Daily
Nebraskan
Thursday, November 17,1988
■ _ _
Ver Plank says Sooners’ I
wishbone tough to check j
By Mark Derowitsch
Senior Reporter
In order to stop Oklahoma's wish
bone, a defense must shut down three
players.
Unfortunately, Nebraska football
graduate assistant George Ver Plank
said those three players are the tough
est to stop.
“Oklahoma is always tough, quick
and powerful,” said Ver Plank, who
scouted Oklahoma’s 16-7 win against
Missouri last Saturday. “All we have
to do is stop their quarterback, full
back and halfback.”
Ver Plank said the Comhuskcrs,
10-1 overall and 6-0 in the Big Eight,
might see two Oklahoma quarter
backs. The starter has been Charles
Thompson and he’s backed up by
former-starter Jamelle Holieway.
Thompson, a sophomore from
Lawton, Okla., has rushed for 795
yards this season — an average of
79.5 yards per game.
Holieway, a senior from Carson,
Calif., has gained 167 yards on the
ground in a limited role. He was the
Sooners’ starter last season until a
knee injury sidelined him a week
before Oklahoma’s 17-7 win against
Nebraska.
“Thompson played the whole
game against Missouri,” Ver Plank
said. “Holieway watched it from the
sidelines. Hcdidn’teven take a snap.”
Thompson has completed 14 of 41
passes for 153 yards and two touch
downs, while Holieway has 27 com
pletions.
“They don’t have a real sophisti
cated passing attack,” Ver Plank said.
“But they throw the ball when they
have to.”
At halfback, the Sooners are led by
freshman Mike Gaddis. Gaddis has
rushed for 471 yards on 68 carries and
has caught two passes for 50 yards.
“Gaddis is a real good running
back and they like to throw the ball to
himcomingoutofthebackfield,”Ver
Plank said.
Leon Perry and Rotnci Anderson
are Oklahoma’s top two fullbacks.
Perry, who redshirted last season, has
gained 547 yards on 108 carries for
the season while Anderson has rushed
for 277 yards.
Ver Plank said the biggest part of
stopping the wishbone is stopping the
fullback trap. He said Huskcr strong
side linebacker LcRoy Etienne will
key in on the fullbacks.
“It’s just a matter of getting to the
fullback and stopping him,” Ver
Plank said. “We have one (line
backer) that can keep up with him.”
The Sooners’ defense, Ver Plank
said, is not as strong as it was a year
ago. Oklahoma has four newcomers
See SOONERS on 16
Nebraska’s Steve Taylor is brought down by a Colorado
player during last Saturday’s gam$.
Oranges tempt
NU quarterback
By Mark Derowitsch
Senior Reporter
If Oklahoma wins the Big Eight
championship Saturday and decides
it doesn’t want to play Miami (Fla.)
again in the Orange Bowl, there’s at
least one Nebraska player who
wouldn’t mind taking the Sooners’
place.
Nebraska quarterback Steve Tay -
lor said it doesn’t matter how he gets
to the Orange Bowl, just as long as he
gets there.
Last week, Oklahoma coach Barry
Switzer said the Sooners would rather
not play Miami in the Orange Bowl if
they win the Big Eight title. Last
season, Miami defeated the Sooners
20-14 for the national title in Miami.
“If they don’t want to play Miami,
we will,” Taylor said.
But to play Miami, Nebraska must
first defeat Oklahoma Saturday, and
Taylor said he’s confident of beating
the Sooners. Kickoff for the game is
scheduled for 2:40 p.m. at Memorial
Stadium in Norman, Okla.
“We’ll use the same approach
we’ve been taking for the last four
years,” Taylor said. “I think it’ll come
down to the fourth quarter. I think
we’re ready and I think Oklahoma is
ready, too. It’ll be a good game.”
Taylor, a senior from Fresno,
Calif., has an 0-2 record as a starter
against the Sooners, but a 30-5 record
against all opponents. In addition to
the Oklahoma losses, Nebraska has
lost to UCLA, Florida State and Colo
See TAYLOR on 17
Wrestlers vie ror Big Eight dual victory
By Steve Sipple
Senior Kditor
IAn injury-plagued Nebraska wres
iling team will go after its first Big
Hight dual victory in more than a year
tonight when it faces Missouri in
Columbia, Mo.
The match will begin at 7:30 p.m.
in Hearncs Arena.
Nebraska was 0-3-1 in the confer
ence last year, including a 18-13 loss
to the Tigers. The Cornhuskcrs will
try loavengc that loss without the help
of two starters — 134-pound sopho
more Dave Drocgcmucllcr and 142
W T + I
pound senior Mike Hcmann.
Drocgcmucllcr suffered a twisted
ankle and Hcmann injured his knee
during practice Monday at the Bob
Devaney Sports Center, Huskcr
coach Tina Neumann said.
To compensate for those losses,
Neumann said he will insert into the
Huskers’ lincupjunior Jim Sanihe/.at
118 pounds and freshman Darren
Drocgcmucllcr at 142 pounds. Senior
starter Terry Cook will move from
118 pounds to 126 pounds and sopho
more starter Jason Kclber will switch
from 126 to 134.
Neumann said he’s confident San
chc/. and the younger Droegemucller
will come through for the Huskers,
who arc ranked No. 18 by Amateur
Wrestling News magu/inc.
He said Sanchez wrestled well last
Saturday during the Wyoming Cow
boy Open in Laramie, Wyo. Sanchez
recorded a 6-2 record at the meet at
118 pounds.
“He really wrestled well,” Neu
mann said. “I feel really confident
about Jimmy.”
