Sports
Tuesday, October 11,1994 Page 7
NU softball
beats Mizzou,
captures title
By Jeff Qri—ch_ _
Staff Reporter
The Nebraska softball team used two last
inning victories Over Kansas and Missouri to
end the fall season with a 15-1 record and the
Big Eight Classic fall tournament champion
ship Sunday in Independence. Mo.
Amy Offenbackcr’s single in the top of the
ninth inning scored Rachel Dunham as the ball
was misplayed by the Missouri centcrficldcr to
give the Cornhuskcrs a 6-5 win over the Tigers.
The Huskers led 4-0 until the sixth inning,
when Missouri stormed back with four runs to
send the game to extra innings. Both teams
scored a run in the eigth before Nebraska won in
the ninth.
Nebraska coach Rhonda Revelle said win
ning the Big Eight's fall championship was a big
step for the Huskers.
“It means we’ve turned a corner,” Revelle
said. “It means a tremendous amount. We’ve
got a lot of new players, and right now they
know they can get the job done.”
In Rcvcllc’s first season at Nebraska, the
Huskers struggled, posting a final record of 18
23.
See CLASSIC on 8
Wildcats coach
commends NU,
warns his team
By Mitch Ihnwan__
Senior Reporter
This is not a normal week in Manhattan,
Kan.
As Kansas State, which is ranked 11 th by the
coaches and 16th by the writers, prepares to
host second-ranked Nebraska Saturday, excite
ment has reached new heights in the town for
merly known as the home to the worst college
football program in the country.
Undefeated Kansas State, which has not lost
at home since Oct. 27,1992, will be making its
first national network television appearance in
almost 12ycars. Saturday’s game will be broad
cast regionally on ABC. Kickoff is scheduled
for 11:08 a.m.
The Wildcats, ranked No. 1 intheNewYork
Times Computer poll, are allowing only 111.5
yards per game rushing and 9.3 points per
contest.
All signs point to a battle, but Wildcat coach
Bill Snyder is warning that no time is a good
time to face the Comhuskcrs.
“I don’t think your chances against Nebraska
arc very good in any situation,” Snyder said.
" See SNYDER on 8
Scott Bruhn/DN
Nebraska I-back Lawrence Phillips leaps over an Oklahoma State defender. Phillips became the 19th Nebraska
player to rush for more than 1,000 yards In a season Saturday.
In a single bound
Phillips is the big gun in NU arsenal
lyPwkiwniofl _
Senior Reporter
After doctors said a blood clot would end
quarterback and Heisman Trophy candidate
Tommie Frazier's season, many Huskcr fans
thought a shot at the national championship
went down with the quarterback.
But Nebraska I-back Lawrence Phillips
has shouldered the load, gaining a career
high 221 yards in the Cornhuskers’ 32-3 win
over Oklahoma State Saturday.
Phillips, who after Saturday's perfor
mance has been mentioned as a Heisman
candidate, said running the ball is going to
continue to be Nebraska's strength with or
without Frazier.
“A lot of people thought that maybe the
offense wouldn’t be as explosive,” he said.
UI think they thought we’d still be able to run
the ball, but not for as many yards without
Tommie. We're still able to run the ball well.
"We’re taking it all in strides, and we’re
doing it offensively and defensively. I guess
everybody is stepping up and becoming a
team. We feel like we can get it done.”
Phillips accounted for 221 of Nebraska's
372 yards rushing Saturday to boost his
season total to 1,006.
The 6-foot, 200-pound sophomore is the
19th Husker to break the 1,000-yard mark,
but Phillips has accomplished it in only six
games and is on schedule to be only the
second Husker ever to break 2,000 yards in
a season — MikeRozicrhad2,148in 1983.
Phillips went over 1,000 yards on the fifth
play of the fourth quarter with a 13-yard run
to the Cowboys’ 32-yard line.
Phillips, who is averaging 167.7 yards a
game and 7.7 a carry, said he knew before the
play that he was close to his first 1,000-yard
season as a Husker.
