Fehrs said two of three classes between 134 and 150 will be manned by freshmen. At 1 34, freshmen Billy Meyer of Lincoln and Mike Balestrini of Sunbury, Pa. are competing for the top job. At 142, freshman Tim Kenney of Tokahawk, Wis., will challenge for a position and at 150 pounds, Keenan Turner of Meeker, Colo, or possibly Jeff Coltvet of Eagle Grove, Iowa, could start. Colvet is listed at 158, but may wrestle at 150. "One of my goals is to contrib ute right away," Coltvet said. Other freshman recruits include Terry Cook of Spencer, Iowa, at 126, John Myer of Eagle Grove, Iowa, at 142r Buck Matson of Oberlin, Kan., at 1 50, Eon DeBoer of Firth at 153, Larry Thompson of Austin, Texas, at 158, and Craig Thalkcn of Columbus at 167-177. "If they're wiling to work hard as they seem to be, hopefully we can be consistent top 10 finisher perhaps by next year," Fehrs said. "I think well have an oppor tunity to finish in the top 20. I'm hoping a couple of returners who have good credentials and poten tial will come through along with some help from some freshmen." Fehrs doubts that he will be in a position to challenge last year's finish. But with a good season, he said a top 10 finish is not out of the question. The Husker wrestlers begin their home schedule Nov. 14 against UNO, followed by a Nov. 30 duel at home with Iowa State. for defense Hughes and Tom Simonson, owner of Simonson Sporting Goods in Alliance, had thought about the black handkerchiefs since the first game. Last week's performance sealed the plan, Hughes said. "We knew coach (Tom) Osborne said he didn't like the wave," Hughe said. "But then we read that the defensive people thought it pumped them up," Hughes said. About 20,000 of the cloths will be finished by game time, and sold for $2 each by 20 groups on campus before the 11:30 am. game. The bowling club has its largest membership ever after three separate organizations joined at the start of the year, Hughes said. "We used to have the bowling club, which was very locseiy organized, the Big Eight Clas sic league and the Intercolle giate team," Hughes said. This year, that has ail been grouped together. We draw the Big Eight league bowlers from the bowl ing club, and the intereoHe gjate teams from the league." The handkerchief sals will be part of tfis bowling team fund-raising drive. A bowi-a-then is scheduled in November to cap the month-long drive. i Bert Esattie of the WMtcs la ta8d est at tMrd hy Bidi Holmes of the Beds la the t&ird izmliss cfthz Iztr&r&qmd WcrM Series Wednesday aflemooa at Bs.ck Beltzer Field. Tfee Eeds won use easa ikj Be&saa tae JefTKirlt!eldtse4& for te Thinners. " Huislier senmset faces clkaliemge Nebraska fans, gt your throats ready. Missouri's football team is coming to town. If you thought your voices would get a rest after comeback win against Oklahoma State, think again. When Nebraska and Missouri tee it up, hard-hitting, nail-biting games almost always result Forget Missouri's 2-3 record. The Tigers possess one of ths country's bes t offenses, and they'll give Nebraska's Blackshirts a tough test Nebraska, on the other hand, will try to pull its wounded players together for another super effort It's going to be a great game. Nebraska-Missouri games tend to be great. I remember the first time I saw the teams play each other. That was in 1970, when Nebraska fought the Tigers all the way before winning, 21-7. My dad and I sat in the box seats on the west sidelines. With Nebraska ahead 1 4-7 in the fourth Quarter, Missouri punted from . Uissasri fzllisds Eric DrsJa. i i-'n I r rocr ml xsrae-etnse ost mscnisz or their own end zone. Johnny Rod gers caught the punt right in front of us, at about the Missouri 40, and scampered all the way for a touchdown. The crowd went nuts, including a 0-year-old kid in a red cowboy hat There have been many great games before and alter that one. Remember 1076, when Pete Woods threw a 93-yard TD pass to Joe Stewart to beat Nebraska? That ended the Huskers' national title hopes right then and there. And if that wasnt enough, Mis souri did it again in 1978. The Tigers' big fullback, James Wilder, romped all over the Huskers. He scored four touchdowns and ran for 181 yards aa MU won, 35-31. NUs Rick Berns countered with a school-record 255 yards, but it wasnt enough. The loss was es pecially crushing for Nebraska, which had upset Oklahoma the week before. NU had to face the Sooners again in the Orange Bowl, and Billy Sims and Co. won the rematch. ' '7 f J J'S. : V U V izm Mcunire. Maria usma aaa Missouri almost did it again in Columbia in 1979. Nebraska def ensive end Derrie Nelson sacked Missouri's Phil Bradley on the game's final play to preserve a 23 . 20 win. The.Hgars went for the touchdown from Nebraska's 11-yard-line, when a field goal would have tied. Nebraska stomped the Tigers in 1880, 38-16. But 1931 was a different story. Nebraska had to drive 65 yards in the final min utes to win, 6-0. An inexperienced sophomore named Turner Gill directed the Huskers that day. Fullback Phil Bates got the touch down on a 3-yard run with 23 seconds left Nebraska won its fourth straight over the Tigers in 1932, but the win didnt come easily. Bruce Mathison subbed at quar terback for the injured Gill,, and engineered two fourth-quarter drives to help NU win, 23-1 9. Mike Rosier established himself as a great running back. He ran rough shod over Missouri that day, gain ing 139 yards, even though he had a hip pointer. Nebraska's "triplets" Gill, Ro zier and Fryar made the dif ference last year as Nebraska won 34-13. Again the Tigers played well. With NU leading 2-13 early in the fourth quarter, Missouri drove to the Nebraska five, but the Tigers fumbled and Mike Keel er recovered for Nebraska. The Huskers promptly drove the length ofthe field to put the game out of reach. By winning the last five games, Nebraska has moved out to a 14 8 lead in the series during the Bob Devaney Tom Osborne era. The Tigers have upset Nebraska enough times for fans to know what kind of game they'll see Sat urday. If Nebraska can patch its backfield together, the Huskers should win it Doug DuBose has played well in JcHSmith's absence, but Nebraska needs a healthy Smith and a healthy Tom Bath man. And if Travis Turner and Craig Sundherg can play with some consistency at quarterback, the offense could roll again. So the Husker3 should win it, but when you're playing Missouri, you never know.