Droegemucller, who’s the
younger brother of Dave, finished
second in Laramie at 142 pounds.
“He did a super job,” Neumann
said.
Despite last season’s upset loss to
Missouri, Neumann said revenge
won’t be on his team’s mind tonight.
“It w'on’t, simply because it’s such
an individual sport,” he said. “We’ll
just see how we match up If we can
win six or seven individual matches,
the team score will take care of itself.”
Neumann said the dual against
unranked Missouri is important be
cause it will help the Huskers prepare
for the Big Eight tournament, which
will be held March 5 in Ames, Iowa.
“We’ll see people that we’ll see at
the Big Eight tournament,” he said.
“There’s severa' people we’re trying
to get seeded 1st or 2nd at the Big
Eight tournament.”
Neumann said Nebraska’s loss to
Missouri last season was misleading
since he held out two of his lop wres
tlers for disciplinary reasons. The
Huskers were experiencing altitude
problems before the dual, he said. He
said he thought that holding the wres
tlers out would help his team in the
long run.
‘This year, everybody’s altitude is
good and we’re coming off a great
See WRESTLE on 16
-—,
vaiiaqao win
miss OU game
By Nick Hodge
Staff Reporter
Nebraska defensive tackle Ray
Valladao will miss the
f’omhuskers’game Saturday against
Oklahoma because of a knee injury he
suffered in Tuesday’s practice,
Husker coach Tom Osborne said
Wednesday.
Osborne said Valladao's injury
turned out worse than expected and
will require arthroscopic surgery to
discover the extent of the injury.
“Valladao apparently hurt himself
fairly seriously and they’ll (doctors)
probably scope him over the week
end. It may be a major deal and it may
not,” Osborne .said.
Valladao, a 6-fool-3, 255-pound
junior from Atwater,Calif., had made
four tackles while playing at the No.
3 left defensive tackle position for
most of the season.
Osborne said he was also con
cerned about the thigh injury No. 2
center Jeff Anderson suffered in
Tuesday’s workout. Anderson re
lumed to Wednesday’s practice that
was held both at Memorial Stadium
and the Cook Pavillion, Osborne said.
He said Anderson was sore, but
should be ready for the game Satur
day against the Sooncrs at Norman,
Okla.
Anderson, a 6-foot-4, 270-pound
senior from Norfolk, is Nebraska’s
deep-snapper for extra points, field
goals and punts.
NU or OU? Only time will tell
Huskers will evict OU
It was evident three weeks ago
when Nebraska defeated Missouri
26-18 at Memorial Stadium — the
Comhuskers really are homeless.
Trailing 6-0 at halftime, the Ne
braska fans booed the 7th-ranked
Huskers as they were heading into
the locker room. At that point, it
became clear that “Our House"
really did belong to Oklahoma.
Last season, the Sooners
evicted Nebraska- from “Our
House" with a 17-7 victory. On the
following Sunday last season,
there was even a “For Sale” sign in
front of Memorial Stadium. The
Sooners apparently bought it.
Now, it’s time for the Huskers to
establish residency at Memorial
Stadium, only this one is located in
Norman, Okla.
Since Oklahoma owns “Our
House” (a 4-1 record in Lincoln in
the 1980s), it’s only fitting for the
Huskers to take over “Their
House."
But in order to take over
Norman’s Memorial Stadium, the
Huskers will have to do some evict
ing of their own. And the man for
the job will be outside linebacker
Broderick Thomas.
Thomas calls himself the Sand
man because he puts people to
sleep with his hard hits. He will
prematurely tuck in Sooner quar
terback Charles Thompson with
one of his patented hits. This will
force Oklahoma coach Barry
Switzer to use one-time star
Jamclte Holieway, who hasn’t
been that effective since his knee
injury last season.
The wishbone is hardly extinct
in the land of the Sooners, but
Switzer is using the I-formation
during some passing situations. It
seems the vaunted Sooner option
game is suffering through a sub-par
season. But then again so is
Nebraska’s.
One thing the Huskers must stop
is the fullback trap. Sophomore
Rotnei Anderson rushed for 119
See DEROWITSCH on 16
‘Sooner Magic' to rule
It is going to be dinicult tor
even the biggest Oklahoma fans
to rejoice after this year’s annual
thrashing of Nebraska.
While it is obvious the Sooners
will continue their dominance
over Nebraska, die pressing real
ity is that Oklahoma will get
blown out by Miami in the Orange
Bowl. That’s right — the Big
Eight’s top two football teams are
not up to par this season.
To borrow an often-heard ex
pression, Oklahoma and Ne
braska are down but not out. Both
teams are down because they
don’t have the great players who
once roamed the sidelines and
imposed fear on the field. But
Nebraska and Oklahoma still
have enough players to stage an
over-publicized, mismatched
contest that Oklahoma will win
27-6.
Oklahoma will continue to
dominate the Huskers this season
for three reasons. The most obvi
ous reason—one dial w as created
by a season long problem that
shows no signs of being corrected
— is the presence of Oklahoma
fullbacks Rotnei Anderson and
Leon Perry.
Anderson and Perry will bum
Nebraska by running straight up
the middle. Containing the
middle has been too much to ask
of the Huskers this season, as
pleasant memories of opposing
quarterbacks, running backs and
whoever else wanted to gain
massive chunks of yardage up the
middle fill Oklahoma Ians’
dreams.
Nebraska’s problems in the
middle, which are kept from
being an absolute disaster by the
presence of middle guard Law
rence Pete, will be compounded
by the strength of Oklahoma’s
offensive line. The strength of the
Sooners’ line lies in center Bob
Latham and offensive guard An
thony Phillips, both of whom
See APEL on 16