“Coach (Frank) Solich called me on the
phone and told me I was 19 yards away and
that he’d put me in another series to try to go
over,” he said. “At the beginning of the
season, I didn’t know when or if I’d go over
1,000yards, but I'm pretty happy I got 1,000
yards this early in the season ”
But with Nebraska’s injuries at quarter
back, Phillips said the other running backs
have had to step up their game some.
And that'sexactly what Phillips, Clinton
Childs and Damon Benning did against the
I I
DN Graphic
Cowboys in what Phillips called the Husk
ers' best running game of the season.
“The backs — we made a lot of people
miss.” he said. “We got a lot of yards after
See LAWRENCE on 8
—TV ^
Despite limitations, quarterbackfantasy may come true
I tell you, my vast readership, I’ve
got dreams, big dreams.
I’ve dreamed of turtle surfi ng; I’ve
dreamed of knitting a sweater with the
world's largest ball of yarn; hey. I’ve
even dreamed of wearing my own
tennis shoes while bowling.
But all these fantasies pale in com
parison to my newest dream: I’m the
biggin’ quarterback for the
Comhuggers.
I know, I know; you’re saying,
“Beau, you’re probably the worst
physical specimen we’ve ever seen,
and you don't know a football from a
hairball.”
You may be right, oh illusoiy crit
ics, but I’ve got something going for
me that all you naysayers didn’t real
ize: I bear a striking resemblance to
Ge Gdowski.
t’s right, babies, I look exactly
like the ex-Hornhonker quarterback.
This, of course, is a result of several
plastic surgeries, but that doesn’t mean
anything.
The bottom line is that I look like
the G-man, and so who is more quali
fied than myself to assume the role of
quarterback for the Cornpoppers?
Oh, again I hear those nagging criti
cisms that just because I can't throw a
ball more than five yards and because
I have a phobia of being touched by
300-pound men. I cannot be a good
field general.
Well, to those critics I say urn,
well, urn, cr: shut up, you ierks.
Hey. I’m fater, 1 mean, fast. I’ve, in
fact, been clocked in the 40-yard dash
in under 50 seconds, but this time is
deceiving because 1 had to stop half
way through the sprint because there
was this one guy standing right in
Beau
Finley
front of the finish line with some do
nuts. And, well, they were jelly-filled
and. you know, I REALLY like jelly.
I figured if I hadn't stopped run
ning. I could definitely cut off 10 or 15
seconds from my time.
As far as my throwing ability goes,
1 figure if Tom Osborne can limit the
pass routes of the Husker receivers to
three or four yards, I can probably
complete some passes. That still makes
me a more dangerous thrower than
Mickey Joseph.
Hey, this dream of mine isn’t ex
actly out of the blue. I’ve been inter
csica in oeing quancroacK ior a long
time.
In fact, a boyhood friend of mine.
Eric Wachter, used to tell me, back
when we were kids, that I had the most
talent of any kid on the playground.
Actually, now that I think about it,
Eric said somethi ng more to the effect
that if you don’t give me back the
football. I'm going to beat your butt.
But I understood. That was always his
way of paying someone a compli
ment.
However, there is a problem. If 1
was playing quarterback, then I would
have to battle Matt Turman, who is
currently the second-string quarter
back for the Huckfinnsters.
For those of you who missed my
first couple columns. I referred jok
ingly to Mr. Turman as a “walk-on
wussy’’ after he twisted his ankle early
in me season.
Since I would be teammates with
Matt, I take all that stuffback. I really
don’t want to get beat up after practice
every day.
Matt, you’re a tough and talented
quarterback and a wonderful human
being. I don’t know what I was think
ing when I called you a wussy.
Beau's Confession: I think it's time
I come clean with you, my vast read
ership. The real reason 1 want to play
quarterback for the Comchuckers is
to impress my girlfriend, Melissa.
I don’t want her to think I’m just
another pretty law dork. I want her to
know that I’m a pretty law dork who
has no real athletic ability but can run
away from fat guys with helmets on.
That would be cool.
Finley la ■ second year law student and a
Dally Nebraskan sports columnist.
